Yoga can reduce foot pain, improve strength and flexibility and increase blood circulation to reduce the appearance of spider veins.
As the old saying goes, when your feet hurt your whole body hurts. We invest in quality shoes, put our feet up on ottomans and massage them as much as we can—but still, they ache.
Instead of using your feet as a medium to help you exercise, why not engage in a few physical activities that will strengthen, stretch and overall support your feet? That is where yoga can come into your regular fitness routine. Instead of positioning your feet to the advantage of sculpting your legs or engaging in a balancing pose, you can use yoga to distribute your weight more efficiently as you build awareness around the causes of your foot pain and improve your posture. The increased circulation that yoga offers is also beneficial for the prevention and reduction of spider veins.
Standing Straight
When you think of ways that you can relax your feet and relieve pressure in your lower extremities, standing probably isn’t the first thing to come to mind. However, standing poses position your feet in certain ways to distribute the weight of your body across your entire foot. These types of poses can be particularly useful for those who have heel pain or pain in the ball of the foot. Concentrating on your posture and better distributing your weight can also reduce back pain and inflammation.
One simple pose that you can do anywhere is the mountain pose
Start by standing up with your back straight and your arms at your side. Slowly extend your arms over your head and close your palms together so your hands can make a peak. Lower your arms so your hands are in front of your heart, and then return your hands to your side. As you make these arm movements concentrate on your feet and try to stand with your weight distributed evenly. To stretch your feet further, slowly rise up onto your toes and then back down while you complete this pose.
Don’t Forget Your Toes
While most of us in Boca Raton wear plenty of sandals that allow our toes to move around, tight shoes can reduce your toes’ range of motion and leave your little piggy feeling cramped. A lot of sandals cause you to grip the front of your shoe with your toes which can cause further stress on them. Your toes help you balance, so stretching them out can improve your stability and reduce foot pain.
When you stand do your best to elongate your toes
Press your heels down into your mat or the floor and reach forward with all five of your toes. You can also stretch your toes while sitting by using your fingers to gently massage and rotate each toe separately.
When it comes to improving the health of your veins and reducing foot pain, circulation plays a big role. Try engaging in simple yoga poses in the evening before going to bed to limit the appearance of spider veins and reduce foot pain.
