Calf Stretch

Restore flexibility and function to your toes, feet and lower legs with this corrective exercise. Why?

Years of immobilizing your feet in heeled shoes with thick, rigid soles have robbed your feet of their ability to navigate all kinds of terrain.

Ideally, all 33 joints can move individually and be flexible enough to keep you balanced and aligned. Excessive sitting with bent knees shortens calf muscles in ways that effect balance, walking and whole body health. Follow these steps to get unstuck.

• Place a rolled towel or foam half dome on the floor in front of one of your bare feet.

• Place ball of the foot on the towel or dome.

• Keep the heel on the floor.

• Make sure your toes are pointing forward (on both feet).

• Take a small step forward with the opposite foot until you feel the stretch.

• Keep weight of your body over the heel of whichever foot is farther back.

You can experience the beneficial ankle position (less than a 90 degree angle known as dorsiflexion) and muscle lengthening of the Calf Stretch in the wild when walking uphill or responding to (stepping on, not avoiding) rocks, roots and branches on the trail.

Maximize the benefits by keeping your back heel down and weighted as long as possible while walking up hills.

Find more ideas for better movement in my twice-a-month emails. And learn about classes, workshops and individual coaching at Your Movement Project.