Last week on the Voyage to HEAL we focused on the feet. At a previous yoga class taught by our yoga and pilates instructor, Michele Gangwer, she showed us a wonderful dynamic foot stretch. I of course made a video of the stretch which will be uploaded to you tube very soon and I will include the link, My internet connection teaches me patients otherwise the video would have already been uploaded.
In the stretch, you rock forward and back and then side to side on your feet. Hold onto a stable surface if needed. Then roll your toes from the baby toe to the big toe and vise versa. These are dynamic stretches, but I found a way to make it a shift in awareness. See, often times when I evaluate client’s postural alignment, I will notice that they are leaning forward or backwards. Often, the person is quite fearful that they will fall over if they are placed in neutral. From an energetic stand point, standing with your feet firmly and evenly planted on the floor indicates that you are living in the present. Leaning forward is anticipating the future and always thinking of what lies ahead or what is next. Leaning back represents living in the past and dwelling on what has happened. So, as I rocked forward and back on my feet, I took note of which direction was easiest. I moved in a smaller range and slowly rocked back and forth as I said to myself:
“I am okay with what the future holds and I let go of what is in the past. I am grateful for being here in this present moment.”
The more I said this to myself the more stable on my feet I became and the greater the range of motion I could rock forward and backwards. The mind is a powerful instrument that can alter everything in our body. As Wayne Dyer said, “We are all just one thought away from healing”.
God speed on your Voyage to HEAL