The Feet in Equal Standing
Lets start in Samasthitih (equal standing). Begin by noticing what you do with your toes. Your toes are major part of your balancing mechanism. Make sure your toes are spread apart on the floor to give you a wide base of support. Notice that as you shift your body weight forward, your toes tend to grip the floor, and as you shift your weight backward into your heels, your toes lift off the floor. The toes are a very clear indicator of your front to back centering. Keep them relaxed as you lift the arch; at the same time, press down the base of the big toe to counter the tendency to shift too much weight to the outer foot.
Now practice shifting more weight onto one foot, without disturbing its balance. As you take all your weight onto one foot, any bad habits you have will become more obvious, such as collapsing the arch or gripping with your toes. Over the years, sometimes, the foot may splay, which you may notice by an increase in the size of shoes you wear over the years. Proper arch support is necessary here by way of proper foot gear and possibly orthotics.
Ideally, the weight of your body should be evenly distributed between the outer and inner foot and between the heel and ball of the foot. As you stand, become aware of the four corners of the foot: the base of the big toe, the base of the little toe, the inner heel, and the outer heel. If the inner points of the foot feel heavy, the arch of the foot is probably collapsing. This is called pronation. If the outer aspect of the foot is heavy, the arch of the foot may be nice and high--which is good--but the base of the big toe is probably lifting and the outer ankle may feel strained. This is called supination.
To make a strong, well-balanced foundation in your feet, your arch should feel lifted and light, while the inner heel and base of your big toe stay grounded. The muscle that grounds the big toe is the peroneus longus. It runs along the outer calf. Its tendon crosses the outer ankle and then the sole of the foot before attaching to the bottom of the bones that form the innermost part of the arch. When the peroneus longus is engaged, you should sense firmness on the outer calf as well as the big toe mound pressing down.
One of the main muscles that supports the arch of the foot is the tibialis anterior. It lies along the outer surface of the shinbone. Begin to notice if you have a sense a balance between the tibialis anterior lifting the arch and the peroneus longus grounding the base of the big toe.
Close your eyes and enjoy the effects of equal standing. Breathe deeply and feel the lightness of your body.
Samasthitih.
If you wear orthotics, please refer to the article, Orthotics by Day, Bare Feet by Yoga, on the link below:
http://stretchandthecity.com