Walking through life with bare feet…

Well almost bare… Ok so I cheat a little, 2mm of rubber/kevlar sole separates my feet from the earth. Why? Well it’s a lifestyle choice and a good one. If nature had intended us to walk around with a high heel and pointy feet, surely we’d have been born with them!

It is a recent choice & one that I’m kicking myself I didn’t consider sooner… probably would have if I’d given it any thought. I, like most people bought shoes depending on what outfit or activity I needed them for. Perhaps style and comfort came into the equation as did price and that was it. End of thought.

Thankfully though, someone thought. Very few of us in the developed world have ever seen what a naturally developed foot looks like. The difference is startling. The shape is broad, toes are spread out from one another, creating stability and balance. But the main thing that walking barefoot achieves is the correct position of the spine. If we walk with the correct alignment then our bodies work as they were designed to.

Think about it. If you put an inch or two under something it will tip forward. Our bodies counterbalance by leaning backwards to compensate for the elevation of the heel. But at what cost? The spine is forced to bend back putting pressure on the vertebrae, which over time results in a weak or bad back.

When one finally does get around to thinking about it, walking through life with bare feet isn’t quite so crazy, cramming our naturally broad feet into something pointy with heels (no matter how beautiful) really is! Tim Ferris, author of the 4 hour work week first enlightened me to the benefits of bare feet in his blog. http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/05/07/vibram-five-fingers-shoes/ The blog shows pictures of a ‘natural’ foot as well as further info.

His blog got me thinking. If we can all miss something so basic as the intrinsic design and function of our own body, what else are we missing? Like Tim, I’m fascinated in lifestyle experiments and life enhancing ideas. I’m game to try almost anything that I think will be interesting. So yes, I am now wondering around in Vibram Fivefinger shoes. Yes I do look a muppet but my arches and legs are strengthening, I’m walking differently and my posture and back are improving with every ‘barefoot’ step.

The barefeet blogs will be cataloging these lifestyle experiments as well as a new found love of growing veggies and all the things I’m learning in the process. I’m also discovering the nearly lost art of the herbalist – would you know which plants to use if you got sick and were stranded somewhere without a pharmacy? I certainly wouldn’t but intend to find out. There are amazing plant remedies growing all around us, it’s a subject that I will go into in future blogs… 

Barefeet

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