Get Some Pep in Your Step | Fitness EP 01

Get ready to revolutionize your day with just 9.5 minutes of functional foot movement with the Carol Beringer Method! 

In this premiere fitness episode, Carol introduces her philosophy of "unremarkable movements with remarkable benefits" by focusing on your feet - the small but mighty foundation that carries you through life. 

Learn simple, effective techniques to activate the 125+ working parts in your feet using everyday tools like a pinky ball or wooden dowel. Carol demonstrates how proper foot engagement can improve circulation, enhance balance, and even activate your core muscles. Perfect for all ages and abilities, this episode sets the foundation for Carol's weekly series designed to build your movement repertoire with exercises you can do anytime, anywhere. 

CHAPTERS: 

00:00 Introduction to Amazing Movement Podcast 

00:50 Why Foot Movement Matters (125+ working parts!) 

02:14 Understanding Natural Foot Mechanics 

03:15 Simple Wooden Dowel Foot Roll Exercise 

04:46 Pinky Ball Series for Complete Foot Activation 

08:31 Core Activation Through Toe Lifts

ABOUT CAROL BERINGER: 

With 25+ years of experience, Carol combines expertise in brain-based functional movement, Pilates, and yoga to help clients achieve improved posture, pain relief, and lifelong wellness. Her compassionate approach has transformed lives of individuals aged 6 to 96. 

TOOLS MENTIONED: 

• Pinky ball ($1.50 on Amazon) 
• Wooden dowel or broom handle 
• Roller ("red piece of licorice") 

SERVICES OFFERED: 

• Private Sessions
• Group Classes
• Workshops & Retreats
• Zoom Sessions

 CONNECT WITH CAROL:

• Website: https://carolberinger.com/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pilatesandmore110/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarolBeringerMethod 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-amazing-movement-podcast/id1801483560 

Subscribe for weekly episodes to continue building your movement repertoire!

 #FunctionalMovement #PilatesInstructor #MovementReeducation #PepInYourStep #AmazingMovement

Transcript

00:05 - Carol Beringer (Host)
Hi, I'm Carol Berenger and welcome to my weekly podcast and it's called Amazing Movement. And why is it called Amazing Movement? Because we are going to use functional movement, which means how do you get through your day? You sit, you stand, you walk and you drive and we're going to learn functional movement. That is, there are unremarkable movements with remarkable benefits. We're going to keep it simple so that this doesn't complicate your life. It's something short, something you can try for a week. Join me next week, learn something else and, as you build your repertoire, you can do these movements in any order, any day of the week, any time of the day and anywhere. It's going to be very simple. 

00:50
Today we are going to start with because this is how we roll with rolling the feet. Because these feet, per size of your body, are very small. They carry you around the rest of the day. We usually get up and put our feet into shoes that basically, you're putting your foot into a coffin and they don't get to move as they're meant to move the rest of the day. So we're if there's over 125 working parts in your feet and they are meant to move, so if you move them in the morning, they remember they're alive, even in your shoe. So I'm going to show you a little bit about that, and these are the only tools we're going to use Something to roll on, and it could be a broom handle. I like a pinky ball, and the reason I like a pinky ball is because it's solid. They're about a dollar fifty on Amazon, they last a long time and they have some give. I know people use golf balls or lacrosse balls. To me, that's punitive. It hurts. We don't like to hurt, and so we're going to use this ball. You can use a tennis ball, but it gets away. It doesn't have the same kind of stickiness, alright. And then I have a roller that I adore, that I use for a bazillion different movements and it looks like a red piece of licorice. And again, all the things that you can get online. You know where, and they're all inexpensive. So they're the only things that we're going to use today. 

