The Big and Mighty Big Toe - day 46

Big toes are hugely amazing and massively important! 

For such a seemingly small part of our whole body it indeed does have a very large responsibility. The tip of the big toe is (in theory) the very last part of the foot to leave the ground before your whole leg is airborne when you are walking. It is therefore keeping everything in balance and coordinated before you are finally moving your whole body forward on a single leg.

Try this: Stand with both feet on floor, about hip width apart. Slowly peel one foot off the floor, consciously lifting the heel first and finally lifting the big toe off slowly. Now do the same lifting the whole foot off in a one-er (same speed, no cheating by using momentum).

  

Big toes also help us in standing to balance from the most central part of us. They take a direct line upwards to the inner calf, inner thigh to the pelvic floor and deep internal support. The baby toe in contrast takes a line up through both lateral sides of the body (furthest from the most central core) and acts as a counter balance with the big toe (the other toes help spread the load between the two).    

In the practical example above, once your leg is lifted, consciously feel the spread between the big toe and baby toe (and heel) of the standing leg. Perhaps press down a little on the base of the big toe to help you stabilise. To feel the difference, instead take the weight slightly over to the outer edge of the foot and minimise the big toe's help in holding you.

   

Now, how able your big toe is to help you there is dependent on its alignment. Good alignment has the big toe spread slightly apart from the 2nd toe (infact all toes should have a bit of spread between them) alignment. Good big toe movement means it should be able to wiggle out and in from the 2nd toe, and lift up and point down separately from the other toes. Just like your hand can fan out so that the spread of the fingers is wider than the width of the heel of the hand, so to should the toes be able out spread out so they are wider than the heel of the foot. 

If this is not how your feet are (and to be honest, that's a LOT of people), then working on your feet can be ridiculously beneficial for you. It can making walking, standing, running easier for you. It could prevent knee, hip, pelvis, back, shoulder, neck issues. 

And with those thoughts for today, I'm going to leave you to ponder for now on your own personal big toe placement and wait, I'm afraid, until tomorrow for my tips on better enabling your big toes to do what they are meant to do! 

So, til tomorrow.....

CT :-) X