One of the side effects of my new contract job is having to wear “proper” shoes to work, the kind with 3″ heels. When I work at home I live in slippers (and yes, they do have Winnie the Pooh on them!) After three consecutive days in high heels my feet were protesting loudly. You can’t always stop for a foot massage in the middle of the working day. So if your feet are bothering you, what can you do? I’ve found 3 great techniques that you can do under the desk to give your tootsies a break. And gentlemen, these will work for you too!
I highly recommend that you slip off your shoes under the desk. You might want to make sure you have no holes in your socks and that your feet aren’t too pungent! For all three techniques, make sure you are sitting comfortably, with your back straight and feet on the floor about hip width apart. Note that all three stretches can be done in a standing position as well.
The Inch Worm:
- Starting with your right foot, push your toes into the floor and then scrunch them, pulling your heel forward. Your foot will arch like an inch worm.
- Ground your heel and flatten your foot.
- Repeat several times and then switch to your left foot.
Heels Up Mother Brown:
- Keeping your toes on the floor, lift both heels up and hold for 3 seconds.
- Return your heels to the floor and lift your toes up and hold for 3 seconds.
- Repeat the alternate lifting of heels and toes two more times.
The ZigZag:
- Shift the toes of both feet (“the zig”) to the right then shift the heels of both feet (“the zag”) to the right.
- Zag then zig back to the starting position.
- Now zig zag to the left, and zag zig back to the starting position.
- Repeat twice more on each side.
These three “stretches” will work the muscles in your feet and provide a bit of relief. All three are good for increasing your circulation. I like to use them in long meetings when I’m getting bored. These techniques don’t take much space and are also useful when you are confined to your seat on an airplane.