Heels. Horrible invention. They make your legs look pretty, but they wreak havoc on your body. Here is a list of things I do to try to keep my feet happy as I torture them.
Stretch them out!
The first thing I do after coming off of my heels besides breathe a big sigh of relief is stretch out my feet and legs. The tendons and ligaments have just been held in a contracted position for hours. Stretching them in the opposite directions helps relieve the tension.
Roll out my feet
I have several devices I use to help roll out my feet. One is a flat cylinder, the other is a spiky ball. I step on them and roll them over the bottom of my feet. They help get into all the tiny muscles in my feet.
Wear sneakers or flat shoes all of the time except dance
I live in sneakers 95% of the time unless I am in flat boots or flat sandals. It is so so so rare for me to be in heels when I am not dancing (like 1-2x a year rare). I don’t have many pairs of shoes, but the few that I do have are expensive but fit perfectly. Except for my sneakers that I cycle through pretty quickly and buy at an outlet. No need to break the bank on those.
Ice bath
I don’t do this often enough, but ice helps combat inflammation. Back in the ballet days when I was on pointe and my feet were constantly bleeding from the shoes I iced my feet more.
Heating pad
I keep a mini heating pad near my bed. Beyond immediate inflammation from the activity, ice won’t help. On days that I dance a lot, I heat the stressed areas like my feet, ankles, and back.
Slippers while I’m home
I am a little princess that needs her feet cushioned at all times. I have fantastic fluffy slippers that keep my feet warm on top of wood/ stone floors. Also they help the general cushioning of my joints. I bring them with me when I travel. I hate having cold feet.
Pedicures please
My feet are on display so I try to maintain neat feet at all times. However, pedicures are expensive and so I bought my usual red nail polish so I can fix chips (which happen very very quickly).
Be careful about calluses
My feet callouses are hard earned. Usually they are protecting me from a particular part of my shoe. I try not to scrub my feet into baby softeness to maintain any protective callousing.
Walking on the earth
I don’t walk barefoot nearly enough. It is so wonderful for your body, and may actually relieve pain. I went vegetable picking with my family and my ankle was in a lot of pain trying to stabilize me over the uneven ground. I simply took off my shoes and instantly the pain was gone. Shoes are a relatively new invention in human history, so do yourself a favor- head to a park and feel the grass. 
In short:
-stretch
-roll out my feet
-wear sneakers or flat shoes all of the time except dance
-ice bath
-heating pad on my bed
-slippers while I’m home
-pedicures please
-be careful about calluses
-walking on the earth
dagny arizona 