Hey ,

Do you have sore, achy knees? Were you told to lose weight to reduce knee pain?

Here is the thing:

Unhealthy feet can lead to a loss of healthy gait, which, in turn leads to a lot of structural issues with ankles, knees, hips and pelvis ( including pelvic floor dysfunctions!) as well as upper body imbalances.

I mean if your feet aren't absorbing the shock of your daily movement the way they are designed to, then other bodily structures have to do it, right?!

In the last two weeks of yoga classes we've been working quite actively on our foundation - the feet.

We rolled them out with all sorts of different balls.

We stood on uneven surfaces (and made sure our breathing was relaxed!)

We even closed our eyes to make balance a bit more challenging.

So I thought this is as good a time as any to take our in-class "feet" conversation and the reasons behind it to a wider audience.

Maybe you (and your body!) can also benefit from learning a few new "foot ideas?"

Hey, did I mention that yet another Pain Care + Corrective Movement class has been added to accommodate all the yoga - wait-listed folks? It starts on Saturday, October 15, and is already over 50% sold out! Class details are here.

Now back to feet and knees.

There's a lot of "knee" folk in classes this fall, so naturally we were talking about feet - knees connection.

The first thing most people with knee issues hear is "you should lose weight to reduce the load."

True enough. Reducing the load can and does help.

However:

The way your foot is aligned and positioned while you are standing and walking can create higher-than-normal loads within the knee joint itself. The more your feet turn out (like a duck!) when you walk, the higher the loads on the inner knee structures (like for example ACL and medial meniscus).

Do you live with chronic knee pain?

Start improving your knee loading profile by reducing the turnout of your feet. Yup. That simple.

We are focusing more on foot alignment in class starting this week and learning all about the gradual process of re-aligning our feet for better health - exciting stuff!

And, of course:

it's not too late (yet!) to join October's PAIN CARE + CORRECTIVE MOVEMENT yoga class - learn simple+strategic movements to improve the health of your feet, knees, and the rest of ya!

See you on the mat!

Julia