Learn how to walk

Some advices really impact us although we have no clue about it at that moment. And twenty years later, this advice comes out of nowhere like a boomerang. My mom gave me one of these advices when I was 10. “Don’t wear sneakers daily otherwise your feet will get lazy because of all the cushioning. It is bad for your health.”

Back then, I mostly understood that she won’t buy me the sneakers I wanted so badly. Later I remember when Nike released the Tn models. I was a teenager and the more cushioned a pair of sneakers, the more fashionable. My footwear journey has been long and rewarding. It started when I graduated and joined the military. I switched to army boots and city leather shoes.

Today I only wear barefoot shoes that could be defined as minimalist shoes with no heels nor cushioning. How did I switch from regular to barefoot shoes?

The triggering element was most likely a documentary I watched few years ago. It explained that the reason why Kenyan marathon runners are better than the others is because they have stronger and more flexible feet. They walk and run barefoot even at very competitive level and develop powerful feet.

While we buy high tech shoes, these guys train barefoot to break records. Maybe we should reconsider how running brands link high tech footwear and results to sell us their products.

The foot

Before we tak about shoes, let’s talk about foot. Made of 26 bones, 16 joints, 107 ligaments, 20 muscles and more than 200 000 sensors. It is an amazing piece of machinery that connects our body to the ground. The sensors in the feet send messages to the brain that understands the position of the body in the space (proprioception). Then it activates the relevant muscles to find the right posture and balance.

When we lock up our feet in narrow, stiff or cushioned shoes, we make their muscles and ligaments weak. We also lose our connexion to the ground, floating on air cushions. Is it enough to use barefoot shoes to reset our feet?

Yes. And no. The easiest part is to stop wearing high heel shoes and cushioned sneakers. But it won’t be enough to correct our gait that changed over the years. Now we need to learn how to walk properly.

If it hurts when we hit the ground with our heel, it is because we are not meant to walk like that. It requires humility to walk mindfully and slowly get back to a natural gait, putting the weight on the ball of the feet and grasping the ground with the toes. Imagine that we walk on ice can be helpful.

Start your barefoot journey

The journey toward the natural gait, coming from the first humans and our childhood, will take time, consistency and focus. But all these efforts will seem ridiculously low when we will walk properly, moving our body the right way.

If you are not convinced yet, please note that my mom and 10 000 years of evolution are usually right. So take off your shoes and stand barefoot. Move your feet. Stand on the tiptoe, grasp the ground with your toes. Toes up and down.

Use the time spent at home to walk barefoot, and if you wish to try the barefoot experience, I recommend this excellent brand:

https://www.vivobarefoot.com/

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M..

Martin - Training for Life

Written by

French movement enthusiastic sharing his journey and thoughts.

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