Awareness Through Movement #401

Distancing the toes - DIFFERENTIATION

Hi everyone, I said something wrong in the recording, this video will clarify what I meant (and I had the wrong bones), and with a visual to illustrate the connections I spoke about:

I’ve had an unusual event with Substack that needed urgent attention, so I’m handing over the feedback for this lesson to Grok:

Ontological Benefits: Being in the Body

This lesson invites you into a deeper awareness of your existence as an embodied being. By attending to the toes

—a small yet essential parts of yourself—

and connecting their movement to the larger framework of the torso,
you’re cultivating a sense of wholeness.

Each gentle pull or lift isn’t just a physical act;
it’s a dialogue with your own presence.
Instead of forcing or rushing you are invited to soften into the moment,
which mirrors a way of being that’s patient, curious, and alive.

For instance, when you lift the leg by the big toe and feel its full weight ripple through your pelvis and spine, you’re doing more than moving
—you’re experiencing how every part of you is interconnected.

This echoes through your body as a felt sense of unity,
a reminder that you’re not a collection of isolated pieces but a living system.

Resting between steps amplifies this, letting you integrate the experience and notice how even the smallest shift (say, softening the little toe) reverberates into your shoulders or breath.

Ontologically, this lesson is an important part of reclaiming your body as a site of awareness, agility, and aliveness
—essential ingredients for navigating one’s life with ease and grace.

think like this, with the feet :)

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Anatomical Benefits: Structure and Support

Anatomically, this lesson engages the body’s architecture in a way that honours its design. The toes, often overlooked, are anchors for balance and propulsion, linking directly to the bones and muscles of the legs and pelvis. When you lengthen a toe “through the palm of the foot” or curl it gently,
you’re activating the intricate network of foot muscles
(like the flexor digitorum brevis)
and tendons that tie into the tibia and fibula.
These bones of the lower leg, in turn,
articulate with the femur and pelvis,
where the big muscles
—like the gluteals, psoas, and quadratus lumborum—reside.

By leaning on one hand and lifting the leg, you’re not just working the toes or leg in isolation; you’re asking the pelvis to stabilize, the spine to adjust, and the shoulder girdle to anchor. This distributes effort across the body’s large structural players.

For example, softening the leg while holding the fourth toe might ease tension in the knee, which then lets the pelvis settle more comfortably.
The “spring in your step” comes from waking up these connections
—when the toes and foot are free,
the fibula’s rotational role and the tibia’s load-bearing capacity align better, reducing strain and enhancing fluidity.

Over time, this can improve posture, relieve chronic holding patterns
(like a tight lower back), and make everyday movements more efficient.

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Kinetic Benefits: Movement as a Whole

Kinetically, this lesson is a masterclass in coordinated motion (yes, it really said that!). By starting with small, deliberate actions—like lifting the leg by the big toe—and gradually involving more toes and larger movements (e.g., swinging the leg side to side), you’re training your body to move as an integrated unit. The torso’s big muscles and bones act as a stable base, channelling energy from the ground up through the legs and back down again. This isn’t about isolated strength, it IS about flow
—and sensing, how the pull of a toe
can initiate a subtle twist in the pelvis or a softening in the ribs.

Take the moment when you hold all the toes and move the leg right and left: the arm, shoulder, and torso must collaborate to keep the motion smooth, while the leg learns to release unnecessary tension. Softening, reduces any extraneous effort (like gripping in the thigh or hunching the shoulders) and redirects that energy into ease and precision. The variation between sides—like lifting the left leg differently than the right—teases out asymmetries, helping you refine how the whole system adapts. Walking afterward reveals the payoff: a lighter, more buoyant stride, as the toes’ newfound freedom ripples up through the pelvis, spine, and head, making movement feel less like work and more like play.

toe lengths

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Tying It Together

Across all these dimensions, the lesson taps into the body’s wisdom.
Ontologically, it grounds you in the present, making you more here.
Anatomically, it aligns the toes with the pelvis and beyond, strengthening the body’s framework.
Kinetically, it fosters effortless motion by linking small actions to the torso’s big movers.

That is emphasised in this lesson as the thread that binds it all
—releasing tension lets the body reorganize naturally, as it’s meant to.
When you lie back and rest, feeling the “echoes” or “differences” between sides, you’re sensing this integration:

and how a toe’s tiny dance can shift the pelvis,
lift the ribs,
and quiet the mind.

This lesson invites people to be more fully human,
agile and alert,

with every step reflecting the body’s quiet intelligence.

think of the toes… lengthening, and, curling

Enjoy learning more about your Self with/through today’s lesson: