The Bodyweight Basics | Ankle | Practice Stability + Mobility

What : The Ankle Rainbow. 2 directions. In/out
Why: The foot has two unique arches. One arch runs in line with your toes and metatarsals and the other runs perpendicular from the big toe to the pinky. Increase the capacity of the foot to create and absorb tension for improved mobility, strength and balance. Explore the rainbow, and drive the actions of the foot and ankle by enhancing the connection to the core and hips. Push, pull and learn to create tension to strengthen your entire body from the ground up.
Quick Tips
- Find the foot. Explore gentle heel, medial and lateral balls of feet presses into the floor to enhance connection and anchor the foot tripod
- Drive from the hip, pull/push with the foot
- Explore 2 directions. Inwards and outwards
How: Rainbow “in”
With your feet in parallel, knees straight, and hips extended stand tall and strong. Grip the floor with your toes and with one foot, press forward meeting the friction of the floor to create tension and to further enhance the extension of the hip and the stiffening of the knee. With the alternate leg, track the midline of the body and slowly peel the heel away from the floor feeling tension on the hamstrings and adductors of the hips.
With the heel pad pulling away from the ground as if to stand on a high-heeled shoe, maintain contact across the balls of the feet and contact with the toes. Next, roll across the foot and prepare to connect pinky side of the foot to the floor.
Alternate the tension of the standing leg to pull backwards, creating the “scissor tension” of the feet and hips. Articulate the landing of the lateral border of the foot finishing with the heel pad and reconnect the foot tripod. Repeat for another repetition in the same direction increasing the awareness and the rootedness of the foot. Execute the same inwards movement for low number of high quality and high tension repetitions on the alternate leg.
How: Rainbow “out”
With your feet in parallel, knees straight, and hips extended stand tall and strong. Grip the floor with your toes and with one leg pull the foot backwards meeting the tension of the floor to create a sensation of “work” - but no movement in the stiff leg. With the alternate leg, track the lateral lines of the body of the body and slowly peel the heel away from the floor sending the knee away from center with tension on the hamstrings and abductors of the hips.
With the heel pad pulling away from the ground as if to stand on a high-heeled shoe, the ankle will be inverted or “sickled”. Maintain contact across the balls of the feet and contact with the toes. Next, pull across the foot drawing the knee in front back to the mid line. To return the heel to the floor, press the balls of the feet of the elevated leg forward and pull the stiff leg backwards. Articulate the landing with firm connections to the floor. Completely reconnect the foot tripod. Maintain contact of the balls of the feet and toes throughout. Repeat for another repetition in the same direction increasing the awareness and increasing the rootedness of the foot. Execute the same movement on the alternate leg.
#ankle
#plantarfasciatis
#backpain