Grounding your way forward may sound contradictory. But, your first step forward is based on how well you can ground through your feet,
The Secret to Grounding Your Way Forward
Everyone gets excited when a baby takes its first step. But few of us stop to realize that it is the baby’s grounding and relationship to the earth. An entire foundation that took up to a year had to be established before the baby could move forward with that first step. You are just like that baby. If your feet don’t ground, you won’t be able to move forward effectively.
Are you Forgetting Your Foundation?
Of course, it has been a long time since any of us learned to walk. And honestly, we are all pretty successful at it. But, that doesn’t mean that injuries, events and experiences we have don’t alter our gait and the emotional feelings that interfere with the goundeness that is essential for ius to move forward both physically and figuratively.
Maybe, like many people, when you feel a lack of ground, you try to make it happen. Maybe you push your feet into the floor or imagine they are sinking in. While these visualizations can be very helpful, they are not the full answer. True groundedness requires that we feel both the stability and the mobility of our feet, awakening them to function exactly as they were designed. So, how do we do this?
Moving Forward Requires Articulation
The foot that gives us the first step has two essential functions. It must ground us. It must give us stability. Yet, at the same time, it must give us articulation. Think about it. Not only does your foot give you balance and hold your posture, but it also meets ground forces and uneven surfaces. It has to respond quickly. Again, it seems like a contradiction. But that is only true if your foot is not alive to this dual function. The first place this happens is at the Subtalar Joint.
The Subtalar Joint as the Key to Grounding Your Way Forward
The Subtalar joint allows our feet to adapt to surface changes, absorb shock, and move efficiently through gait changes. It also “locks” to provide you with stability that increases efficient push-off and protects ankles, knees, and hips from stress.
This video offers a short but effective somatic movement exercise to improve subtalar joint function by having you feel and notice the relationship between the heel and ankle bones. As you gain felt awareness, you will find improved grounding and increased ability to move forward physically and metaphorically.
If this video speaks to you, consider joining a somatic movement class. These online classes are a gentle and effective way to develop pain-free mobility and agility, improved well-being, emotional resilience, and deep levels of comfort in your body. 4-week foot health and function classes start late September 2026.
I have more resources on YouTube for better walking and general somatic movement. You can also find walking videos on my website. Click here and scroll down.
Don’t hesitate to reach out for a complimentary 15 minute call, sign up for a discovery session or for my next zoom or in person walking clinic!
I offer ongoing walking workshops and one one-on-one sessions. These classes and workshops are invaluable because our human bodies evolved to walk. It really is what we are meant ot be doing and I can help you stay pain and injury free. You can also visit my YouTube Yoga, Somatics and Walking Playlist
