Feet are our foundation. They are what hold you up and help with your movement.

In this video, Courtney McManus begins with a demonstration showing how we tend to stuff our feet into our shoes, and what that does to the feet. 

Courtney is a 40-something mom of 3 who started her personal training career in 2006. Posture has become a passion of Courtney's and she's here to talk about the importance of feet in regards to the body's alignment and movement.

Let's learn how to build fit feet!

Key websites discussed in the interview:

• Foundational Feet Course : Courtney's course on healthy feet and posture. Includes a 30 day challenge with daily foot exercises. Use code madeon for $20 off.
• http://www.formfitonline.com/  : where to find Courtney
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/formfitcommunity : Courtney's Facebook community
• https://raisinghealthyhumans.buzzsprout.com/1723380/9103983-ep-18-heal-your-eczema-or-skin-conditions-w-renee-harris-founder-of-hard-lotion  : podcast episode where Courtney interviews Renee about skin conditions
• Spiky Massage Balls on Amazon: (the balls Courtney demonstrates in the video)

Watch our conversation here:

Notes on the Interview

1. What to do instead of shoes? Work on strengthening them when they’re out of shoes.
2. Separate your toes as much as possible, wrap a sock around each toe, or a pedicure toe separator, or toe socks. Time to get muscles used to it 5-10 min to begin with. Working on separating toes helps with balance issues.
3. Ball with spikes helps wake up the nerves in your feet. Roll back & forth while barefoot, nice & easy, not hard.
4. Exercises: get toes to work independently from each other. Big toe down, little toes up. Big toes up, little toes down. For flat feet, bring big toe back towards the heel. 
5. Reflexology with a pencil eraser. Start in between toes, starting at big toe & draw eraser up towards ankle. Then move to next. After you’ve completed that, then start again at the big toe and make tiny circles all the way up towards the ankle.
6. Posture problems, head too far forward: tuck in chin & lengthen the neck
7. Shoulders are too far forward. Bring arms overhead & then keep palms forward and bring your hands down to your hips
8. Calf stretches morning & night helps plantar fasciitis, balance work, a small amount of barefoot. Toe taps help plantar fasciitis.
9. To help with gait, focus on what’s behind you; your glutes and hamstrings.

Interact with Courtney on our Facebook page here

A few weeks after Courtney gave her talk, a customer came to let me know that she found a fantastic tool to help with the toe separating. Here's what she said:

"After watching your wonderful video with Courtney Manus, I purchased these Awesome Toes and believe they're much better than putting a towel between my toes to spread them apart. They're very soft, can be worn long periods of time, and worn with my shoes." -Sharon

You can find those here: https://www.amazon.com

Fast Pain Relief: from hammertoe, bunions, overlapping toes, and painful feet. Awesome Toes! naturally stretch your feet. Loved by anyone who wears high-heeled shoes, work boots, or spends all day standing.