Discover Calm with Your Feet!
Here's Why It's So Important...
With everything that’s going on in the world right now, your feet are probably the last things you’re thinking about.
But what your feet experience radiates into your entire body.
Too hot? Take off your shoes, or let your feet peek out from the bed covers. You’ll feel cooler almost instantly.
Too cold? Put on some warm, cozy socks and fluffy slippers. Instant warmth.
Anxious? Wired? Your feet can also help with that.
Imagine you bought a house with a good, solid foundation. A concrete slab or basement. No cracks anywhere. Sealed up tight.
Then imagine, for whatever reason, a crack develops. The weather is constantly wet and miserable, soaking the ground, causing things to shift.
The crack gets bigger until a section of your foundation sits at a different level from the rest.
How will this affect your wonderful house?
You don’t even want to think about it…
Well…the same thing happens to feet.
Typically, we are born with a good, solid, pair of feet. Feet that keep us balanced and steady, hold us upright, and help us walk, run, jump, or turn.
Our feet are the shock absorbers of our bodies.
They have 26 bones and 33 joints! Not to mention lots of tendons, ligaments and muscles.1
They can take us most everywhere we want to go.
And while we’re going everywhere, we like to put them in attractive shoes.
After we’ve done that, we usually take them for granted. We assume they will always take us everywhere with no problem.
Then, one day, Discomfort sets in.
Now, our attractive shoes hurt.
And to really get comfortable again, we will have to buy more expensive shoes.
And heels? Forget about it.
Because heels are the foot equivalent of the uneven foundation I just described.
When you step into a pair of heels, you are asking your feet to do their difficult, delicate work in a very hostile environment.
Basically, you’re asking them to function with no solid base. (Imagine Kate Beckinsale in her latest action movie, or Prince with all his fabulous dance moves.)
And with continued exposure to these hostilities, your feet will begin screaming at you, begging you to buy shoes with better support.
Unsupportive shoes aggravate not only your feet, but also your legs, hips, and back.
This increases stress in your body, leading to more tension in the muscles and joints.
This tension and pain can move into other areas of your body, causing neck and shoulder pain, as well as headaches.
That same tension and pain can also increase your anxiety and/or depression.
Removing that source of aggravation allows your entire body to relax more.
And your feet will love you.❤️
Maybe it’s time to reintroduce yourself to your feet. Spend quality time with them.
Here’s how you and your feet can feel better:
→A Nice, Warm Soak.
Add some Epsom salts or essential oils. Lavender is calming.
→A Foot Massage.
Massage your feet. Or…
For maximum relaxation, ask someone else to massage them.
If you’ve never had a foot massage, you’ll be astounded at how good it feels. All Over. Not just in your feet.
→Put your Bare Feet in the Dirt and Grass.
Our feet connect us to the earth. But, now we wear shoes with rubber soles and stay indoors most of the time, so our bodies don’t experience that connection anymore.
Consequently, our nervous systems are missing out on the electrical grounding that comes from having our feet on the ground.
Time spent in the sun with your bare feet on the ground can help with inflammation, sleep, anxiety and depression. 2
→Try this Fabulous Stretch for your Feet, Ankles, and Toes:
Sit down and lift your feet off the floor.
Stretch them so that your feet and toes are pointing toward the floor.
Be sure not to stretch past what is comfortable.
You should feel a stretch in your toes, across the tops of your feet, and into your ankles.
Hold for a few seconds.
Now, very slowly release the stretch.
Next, gently flex your toes upward and outward as far as you can.
Be sure not to stretch past what is comfortable.
You should feel a stretch in your toes and across the bottoms of your feet.
Hold for a few seconds.
Very slowly release the stretch.
Finally, gently flex your feet upward—try to bring your toes back toward your body—as far as you can.
Be sure not to stretch past what is comfortable.
You should feel a stretch in your feet, ankles, and calves.
Hold for a few seconds.
Very slowly release the stretch.
Now, stand up and walk around a bit. Isn’t that better?
Doing this just a few minutes every day can help bring you more calm.
This stretch is part of a full-body collection of stretches and exercises I’ll be offering paid subscribers soon, which means you’ll be able to feel this kind of release and calm all over your body.
I’ll be sending out more information on this soon.
→My final suggestion: Discard all shoes that don’t properly support your feet.
I know. This is big. You’re probably recoiling in horror right now.
But this is important for you, both physically and emotionally.
Wearing shoes without proper support can cause injuries: shin splints, stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, tendonitis, bunions, ingrown toenails, ankle sprains and more. 3
The pain from these injuries can lead to anxiety and depression.
You don’t have to wear sneakers everywhere (but maybe you want to). There are plenty of fashionable shoes available with good support.
But they cost more.
You may have to buy fewer pairs and put a shoe category in your budget.
But it’s worth it.
Everything you do for your feet will pay off for the rest of you.
Less anxiety. Less pain. No more crumbling basement.
Just More Calm.
Until next time…
May the Calm be with You, Vanessa
References:
1 https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/about-arthritis/where-it-hurts/anatomy-of-the-foot retrieved 6/22/25
2 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4378297/ retrieved 6/24/25
3 https://rootrunners.com/2023/01/10-injuries-that-can-occur-if-youre-wearing-the-wrong-sneakers/ retrieved 6/22/25
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Copyright 2025 Vanessa Gunter
Disclaimer: Please consider all posts in this publication as information based on my personal and professional experiences alone and not as any sort of medical advice. Referenced information comes from reliable sources, but I encourage everyone to consult with a healthcare professional before making any health changes, especially any changes related to a specific diagnosis or condition. No information here should be relied upon to determine diet, make a medical diagnosis, or determine treatment for a medical condition. The information in this publication is not intended to replace a one-to-one relationship with a qualified health care professional.
Thanks for highlighting FEET.
Most health messages focus on every other organ or part of the body but rarely, and arguably the most important, FEET.
I remember the pain of stilettos - why did I do it!!