My tight toe extensors were so noticeable in that last photo I put up, it reminded me that I've been neglecting my foot stretching. And calf stretching. (You name it.) 

But it's so easy to do Top of the Foot Stretch!    -- Here, I'll show you: 

It's simple to do -- just bend one knee and place the top of that foot on the ground behind you. (But darn it, I had the wrong pants leg rolled up, and the stretching foot doesn't even show!) 

If this is the first time you're trying this, perhaps you should hold on to something for balance (a wall, a chair), though that is not what I'm doing here. I was typing on the computer at the kitchen-counter-standing-work-station, demonstrating how we can do some things that are helpful for our bodies while we work, rather than just ignoring and wrecking our selves. It is so simple, BUT we need to get into a few necessary lower body alignment points.
 (For even more fun, read Katy Bowman's STANCE blog). 


ALIGNMENT from the side: LATERAL ANKLEBONE, KNEE and MID-PELVIS LINED UP 

See how my standing leg (the straight one) is lined up so the middle of my pelvis is not forward of my knee and ankle? You might quibble that my pelvis is actually back a little behind the anklebone (aka malleolus), but that is okay in this case. It's good that my weight is in the heel of my standing leg, not the forefoot, so my toes are free, not scrunching up to keep me from pitching forward. 
That way we give our quadriceps muscles (front of the thigh) some slack, and they need that. (They need it because we use chairs, they need it for the sake of our knees. And hips. And backs.) 

Is your stretching foot cramping? Don't worry, you are not damaging yourself, just shake it out and try again. It will get better (and more ALIVE) with practice. DO PUT SOME PADDING under those toes. I used a folded-up sheet, you can use anything.

Here is a closeup of the stretching foot: 

At first you may only be able to get your toenails on the ground and trying to do more may be painful. DON'T BE PAINFUL. I mean, seriously, if you aren't being nice to yourself you are not doing it right!  Keep doing a little bit, but often (like, up to a minute 1 to 10 times a day) and it will get easier, and it will start to feel great.  Think of "letting go" in your foot, and do both feet.

Notice how my front foot looks like it's levitating? That's just because I'm externally rotating my femur.   "What, huh?" you might say?  I will explain another time.

Alignment from the front: OUTSIDE EDGES OF FEET STRAIGHT, FEET HIP WIDTH APART

I'm in Greece! Looking out off the balcony over ceramic tile and clothes-hung roof tops toward the soft rippling and breathing of the Mediterranean Sea, basking  in the caressing air and glowing light, the cicadas saying dzi dzi dzi (and dzi dzi dzi some more), and gentle Greek voices echoing up from the street. 

Have I been doing all the industrious Restorative Exercise explorations and practices and every-single-day long walks I intended to do since I got here 2 weeks ago? Umm … well, a little bit, but not so much!  I am LAZY. 

Or: Hey, shall I give myself some slack, some of the same nonjudgmental understanding I have for my clients and students who would be feeling so much better with a dedicated practice of Restorative Exercise and no chair-sitting so muscle imbalances can unwind, and walking walking walking for better and better well-being; but it is hard to get these things incorporated into our days that keep marching on in the way we live, and then we do some but backslide for one reason or another, but Hey again, just because some of us haven't been doing much of it lately DOESN'T MEAN WE WON'T, does it!

I am working on being more like the person I'd like to be. All community-oriented and bustling around, that's what I envision. With A Blog. I think this person I'd like to be should write a blog about some of the endlessly useful-to-humans concepts and information I am privileged to keep learning more about.  (BLOG is such an ugly word btw, but I haven't found a better one so far.) (And did you know that "blog" is short for "web log?" I looked it up.)

Things to write about: why it matters how we walk, for instance, or why we shouldn't sit in chairs, or why we should care if our feet are stiff -- and how I came to think this way. I'll talk (for instance) about how to begin walking better, being able to sit on the floor, mobilizing the feet. I'll add links to other people's thoughts. Then what I hope for is community -- questions and arguments and discussion, leading to more learning and understanding. 

And PS: I am sitting in a CHAIR on this balcony, because otherwise this would be my view:

Hmm, I guess that's not so bad, after all!

PPS: FEET photos will be prominent in this person's blog, since foot function is so important to how the rest of our bodies work. (And my feet are not yet fully functional. See how those extensor tendons down to my toes are standing out? That means those muscles are too tight (give 'em some slack!). Also, our toes should be wider spaced even at rest.)