The second sesson is all about the foundation. Finding the support of the earth underneath can help the rest of the body "stack up." It is a state of resting into gravity when one can just be.

This is possible when we trust our feet and legs to carry and support us. The feet and legs are connected to the point where whatever issue is in the foot is also in the lower and/or upper leg and vice versa. They go hand in hand because tendons in the foot originate as muscles in the lower leg.

Most of us experience some kind of ankle or foot issue in our youth as we climb trees or hike on uneven surfaces or stab a toe. Some of us were not allowed to run around bare-foot, some of us wore shoes that were at times too small and some of us wear high heels and inserts. Some people have a genetic propensity towards high or low arches. Environmental factors such as the gait of the parents matters as the child learns to walk and naturally emulates the people around.

The Foot

All of these factors influence the four arches in the foot. There is the medial arch (in the middle of the foot) balanced by the lateral arch (on the outside of the foot), and there are two transverse arches across the metatarsal bones and the cuneiforms. Naturally, they all have the ability to spring up and down as we walk, giving us a sense of propelling forward without too much effort. It has been observed that people who walk bare-foot as children tend to have the most balanced arches.

During walking, there are two stages of the foot participation: landing and push-off stage.

Landing
As we contact the ground with the foot, there is a sense of landing. When all of the arches are allowed to land and touch the surface, all 26 bones of the foot move. This is very profound because all of the bones form many joints with each other. All of these joints are synovial which means that they have fluid that lubricates and cushions the joints during motion. When the joint stops moving due to an injury or tightness of the surrounding soft tissue, the production of the synovial fluid decreases and the joint becomes compressed. As a result, the joint has less space and the cartillage is replaced by scar tissue that can lead to arthritis.

Push-Off
This stage involves pushing off while bending all the toes in the foot. A lot of people walk without using their toes at all. This can be a result of wearing hard-soled shoes or having no heel strap. Whenever I buy shoes, these two criteria are essential - soft and bending soles, and a heel strap. The former allows for bending the toes and the latter allowes the whole foot to lengthen and relax without the insecurity of having the shoe fall off (which creates tension in the plantar fascia).

The Lower Leg
As I mentioned before, the foot issues reflect in the lower legs and vice versa. The muscles of the lower leg become the tendons in the foot. They act as pullies around the inner and outer ankle bones (maleoli). They attach to the bones of the foot to create the four arches. Often, muscles in the calves get "glued" together and lose their function of differentiated movement. These adhesions are the fascial sheaths that don't permit the muscles' independent movement and it ultimately results in imbalance in the arches in the foot.

As the lower legs and feet become more balanced, they provide more stability and mobility for the rest of the body. Finding a good foundation results in ability to feel aligned. The lower back and abdomen can stay soft yet supported. In this state, the body can rest into itself. Yeah!

Tags: Rolfing, 10 Series