When was the last time you gave your feet some love? Perhaps an occasional pedicure? Do you regularly stretch your feet? Your toes? Our feet have a big job to do. They carry us around everyday providing balance and stability as we go about our business. In return, we often squeeze them into ill-fitting shoes in the name of fashion or endure the pain of a sexy pair of stilettos.

At least I am guilty of this. See the picture of my wedding shoes for proof. I legit didn’t regain feeling in my big toe for about a week following my wedding after 12 hours in those bad boys, but I digress. My mom was recently raving about Yoga Toes, so I had to see what all of the fuss was about. Now I don’t regularly promote purchasing items because I firmly believe that you do not need to spend money to practice good self-care. Still, occasionally we need to invest in products that can help us. 

Yoga Toes are essentially a toe stretcher. It is a gel-like structure that you stick your toes in, and it stretches them out and separates them. Yoga Toes claim to fix many common foot ailments naturally, such as Bunions, Hammer Toes, Plantar Fasciitis, and Chronic Foot Pain. By spreading the toes, they also help realign our feet properly. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather cure an ailment naturally as opposed to taking medication to ease any discomfort. 

Also Yoga Toes are made in the USA! I opted for the regular version instead of the Gem style based on the reviews on Amazon. It appears the Gem style is a little more forgiving, but the original style offers more structure. I am size 9-9.5 in shoes, and the small size is fine for me. They are available in different colors and they are even FSA eligible.

I don’t necessarily have any of these issues that Yoga Toes claims to help with, thankfully, but my feet tend to cramp during yoga and other activities, so I figured I would give it a whirl. I should clarify and say that I don’t have any recurring foot ailments thanks to wearing Crocs around the house as slippers. I used to experience intense heel pain, but changing my footwear helped with that. 

I have been wearing Yoga Toes every night for about two weeks, and I can already feel a difference. First of all, the stretch feels good. I have pretty flexible feet as it is due to decades of dance training, so I was able to tolerate them for about 30 minutes right from the start and have worn them for a couple of hours the longest. It is recommended that you start with just 10 minutes and build yourself up to more extended periods. I have read reviews that indicate a high level of discomfort, so plan to start with only a few minutes and build up your tolerance. They are a little tricky to get on, but if you wet them, they are easier to get between your toes. 

You can’t really walk around in them, and they are too bulky for shoes, so it is best to do this as part of your bedtime routine or when you can relax. I feel a little sensation when I remove them, but by the time I wake up, that has subsided. 

I plan to keep wearing them and see how my feet improve. So far, no cramping during yoga!

Don’t forget to tune into Facebook LIVE every Tuesday at 12 PM for Talk-Back Tuesday at the Self-Care Cabaret. If you miss the LIVE video, you can always watch it later when you have time.  

Stay well,

Dr. MC