02:14
But first I want to show you how your foot moves. So here are these 125 working parts. When we take a stride, you put your heel down, you put your foot down and you might see that it goes out to the edge of my foot and there's a little soft business. Then it moves forward and our knee goes over our second to third toe when we walk. And even to warm up your feet and get this kind of movement and see it for yourself, align yourself with your hips, your knees and your feet and then just take a stride, not a bigger one, just where your pelvis stays, even, just take a heel strike, put your foot down and move on to that front foot and then just step onto the back foot and pick up the front and keep your knees soft. So you're just moving through. And it's really how we ought to walk to push forward and change. You know, distribute the weight equally and blah, blah, blah. 

03:15
But anyway, that's what we're going for here, because these little puppies are going to call take you around the rest of the day and we want to have some pep in our step. It actually the nerves in your low back L4, l5, which is your lumbar spine, and S1 and S2, correlate. The S1, s2, I believe, correlates to little toe and L4 and 5 to the rest. So when you move, your feet warms up your back. So let's just start the way I start my day as I get up in the morning, go to the bathroom on the way back, I grab a bar and I also have a wooden, a short wooden one. You're just going to take it and you're going to put your foot on it and just roll back and forth and just go and you can watch it. You can see the softness that your foot will remember the rest of the day, and then when you look down at your feet, they might even look like they have different circulation already, different color, and then just the other foot Super simple. And if this is all you do, you'll still benefit. With the wooden dowel, the same thing Just roll it back and forth. It's also a good balance exercise and the more we do that, the more balance we have, the more secure we feel. 

04:46
Now we're going to get fancy with the, the pinky ball. This is going to be a series. It takes about three minutes. Once you've learned it, I'm going to go sideways and forward so you see what happens. So the first thing you're going to do is again find your alignment hips, knees and feet, find your balance and take your heel, strike, but with the ball under the ball of your foot, and you're just going to curl the toes over the ball Three to five times and then you're just going to move forward enough that it's the ball of the foot and go side to side. So I'll show you sideways on this foot and then we'll go forward on the other one. Then we come right into the center of the foot and press straight down. You don't want to lean into it Again. We're trying to, you know, center ourselves and just press straight down and you'll feel the work in the standing leg as well. 

05:38
So we're going for five today and then we're going to go to the outside of the foot, from the heel, from the front of the heel, to the ball the foot. Just pull back. It's not rolling back and forth. We're going from the back to the front. We're following the plantar plate and the muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia from their origin to their insertions. So we're moving with it. 

06:04
And then we're going to go to the middle of the foot, right in the middle of your arch, from heel to ball of the foot. And, believe it or not, when you're using the arch of your foot, your low belly gets engaged. You can put your hands there and feel it. And then to the inside arch. Let me turn so you can see that one. Then we're just going to come to the front of the heel in this high heel position and then just press straight down. So again, you don't want to lean into it, you just want to press down. And that engages a lot of intrinsic muscles that you're not even aware of. And that's what functional movement it is. It's bringing everybody to the party. And then just press down and then just roll this all across your foot, and you could even take a walk right now and just see how that one foot feels completely different than the other. Alright, let's go forward so you can see it from this angle. So we're going to put the heel down ball of the foot is on and just curl the toes over and again trying not to shift your weight forward, just pressing down, and then just side to side, to the middle of the foot, and press straight down, and then we're going to roll from the front of the heel to the little toe side of the foot and then to the front of the heel, to the back you will be amazed at how this feels and then just side to side, and then just scribble the whole foot over that and you're set to go. 

08:31
Now one more thing that's pretty interesting If we just do this nice alignment of the hip socket. So this is your pelvis. Your hip sockets are here Hips, knees and feet in alignment and if you were looking in the mirror you wouldn't see your heels. They're behind the second toe. If you put your hands on your low belly and you balance your weight between the ball of the foot and the heel, so you're well balanced, pick up your toes. You'll feel your low belly come in, because a hard place to activate the abs is from the belly button to the pubic bone. Like we are not aware of this low part, but if you pick up your toes, the arch of the foot correlates to that low belly. First, when you do, you'll probably rock back on your heels, so know that happens. But then and then really fun is, just try to pick up the big toe. So that's your work for the week. I hope you'll join me next week when we learn something new and exciting.