For almost 5 years I had heel pain in one foot and occasional pain in the heel of the other foot, which started with gardening a new and very large garden that I wasn't accustomed to. Every step for the first few that I took when first getting up in the morning felt like I was walking on glass. If I sat for any period of time during the day and then got up, those first few steps were also painful. No amount of stretching, yoga, walking, or soaking helped relieve the pain, though it dissipated a bit during the winter, and so much the second winter with daily Epsom salts foot baths that I thought I was recovering. But it came right back as soon as I started bending over so much in the garden again in the warm season. I wore arch supports inside shoes at all times, even in the house, when a doctor told me I should to counteract falling arches related to my age. That didn't help. I attended Patti's foot workshop at Abel Fitness hoping to learn something that could help me with the foot pain. She taught me how to work from my toes to the top of my hamstrings to release tension using heat, a filled cloth bag, and various sized and textured balls. She also encouraged me to go barefoot as much as I could. I quit using arch support insoles and started going without shoes in the house. I worked on my feet the way she taught me and started Pilates and release work with Patti. My foot pain, which I always attributed to heel spurs or plantar fasciitis, improved within a few weeks and completely went away within 2 months of using my favorite spiky ball to work my feet and another to release tension in my legs. I continued with Pilates and walked one to two miles every day during the time I continued working on my feet, which took me back into the cold season when I wasn't working outside as much. Now, well into the new growing season and daily garden and yard work, my foot pain is still completely gone.