Insights from Ruth Ann Penny

Your Foot is a Tripod

What is the most stable structure? (Pssst….we learned this in high school…..)

A triangle.  Or three-dimensionally, a tripod or a triangular pyramid.   And that’s how I see the structure of the human foot.  A good thing, since we need stability as we stand.

Try something.  Right now, as you’re sitting reading this.  As you place your (bare or un-shoed) foot on the ground, try to sense three spots:

1. the ball of your foot behind the big toe,

2. the ball of your foot behind the baby toe, and 

3. the centre of the heel  

That’s your tripod foot. Try this when you are sitting and again when you stand up and add your body’s weight to the equation.  Is this the way you stand naturally?  Good for you if it is!  Most folks don’t.

Most of us stand on some of the foot.  Which means we can tip over more easily.  And which means we are asking some other body parts to work overtime to keep us balanced.  Like our knees. Or abs, or spine, or….. whatever it takes to keep us upright.  We tire and strain – in spots way far away from our feet.

Some folks tip forward and effectively walk tippy toe all the time.  Others rock their weight back onto their heels, affecting posture further up the chain and creating muscle tension all over the place.  Others put weight on one side or the other of the foot….and so on.

Foot awareness is subtle.  Yet our feet have masses of neurotransmitters on their soles, busy sending info to the brain’s motor cortex.  Roll, slide, tap, thunk and wiggle those feet. Wake them up!  Notice a difference when you stand fully on feet that are “awake”?  Your brain is sooooo happy!  Energized and ready to help you walk better.

For some really pertinent info on foot health, check out The Foot Collective.  It’s a Canadian business that offers all kinds of product advice and education about our feet.

And while you’re at it, check out my videos on the tripod foot – easy to find on my website: movebetternow.ca.

Take the next step and get moving again

Find out how Ruth Ann can help you regain your strength, movement and confidence.

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{Ruth Ann Penny is a superb teacher of yoga and therapeutic movement. She knows her subject thoroughly, and as my private tutor of the practice, she has been attentive to my particular needs with her always clear and calm instruction.
Allen
private student
{Ruth Ann has been my movement teacher for a few years. I look forward to my classes and my private sessions, which are both informative and fun Instructions are always supported by scientific facts and I appreciate this.
Miriam
Chair yoga student
{Ruth Ann brought her excellent knowledge of anatomy and yoga to the assessment of areas in my body with limited movement as a result of past injuries and conditioning. I have felt confident and involved in the exercise program created to release old patterns and to improve movement. As I continue with our plan, I feel the difference it makes!
Liane
Chair and Mat yoga student
{I used to have sciatica and pain in my legs sitting for many hours with my clients in counselling sessions. Now I don't have any pain anymore. The chairlift classes are so brilliant as they have realigned my hips which were the cause of pain in the first place. Doing movement work while sitting has had many wonderful benefits: it keeps my hips in alignment, it has increased my range of motion, and has created more space in the hip joint and the tightness, which was the cause of the pain in the first place, is gone.
Monique
Movement and yoga student
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