The Foundational Exercises emerged from a theory of non-action Amelia first encountered during her time teaching in Japan.

Like the foundation of a house, the feet are the body's foundation. If the feet are rigid, you will find this rigidity all through the body. Time spent softening the feet creates a solid foundation with which to build a strong and stable house.

Ashley Johnson & Kana Nemoto: “Tracing the route along their own body with their hands, participants in Remembering Amelia Gatherings would speak the following familiar words together:

down the face
down the neck
down the chest
down the back
down the thighs
down the calves
through the feet

The foot does not prepare to hit the ground. It simply remains open to the experience of interacting with an uneven surface. This is why wearing shoes is so problematic – the shoe predetermines the foot's shape when it hits the ground. 

But bare feet on sand encounter a surface that requires the entire foot to be in a constant state of rebalance. Amelia was interested in replicating the experience of walking in sand or in earth.

“Force through the floor,” she said. “The upward force comes from the interaction of the foot with the floor, and it travels:

up the shin
back of the leg
triggers the hip
springs the back
lifts the neck
head up and out…
then back down in the opposite direction”

Her students and colleagues can hear her still, saying that over and over again.”