Meet Your Body by Noah Karrasch

After getting some Rolfing done two weeks ago, I noticed some improvements in my posture. The most important thing I wanted from the session was to loosen up my left hip (post surgery) and to work my foot to get my big toe on the ground. Most of the work was on my right side (which was tight and I just didn't know it). The good news was my toe joint and toe were now touching the ground the way they were supposed to or is it my second  toe joint that is no longer pushed down. Anyhow, my foot is in much better alignment and so far is staying that way. After the Rolfing session, I checked online to see if there are any new books written in the past few years related to Rolfing. I discovered a book titled Meet Your Body: CORE Bodywork and Rolfing Tools to Release Bodymindcore by Noah Karrasch. I read some reviews on the book and two things struck me. One the book looks at the body as a set of 21 important hinges and he starts out exercises for the big toe hinge and those were the exercises that got a lot of positive reviews. I thought the book sounded interesting and I wanted to see just what he had for the big toe.

The book is an easy read and it is easy to find what you want if you just want to skim through, which I have done. It is very interesting in how he sees the engineering of the body and how to improve the movement of these hinges. I have only concentrated on the big toe so far and I have done the exercises and together with the Rolfing I feel more powerful and aware of what my big toe is doing. The first MTP joint used to just collapse on me and now I am pushing off it. I am very convinced that the big toe joint plays an important part in the health of your body and running stride and that it is directly related to imbalances in the hip. I find these exercises to be helpful and look forward to moving up the chain. One caveat, the author does tie in emotional experiences into the ill health of bodies. This could be interesting or off-putting to some.

This is the first of three posts of new things I am trying. The next two posts deal with first a convict and then a strap! The good news is I am getting somewhere. Despite 90 degree heat, my last three runs have been for 38, 45, and 42 minutes. It is not much, but it is the longest I have run since February.

Noah Karrasch on the importance of good foot awareness