Yoga for the Feet

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Don’t hate me when I admit that I’ve always been a bit jealous of people who have pretty toes.

You know, the straight kind.

My second toe — on both feet — kind of flops over the third one. Always has, though my mom swears my toes were straight when I was an infant. (If that’s so, how come I remember my sister teasing me about my crooked toes from way back??)

Anyway. Most of my life, I haven’t wanted to go barefoot or wear sandals.

In public, that is.

Now I find I’ve developed a bunion on one foot. It’s not pretty, and it hurts. Bunions tend to run in families, and wearing high heels as I did increase the likelihood of getting one.

I’ve bought countless things to ease the pain, but nothing has worked.

Until now.

My latest purchase was a pair of Yoga Toes, designed to stretch the toes and strengthen the entire foot.

(I’m not being compensated in the least for what I’m writing. I share it simply in the hope that anyone suffering as I have will find relief, too.)

Now, I was skeptical when I read through their website. But the price was reasonable; the money back guarantee and lifetime warranty were appealing; and I’d determined to try everything before submitting to surgery.

They’re working.

My toes are spreading out, the pain has eased, and I have high hopes of never again falling because my weakened toes interfere with my balance.

Did you know 25 percent of our body’s bones are in the feet? And wearing heels puts 90 percent of our entire body’s weight on the big toe joint?

Neither did I.

Doctors say barefoot really is best. But since we can’t walk around barefoot all the time, we ought to treat our feet with more care.

I’m wearing my Yoga Toes every day. They hurt a bit at first, but I’m getting used to them. And I like the results.

Yoga Toes doesn’t promise to cure foot problems. But strangely enough, their customers claim that wearing them has helped — with everything from bunions to hammer toes, overlapping toes, and plantar fasciitis.

Yoga for the feet? Hey, whatever works!

37 thoughts on “Yoga for the Feet”

  1. I have never heard of these but they sound like a great product! And I love it when someone really finds something that works and writes about it because they are excited about it and not because they are being paid for it. 🙂 My feet are not the prettiest either but no bunions yet. I never was a high heel wearer so maybe there is hope for me. 🙂 Happy you found a great product to help.

    • Bunions are so much a part of my family that even my niece (still in her 20s) has them! I don’t think they’re necessarily caused by age as much as by shoes. You’re lucky you don’t have them, for they can force you to lie awake at night in pain. I never would have believed something this “simple” would have helped!

  2. There’s a company in Houston that sells a certain kind of shoe insert that’s designed to help relieve stress on the spine and such because of incorrect posture/alignment. I honestly can’t remember the name of the company now, but a friend bought some, and swears by them — sort of like your Yoga Toes.

    It’s a fact. Sometimes these “gadgets” do work, and are much less expensive than surgery, etc. When I was having terrible back problems, I finally broke down and went to an orthopedic surgeon, one of the best sports medicine guys in town. His solution? He did x-rays, diagnosed, and then sent me to a sports therapist. That fellow gave me some exercises, and in a month I was pain free. Amazing.

    I hope these really do the trick for you.

    • My sister-in-law had bunion surgery on BOTH feet at once and was sidelined with crutches for months (not to mention in pain!). I sure want to avoid that at all costs. Dallas is a dog used to walking every single day, and no way could I take him on a leash and navigate crutches at the same time!

      I’m glad to hear your orthopedic surgeon helped you with exercises. These Yoga Toes exercise the feet, stretching the toes and conditioning — similar, I suppose, to exercise for the rest of our bodies. Being pain free must be such a good feeling — I’m getting there, too. I haven’t been using them for even a month yet and can’t believe how much they’ve helped!

  3. I’ve never heard of Yoga Toes. I admit I have some crooked toes, perhaps a bit of “foot meditation” is in order!

    • You too, Suzi?? You must not be in pain (thankfully!). I never thought walking around barefoot was good for my feet — turns out, I was wrong. I just hope it’s not too late to make amends to my feeties!!

  4. Debbie, being a foot Reflexologist, I’ve seen these before. And although I’ve never used them, I TOTALLY believe that they work!

    “Did you know 25 percent of our body’s bones are in the feet? And wearing heels puts 90 percent of our entire body’s weight on the big toe joint?”

    Yes, you’re absolutely right! And our feet are like mirrors that reflect all the organs, muscles, bones, and systems within our body. Therefore, when we take care of feet, it has a huge impact on how we feel. Have you ever noticed how when your feet feel uncomfortable, you’re whole body feels the same way?

    I’m such a big believer in taking care of my feet. I actually rub them at night (pressing on all the reflex points) before going bed. I also try to do that in morning.

    So glad to hear that you’re finding these Yoga Toes working for you. You GO!

    Great post! I love discussing topics like this.

    X

    • I’d forgotten you’re a foot Reflexologist, Ron! So you know exactly what I’m trying to say here, right?
      We’re so quick to exercise the rest of us (abs, especially) — why don’t we pay attention to the poor things that hold us up all day? You’re doing it right by massaging your feet after a hard day’s work. I just never liked the idea of anybody (even ME!!) touching my feet. I’m so paranoid about it that I knew I couldn’t go see a doctor, regardless of the pain. So you see, I HAD to do something. And I’m so fortunate Yoga Toes are working for me. It hasn’t even been a month that I’ve had them, yet already, I can feel a major difference!
      Happy new month of July to you!!

