Meditation: Headspace, Wind Down: Switching Off Length: 5 minutes Where: In bed, Los Angeles How It Felt: Wonderfully relaxing
I was a busy bee yesterday, and maybe dealing with a little mania, as I could not seem to get tired at all. So, a break from the Anxiety series, and back to a little sleep assistance.
I did a ton of walking over the past week- and I wore actual real shoes most days, like, not even just tennis shoes!- and my feet started to feel it. I honestly think from April of last year until maybe a month ago, I maybe wore “real shoes”- like boots, heels, wedges, sandals, etc- maybe… three times? My feet are used to being bare or in my walking shoes! Crazy, for a girl who has lived in heels her entire life.
So, to solve all my problems at once, I settled into bed with my Yoga Toes and, once situated, did this wonderful “wind down” meditation. I love when you get to mentally relax your body bit by bit- big fan of those body scans!
If you haven’t used Yoga Toes (or honestly a lot of the cheaper knock offs are just as good these days), you must try them. I discovered these in my eight-shows-a-week dancing days, and, later, they completely saved my feet (and legs and back) during the three years I was working auto show and trade shows constantly. Those gigs are great money (well, they used to be), but damn do your feet go through it! Usually on your feet in 3-4 inch heels 6-12 hours a day for most of the year.
Try that and still be friendly to people all day. It’s a challenge.
Yoga Toes are like little… I actually don’t know… rubber material things? I think it’s rubber. Like a set gel like rubber. They are a lot like the spacers that go between your toes during a pedicure, but much thicker, so your toes fan out in a big arc. Here is what they look like:
Using these regularly prevents (and helps treat) bunions; keeps your foot muscles stretched to prevent injury, headache, and tight muscles all the way up your body; helps to keep your feet aligned (especially while wearing shoes designs to misalign them); gives instant pain relief; treats hammer toes and overlapping toes, and more. They sometimes can feel a little painful the first few times you use them, especially if you aren’t barefoot a lot, have a lot of foot pain, or never intentionally separate your toes, as you might do in a yoga class or massage.
Still, they are soooo worth it! I’ve carried these buggers around with me for years. They are on my permanent master packing list. Once you get used to them, it’s hard to live without them. I have also pinched my toes into pointy shoes so often, I’m terrified of bunions. So gross and painful!
I’m not an affiliate or anything, but I thought I would share one of my favorite little beauty/health tips. They can totally help guys, too, or smart people who don’t wear painful, ridiculous, beautiful shoes. We all tend to neglect our foot health a bit. So, try them out! Highly recommend.
Now, the meditation was amazing, most of all because I noticed something cool. I have a racy mind lately, and I noticed that during the session, while the guide was instructing me to relax, body part by part, my mind kept spinning off. At one point, I brought myself back again (the whole point of practicing, right?) and immediately realized my bottom half was totally relaxed, even though I hadn’t been paying attention. What’s more, my hips and torso, the part we were currently focused on, was already beginning to dissolve into a puddle of ahhhh.
I’m assuming this means that my subconscious was still listening and helping me relax, even if the rest of my brain wasn’t really ready for bed yet.
Pretty cool!
You know what’s not pretty cool? LA right now. We have fires going and it was something like 104 degrees today, which is insane. We are supposed to be in June Gloom!
Maybe we should like, idk, take global warming seriously or something? I mean. Maybe.
Just a thought. 🙂
My Year of Meditation 