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Fishbowl

A Parallel Universe
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This is why I have taken the footbeds out of my boots for skiing though, so that my foot CAN better go through these movements and articulations. I feel that many are far too locked up in the boot, especially under the heel bacuase inversion/eversion of the heel is a HUGE player in all of this, so some small movement there is important imho.

zenny

After a similar discussion on Epic a few seasons ago, I replaced my custom foot beds with the original thin liners and appreciated a discernible improvement in my skiing.
 

Zentune

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That was my experience as well Fish

zenny
 

JESinstr

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Interesting that this seems to be a new idea for many folks. All the coaches I've worked with for the past several years (Jonathan Ballou, Reilly McGlashan, Tom Gelle, Josh Fogg, JF Beaulieu) advocate a dorsiflexed foot at all times during skiing. By spreading and lifting the toes, and trying to feel that pull/lift all the way back to the ball of the foot (i.e., not just in the toes), you create a functional tension that plants you in the strongest part of the foot (back of the arch, front of the heel) and activates the ligaments of the front of the shin to automatically pull you ahead. Try it.

An exercise we do with students to demonstrate this is to have the student stand on flat ground in his/her normal stance on skis. If we kneel down in front of the skier and push/pull the tips about 8 inches back and forth, the skier will invariably be very unbalanced. Ask them to dorsiflex their feet in the manner described above, and they are much more planted on the skis and their center of mass moves with the skis in a secure and balanced manner. Fun exercise to try!

Obviously there are several schools of thought about dorsiflexing, plantarflexing, and the most functional place for the weight to be on the bottoms of your feet. Try them all all and see what works for you!

Best!
Mike

Mike, Welcome back! What is even more interesting is that this concept is only talked about at the higher levels of skiing IMO.

One of my goals this coming season is to implement a "Dynamic Balance" progression for beginner classes to be added to, or replace (because of time constraints) current preliminaries. Your suggested exercise is excellent! You can even experience the "more planted" feeling just standing in your boots prior to getting on the boards. I can see the class making a "wagon wheel" circle around the instructor and all the instructor has to do is "spin" from student to student to execute this activity.

@Steve et al ,this is great thread!
 
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Steve

Steve

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Very interesting indeed @JESinstr . @mike_m standing barefooted just now and looking down at my feet as I spread my toes and the soles of my feet I see something else that happens. The feet invert a little making my feet more parallel. Perhaps my feet splay out a bit naturally, I know I've been told that at times I have diverging tips. I don't necessarily see dorsiflexion happening, although the movement supports it.

@Skisailor you are not convinced of constant dorsiflexion, nor am I. Opening the ankles a bit at times seems fine to me.

But this simple movement does a lot. It promotes a stable, balanced position; it inverts the feet; it activates the ligaments in the shins; it activates the calf muscles and it supports dorsiflexion.

When I do the one footed Tree Pose and I feel like I'm losing my balance I do this and I am immediately more stable. When I stand in simple Mountain Pose and do this it makes for a stronger feeling in my legs.
tree-pose-vrksasana-yoga_1.jpg

Mountain-Pose.jpg
 

JESinstr

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Very interesting indeed @JESinstr . @mike_m standing barefooted just now and looking down at my feet as I spread my toes and the soles of my feet I see something else that happens. The feet invert a little making my feet more parallel. Perhaps my feet splay out a bit naturally, I know I've been told that at times I have diverging tips. I don't necessarily see dorsiflexion happening, although the movement supports it.

@Skisailor you are not convinced of constant dorsiflexion, nor am I. Opening the ankles a bit at times seems fine to me.

But this simple movement does a lot. It promotes a stable, balanced position; it inverts the feet; it activates the ligaments in the shins; it activates the calf muscles and it supports dorsiflexion.

When I do the one footed Tree Pose and I feel like I'm losing my balance I do this and I am immediately more stable. When I stand in simple Mountain Pose and do this it makes for a stronger feeling in my legs.

Yeah, I don't want to point to any one thing. What you stated in bold above says it all. And I will use all the terms necessary to make the beginner feel the difference that this brings to the party.
 

Skisailor

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Very interesting Steve. I'll fool around with more than I have once back on snow.

And yes. I am most definitely an advocate of flexing and extending out of 3 joints without hanging on the equipment in order to produce a variety of turns types on command (or to change mid-steam). I use the full range of motion for ankle, knee and hip. I can be in a powerful stacked position to manage forces from the ski's sweet spot with my ankle open or closed.
 
