BUILDING THE FOUNDATION FROM THE GROUND UP
What is the only part of the body connected to the ground ? Your feet. The big problem with skiing is that your feet are imprisoned in a stiff plastic shell and we tend to forget that we have 26 bones and 33 joints down there inside each ski boot. Two sacks of bones ! Do you know what they are meant for ? How many of them are engaged when you are skiing ?
Step 3 : it’s all about the feet.
Are you aware of the functionality of your feet ? The architecture of the foot ensures its two main functions: support and mobility. In other words, the foot gives you the most stable structure available, a tripod (picture a stool with three legs) and must be able to articulate on that tripod. Articulate meaning mobility, movement. For locomotion like walking, running, or skiing, which is movement in motion (the gravity puts you in motion).
The forefoot is a spread out structure allowing the mobility of the foot for propulsion. It must orient itself in the three planes of space to adapt to the variable terrain of the ground.
The heel provides seating and stability and absorbs the weight of the body in contact with the ground. It’s your anchor, where you balance from. When your head, and your pelvis are stacked solidly on top of feet firmly anchored in the ground, your brain knows it’s a safe place. Don’t forget the brain’s three primary jobs : get input from the body, interpret and decide what to do with that information, and then create an output. Your brain should be able to trust your feet to support you and take you anywhere you wish. It gives you confidence and the power to believe in yourself.
Are your heels properly connected and anchored to the ground when you are skiing ? If not, what happens to the tail of the skis ? Hope you are not on a steep and icy pitch… Pay attention !
Are you over flexing your ankles ? When during the turn do you lose your anchor ? The heels are like the rudders of your skis and they also have to be in contact with the ground to allow the ankles to work (think edge grip!). Skidding skiers are missing rudders.
AN ANCHOR TO HELP YOU BALANCE
Your feet support your entire body and connect you to the earth, to the ground. If they are not connected properly, we have a BIG problem. Balance wise. And confidence wise. They go hand in hand. If not, focus is one of the first things that will get affected when you don’t feel grounded. Focus happens in the present moment, where your feet are, and you can’t do that if your thoughts are dwelling in other places.
Grounding is a term used in conjunction with the energy fields around us. When you are grounded, you are sure of yourself and have confidence in the decisions you make. You have stability (on the ground) and you are not influenced by anything external. It all starts in your feet, by connecting them properly to the ground.
So how do we do this ? The law of the tripod : the foot has three points of contact to stand upon, the heel, the ball of the big toe and the ball of the little toe.
Pay attention to your feet next time you are on the slopes and play around with the following questions : do you connect the 3 dots to the ground when you are skiing ? Where in the turn ? How optimal are your tripods ? Do you connect the widest base of support available to your foot for increased stability or a suboptimal one ? How do you recenter in between the turns ?
photo credit @AIM
The tripod is your base of support. If you don’t go through centre at some stage, it’s going to be difficult to have a solid platform to move from. Centering also refers to our mental and physical state of mind. Being centered means that you have a reference point and a place to come back to when life’s emotions and challenges (like the mogul field in front of you) push you off balance. The center is the place to get back to. And to move from. Think tripods.
To sum up, paying attention to your feet when you ski and how they connect to the world underneath them will make a huge difference in your ability to ski with confidence and flow.
I hope the questions and issues addressed will help you understand what is happening with your skiing. Experiment with all these concepts next time you are on the slopes. Share your findings with us on the private Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/theconfidentskiersclub
Build the foundation of your skiing, start from the ground up !
