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Improving Toe Point
Hi all,
I know I have a pretty lousy toe point. I spent most of my youth doing the opposite, flexing my feet really hard in martial arts, so there is quite a bit of muscle memory to undo. I also have flat feet (it’s genetic, so does my dad) and my ankles roll inward when I stand. This means I have a sickle foot on both sides when I point, unless I am working really hard to hold them straight. I am trying to strengthen my ankle muscles with yoga and also wear orthotics in my street shoes.
I can engage my outer calf muscles and hold the correct toe point when I’m focusing during an exercise, but my feet are all over the place when I practice pole tricks or dance. Since there are so many experienced dancers, gymnasts, and circus performers on SV, does anyone have any recommendations for improving a sickled foot? Any Youtube videos to watch or tips? I have done some of Veena’s ankle strengtheners but I wasn’t sure if others had ideas too.
Thanks!
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8 Replies
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Strengthen your instep and arch as well as your ankles and work on the flexibility of all of them too. Ballet really helps rebuild the muscle memory correctly. Kelly Yvonne offers a great class called Ballet on the Pole – if you are an instructor or have access to this class it’s great for pole dancers.
Try to point throughout the day when you can…even just sitting in your chair or on the couch, etc.
It’s really a lot of practice to rebuild that memory but it will happen if you dedicate yourself to it.
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oh and sickling is often caused by pointing too hard or over-pointing.
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There’s a simple ballet exercise named relevé that could work corrective on you. All you need is something to hold on to. Stand with your feet parallel and rise up on your toes (called half-toe). When you’re on half-toe, the weight should be on your big toe and not on the small ones. Go up and down but not too fast.
Then also do this in an outturned position. So feet turned out, get up on half-toe. Same principle here, weight on your big toe.
Generally when you point, don’t only think that the point should be straight, but try to even turn the foot out (like a wing). They will probably only get to straight anyway, but it can be a good way of thinking to get the best possible point.
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Thank you Mary Ellen and Lina! My sister in law took ballet for many years and mentioned that there were exercises I could do to improve it. I have heard about the need to strengthen the instep, but it was hard to imagine how to do that exactly. This is really helpful.
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These exercises and a LOT of practice will help! Oh and do the new lower body routine!
Foot exercise 1 focus on the outward exercise with the band. https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4e316bf4-9398-4008-9184-6d820ac37250
Foot exercise 2 This is great for flat feet. https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4e316bf4-9398-4008-9184-6d820ac37250
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Veena, I did your two new routines today! That got me thinking. I was surprised how difficult the soleus raises were for me. I do regular calf raises all day long whenever I’m standing and waiting for something, but not the other kind.
During the leg lift exercises in the new routine, I found that it was tricky to do them with good form in the leg and also with a good toe point. My foot would curve inward if I focused on keeping my knee facing up during the lift. If I really focused on keeping my foot straight and not sickled, my hip started to open and my knee was no longer straight up during the lift. Not to mention the hip flexor burn. 😉 It’s hard for sure. I’ll keep practicing! Everyone talks about how hard things like split grip are, but I find having pretty legs is a big challenge! 🙂 -
I probably spend more time working on lines then I do tricks 😄
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Another exercise I’ve done in the past to help with foot strength (learned in physical therapy) is to sit in a chair with a towel on the floor in front of you on a non-carpeted floor. With your heel planted, bunch the towel up just using your toes on your right foot. Once you’ve pulled the towel all the way in toward you, reset the towel and repeat on the left. Your feet will be worn out, but it definitely helps strengthen toe & foot muscles.
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