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Steve

Steve

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Chi Running is also very good. Not barefoot running, but really good stuff about body position, foot strikes, etc.
 

Zentune

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Yup, and slowly transitioning to ‘barefoot’ zero-drop minimalist shoes for everyday wear is also an excellent off-season way to improve your skiing as it will begin to strengthen your feet, realign your body, and give you more of a “grounded” and foot-strong feeling.

I did this a couple of years ago now...

zenny
 

JESinstr

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In Various threads this summer, there was a lot of stuff advocating "skiing from the foot up" Nice to have this thread put some "meat on the bones" to give that saying some reality.
 

martyg

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I tell my students to lift their toes. It brings them more centered on their feet. If you spread your toes, and if you grip with your toes, it move your COM back.
 
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Steve

Steve

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Yup, and slowly transitioning to ‘barefoot’ zero-drop minimalist shoes for everyday wear is also an excellent off-season way to improve your skiing as it will begin to strengthen your feet, realign your body, and give you more of a “grounded” and foot-strong feeling.

I did this a couple of years ago now...

zenny

Never heard of these before and based on my respect for you I just ordered a pair for $95. Xero Shoes Prio.
 

Zentune

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Never heard of these before and based on my respect for you I just ordered a pair for $95. Xero Shoes Prio.

Xero is my favorite, good prices and great shoes. I have the prio and the terraflex :)

zenny
 
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Steve

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I got lucky with my quick Amazon search! Cool.
 

Scruffy

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Terry
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Hmmmm, I’ve been reading this with a bit of interest. However, I’m one of those people that cannot voluntarily spread my toes. I can curl them, lift them, I can even cross my big toe over the second toe, but spread them voluntarily, nope, nothing. I have some other recessive traits too. Now, how does this affect us?
 
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Steve

Steve

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It's more of a general feeling movement. Rodney Yee says "spread your toes, spread the soles of your feet" during different poses. For me my toes do spread a bit, but even if they didn't it's basically that feeling of broadening and centering foot.
 

Doby Man

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@Steve, you sound like someone who may be familiar with the sport of skoga which is, technically, yoga on skis. I can’t believe this thread has of yet to bring it up. There are a number of yoga poses that are held while standing on the ski as a moving platform. It incorporates many standard yoga skills with a controlled measure of forward momentum. There are actually a lot of posers in the sport of skiing. Here are some of the more popular poses:

Downward Facing Dog:
cQGuUW0LpFQ2gkK1l4IH7nWJNs8KNO0qESv0WdlUOyGqP7k5TI-DBUkPw95vOCc-z4QFC5wAgpGIof3NrNcaOdr27jDX-0WEk_v_RHCPiRqPPJZc_ga3fqHdKLx976xOc8MjKGZh



Half Moon:
CqA0oQJJlcRe_tB1um8Rq-bmAlKPEc66suy7oERQacjBgOARQJbIQqLuKqLvDBoFvnyEoPgN2dC-_8wFakMyIKQ_3cb5WKs7e3I-hEiuyhnpPrFA8lbDM3aENXbgap3KriSz22QS



Bridge:
IzSVtlalthPNVNk5kQx8-HjEqiiRCFs_uvmCzW-gOtinds3iyVeTUGktxDj-CPC8WAMR7iCzSHe8BTDIKX-jEdWFT_NqrdqScNWTM42TXwcHT3_w1dmO3tm8ZG_U56HF8z5rKQBw



Plank:
S-Rqmu9DoqKz6gWAwmkLNNHfxBwaTNuPCVRdOddDANxoFk3xr7h7tny5pKkeUHrgu0ozAr9TT2BEWosItNVx32gBGCH2EjVCViFfMmAtiHsWf3pR9cMOdwNbXUXqlucllBkRuSK2



Dolphin:
UXNj8YOG8KJpqMi-dV6Vec6pcyp51qAVZ2pW-dP3JGhDD5V0C5rmHysUdLRzUoEQ-f2igMnjYEdzPm4sxsdL-BNdLYTuKMn-_d9S3hgvnbMzO-Bp7VXGmF9u1NHoBJXm8zfHNG-5



Corpse:
dlIiVdl_y3IQyJeKkFuummuO8OGNFQvzPPhOX5UPrD5-LhKLz2VSbQcBfyceXn9akY83QKS1Ba-pqKoXsgO1NNeGST3y5JAa1S1HvY-1bpCkZAKQcUTYdo_FsK01av-6cZjBKYTJ



