Toe Yoga to Strengthen Your Feet
Overview
Give your feet some love with “toe yoga.” These quick drills strengthen your toes and arches, improve balance, and may reduce the risk of foot pain and plantar fasciitis. Perfect for anyone who stands a lot, runs, or wants more stable, resilient feet.
Level
Beginner to moderate
Targets
Toes, feet
Step by Step Instructions
- Sit or stand barefoot with feet hip-width apart. Keep three points of contact on each foot: heel, inside ball, outside ball.
- Lift only your big toe(s) while keeping the other toes flat and relaxed (no scrunching).
- Lower with control.
- Do 3 sets of 15 reps (one foot at a time if needed).
- Keep the big toe glued to the floor.
- Lift all the other toes together, then lower without scrunching.
- Do 3 sets of 15 reps.
- Raise the big toe up while the other toes stay down, then switch (big toe down, other toes up).
- Keep the foot planted; avoid scrunching.
- Repeat in a smooth rhythm for controlled reps per side.
- With the foot still planted on its three contact points, lift and lower one toe at a time (e.g., pinky → ring → middle → second → big), then reverse.
- Move slowly and deliberately.
- Without curling the toes, draw the arch up (shorten the foot) and then relax it down.
- Keep toes long and contact points grounded; no toe crunching.
- Repeat controlled arch lifts.
[Video Transcript]
Have you ever thought about working out your toes and feet? We tend to forget this area, but just like most parts of the body, it needs training too. Strengthening the feet can help prevent problems like foot pain or plantar fasciitis and can also improve balance. Our feet should be strong, so try these exercises, what I call “toe yoga.” It sounds easy, but wait until you try it.
First, lift only your big toes. You can do one foot at a time if that’s easier, or both together if you can manage it. Try not to lift any of the other toes and avoid scrunching your toes or feet. If lifting both big toes is too hard, lift one at a time. Aim for three sets of fifteen. Next, lift all the other toes while keeping the big toe glued to the ground, again without scrunching. Three sets of fifteen here as well. Then alternate: as the big toe goes up, the other toes stay down, and vice versa. Keep your foot on the ground and avoid scrunching; this one takes real concentration.
The hardest drill is moving each toe up and down individually, like moving your fingers. Keep your foot grounded with three points of contact; the heel, the inside ball, and the outside ball of the foot, while you try to move one toe at a time. Finally, work the arch (especially helpful if you have flat feet) by creating an arch without crunching the toes: lift the arch up and relax it down, repeating smoothly. These foot and toe exercises help strengthen, prevent injury, and improve balance. Keep practicing and you’ll get better over time.
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