  5. Sold. I’m ordering some today. My plantar fasciitis is much better (meds and exercise) but it could still be better – part of the problem is I spend too much time running around barefooted.
    Have a pedi with polish you love and move past your (so-called) floppy toes with some fun sandals. No offense but most of us are too busy looking at our feet to notice anyone elses unless your toes aren’t painted and then my Mom notices. Always. Thanks for the hot and helpful tip.

    • You know, my toenails are always painted (figures, right? Being a Virgo and all?!). My fingernails might go nude, but I love polish on my toesies! So your mom can rest easy on that one.
      If you decide to order, I hope they help you, too. They were a tad uncomfortable at first because my toes were sooo used to being cramped and really didn’t want to separate from one another. However, now I find myself eagerly looking forward to the times when I can put them on (relaxing with a cuppa, reading a good book, even sitting at my laptop). Can’t walk in them, of course, but that’s just another “excuse” to sit a spell and chill!

    • You must be one of the lucky ones (who never wore high heels or tried to shove feet into pointy toes, ha!) Thanks for indulging me and reading today!

        • Actually, I kind of did need to. I mean, most of the pants I bought were sized for about three inches taller than I was, so I’d have had to find a tailor or buy the stylish shoes. Rolling the pants up a couple of times, in retrospect, might have been more foot-friendly!!

  8. Are you talking about shoes that look like they have toes at the end? I think I’ve seen those in people but never knew what the purpose was. Thanks for the explanation. Luckily for me, the only part of my body that doesn’t look bad are my toes. Not perfect, but they’ve done me fine so far. I can’t say as much for the heel. For I too have suffered from plantar’s fascillitis.

    • No, these look to me more like toe separators — like the things you use when you get a pedicure. I imagine those toed-shoes would do something similar. Yoga Toes aren’t designed to walk in — you have to use them when you’re off your feet. You’re lucky to have good-looking toesies!!

  9. Oh my gosh, Debbie – I just had an article published in a national magazine on the benefits of going barefoot so I give an Amen and an Amen to your post today! I interviewed a guy who has an amazing story about how going barefoot changed his life as he was working toward rehabilitation, has published two books on barefooting, as well as a podiatrist. It’s in Spirituality and Health – titled “Feet on the Ground.” I’m so happy you’ve discovered the benefits too and are moving away from the pain.,

    • Barb, thanks for reinforcing my post (and congrats on the publication of your article!!). It’s funny, but my parents have always run around barefoot. I, thinking I didn’t want to be perceived as some kind of hillbilly(!), gravitated to shoes, even at a young age. While barefoot is probably best, what’s detrimental is trying to squeeze our feet into too-narrow shoes, pointy-toed stilettos, and those oh-so-cute cowboy boots I couldn’t seem to get enough of! As we get older, our feet tend to spread more, too, making wider widths more comfortable — and really, who can tell by looking that a shoe is “wide” rather than “medium”??

  10. Hello! I still wear my Yoga toes at night. I can feel my hammer toes touching the ground and it is getting straighter, I think. Or maybe it’s just placebo? LOL Anyway, I’ll try to wear it for more hours. I sometimes forget about it.

    Dianne

    • Hi Dianne and Welcome! Glad to hear Yoga Toes are working for you, too. I can definitely see — and feel — improvement. One of my feet wasn’t as painful as the other one and it especially looks good — the other at least doesn’t hurt with that excruciating pain from the bunion! And I think I’m getting back the flexibility I used to have (you know, with curling my bare toes and flexing them). Thus far, I haven’t gone a single day without putting my Yoga Toes in since I got them — I don’t want to chance regression, ha!

  11. #LoveThis. I personally really love my own toes and their alien looking style (my second toe is longer than my first.. lol)

    However I do know a few people who could really benefit from this. I will have to pass the information on. I wonder if it is readily available here in Australia.. hmmmnnss

    ML
    x

  12. I haven’t heard of these before, but I’m glad they are working for you. I used to wear uncomfortable shoes because they were cute. Now I’m much more into comfort. I have bunions too, but they don’t hurt unless I wear tight shoes.

    • My bunion used to hurt something awful, especially when I’d lie down at night and try to sleep. Thanks to my Yoga Toes, such misery seems to be a thing of the past (I’m keeping my fingers crossed anyway!)

  14. Interesting! I’m glad you’ve found something that offers relief for your pain.

    I’ve always felt jealous of those who could wear heels. At 5′ 9 1/2″ tall, and slightly taller than my husband – and many people, I’ve always avoided them. Thanks to you, I can see there’s a positive side of my “problem”!

    • You’ve got about 3 1/2″ on me, Terri, which is probably one reason I always used to wear heels — I wanted to be taller. Most of the women in my family run on the petite side (think: 5 feet tall or so); I’m practically a giant to them! However, Daddy always pointed out that the tall gene was prominent on his side of the family, something Domer and I are exceedingly grateful for. Be glad you don’t have toe problems!

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  16. I love wearing the toe shoes for yoga. At home I do it barefoot, but when outdoors the toe shoes are really good. After a couple months I stop feeling pain on my knees. Have you ever tried those it might help.

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