... and there are some newer skoga moves as well:


Twisted Corpse:
IcEYlK1yZKxpWbGdVVD0a5MLL6NVx70RNgkicInUQlOJ05uTWdGbCz__rPUSPQ70sS6rgfPSYRoewfgNOy6EDBRO5B93j3P2GIer96hdb1wruRTdCftwovLXUtkDoMlmUrFBd5WZ



Praying for Mercy:
Koq7HybKmh1RfJO_Dbwym2optMFCQLiUBiOB-MbI9tbxmuEqfakFPqksCsar8ay_ziYPHG2nDs88HArQltMy1P2A7DJwdyO1RZ_H4si-zX80zOJjDAmooAxZDgCljcpB7D2dsQ2J




Listening for Indians:
Fk2qThqUyQ8ofbPv4Gjc0PJYB0wg_2X03PwfSJKTJCY0NNBcp90EpSnZJoNKVmBpj0QtqKHJ9vBnsFowLeIj4kSh58IzGIaubws9YBRmjRp9W1bXYEJDPRZbqIrDOZ2FOrXoT2h_



Superman:
zARpIRTRmjewVCHKV0zL64zHJukg774UipxaB0evS-7Jrb9g5GsnWzb0vzmNH2-BYl7teb0uvnIcGfaCT2mvAHPKLnde6YKOv8IikfQvcjV9ej_tX6xHzQMFZCCAailzNbFpFgmY



Gate Sweeper:
bH8rs_tC9MeSBHNmEuVeDIC6ZC8ceSaTdNP7swvtgy_Yz8xXo0HOCVrz8gP3ZlLViS-YOqIerh2fVOgYEdY-6-MaKQ7ll0ywxJe4nksYykZ40jNv3TLdeaugV4lUzBeZ_OgMCDCP



Fisherman’s Net:
_4tFTTjn99z8tZf9BD25zH0f9eGQlIHdJsa9wp2Q3zaJRgPR48_W8p8k_Q0bHHE66Rm1yHZq-CUZY_gEANmJowB-orv9kW8QzlBEL3wioF2gfIy2aIvehLryzzVy-CK6iieun3uL



Hilarious Whimsy:
ZECj_hiXDkaRDlE06W8En2FjVATmENBQxiTdx5BGsUKgE_4GKwq35idPSBjNgvuAMc93LXlsybs8Kaw4jTODiCsIyyJUqT39lknxp7Egtwx0fK0jKhYoY9jW3U6wO9CGnEJ2hdAW



Jackie Chan:
sH_0alxl26Ggt_xN5WbqpOudhtGeMycpA2SfO82dqn3gXyQLRV0di-iSG19qcf0nXQIa87cfBdujwBiIXKAz7cJVf0O7pi7w4mNepwlv0SfWuQY8VF7m3DzUNCAjgOwIPWpjGyuv



Duck Duck Goose:
Ixs_cniqYEJJjFkWA1p0DKu9EYMNpl8DxhD8x2j-r9KhJa06i3qOMTIYgQ1XBiNpCycz18lWJMmFgKUdumT1ieTqT0SpTvWwlVCWWiO9gAOIGMC2ZCE82V1lPjeZo-3gBey3bt-x



Fred Astaire:
HyA9NC1KY3AnRe48u8landJBZR8alRAbXbG6BES9qwB4jiQbXBNF0razyk6H9w0IpIvtbde7jNPCoF-VntVnl2719s7dTT31ef0kYSLd_9tYIt9hYlK9LOZxiPEk1CrI3NTFBvYU



Cross Eyed Conundrum:
Ho1teA7UxbKyzEbI00z6m7bN0Ie8bkF5sN0nFC6dkoggwjj3fQ2JDLPVWPUCYtGRB4ltOSGlIfL3-X_xvBy52JstzOOmIs3l2WJ57y382Q0ryl7QaP_25m5tC8sMC_kWKvVQx6qw
 
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Steve

Steve

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I've been doing yoga in front of a mirror recently. I turn my legs to one side and watch my chest and belly button to keep them from turning too. Great way to develop proprioception of my legs turning independently.
 

Wendy

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I got some “yoga toes” to help spread my toes and to relieve some mild bunion discomfort. It is amazing how much better my balance is with my toes spread! My new boots this season will have more toe room and a slightly wider last. Last year, I was really “crunched”into my boots, and it not only created some arch pain and overall discomfort, but I think it affected my movements, too.
 

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