10 Foot Exercises for Balance and Stability

Step 1:  Stand near a wall for support.

Step 2: Lift your heels off the ground and stand on your toes to engage your calf muscles. Start with both feet on the ground. As you get stronger, try keeping only one foot on the ground at a time.

Step 3: Return to starting position.

Step 4: Aim for 10 repetitions on each leg.

Erin Patrice-O’Brien

4. Straight leg calf stretch

This stretch works your gastrocnemius – the large muscle in your calf.

Step 1:  Stand facing a wall with your hands against the wall for support.

Step 2: Keeping a bend in your left knee, step back approximately 12-24 inches with your right leg.

Step 3: Straighten your left knee to feel a stretch in your large calf muscle.

Step 4: Hold for 30 seconds and switch sides.

Erin Patrice-O’Brien

5. Bent leg calf stretch

This stretch affects your soleus muscle – located at the back of your lower leg. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1:  Stand facing a wall with your hands against the wall for support.

Step 2: Keeping a bend in your left knee, step back approximately 12-24 inches with your right leg.

Step 3: Bend your knee to feel a stretch in your lower calf muscle.

Step 4: Hold for 30 seconds and switch sides.

Erin Patrice-O’Brien

6. Single leg balance

This exercise aids in proprioception – a sense that lets you keep track of the movements happening in your body parts. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1:  Lift your left leg off the ground to hip height so you are balancing on your right leg.

Step 2: Hold for 30 seconds and switch sides.

Erin Patrice-O’Brien

7. Towel curl

Towel curls mobilize and strengthen the plantar fascia muscles located in the soles of your feet. Here’s how to do them:

Step 1:  Sitting in a chair, place a long towel under your right foot.

Step 2: Using your toes and keeping your heel on the ground, curl the towel toward you until it is bunched up.

Step 3: Perform five repetitions for each foot.

Erin Patrice-O’Brien

8. Ball roll

Ball rolls help to loosen up the muscles in the arch — or the curved part — of your feet. This helps to increase your range of motion and reduce tension in these muscles. Here’s how to do them:

Step 1:  Standing or sitting, take a golf or lacrosse ball and roll it under your foot, massaging the plantar fascia on the bottom of your foot.

Step 2: Roll up to one minute and switch feet.

Erin Patrice-O’Brien

9. Down dog walk

The down dog walk is an excellent way of stretching and activating your entire body, from your feet to your calves, thighs, hips, abs, shoulders, arms and neck. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1:  From the tabletop position (facing downward by resting on your knees and palms) press yourself back into a downward-facing dog with a generous bend in the knee.

Step 2: Now begin to “walk out your dog”, reaching one heel back to the mat and then the other, alternating between left and right. Don’t forget to breathe.

Step 3: If the floor version doesn't work for you, try the wall variation: hands flat on the wall, walk your legs back until your heel can’t reach the floor. This is easier on your upper back but can be more intense on the ankles.

Step 4: Aim to perform three sets with 10 repetitions each.

Erin Patrice-O’Brien

10. Happy baby

Happy baby is a great way to improve your foot and hip flexibility. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1:  Lay flat on your back on an exercise mat or carpet. If you have trouble getting up from a floor, you can do this exercise in your bed.

Step 2: Bend your knees and clasp the outside edges of the feet with your hands.

Step 3: Bring your knees down beside your ribs and begin to stack the ankles over the knees.

Step 4: If you have trouble holding onto your feet, simply hold onto the backs of the thighs and work toward bringing the ankles over the knees. If your head lifts off the mat in order to hold onto your feet, simply hold onto the backs of the thighs so that you can rest your head on the mat and relax your neck and shoulders.  Find a way to practice this pose with as little strain as possible.

Step 5: Now begin to curl and extend your toes, feeling the activation in the feet and maybe even in the legs.

Step 6: If you are not that flexible, you can do a half baby pose, keeping one leg straight or knee bent, with your foot flat on the mat.

Step 7: Aim for at least 10 deep breaths while holding this form.