I am a wee bit excited to sit down with my PVR tonight and watch The Nature of Things. While it’s not a show that I normally watch (for mere sake of not paying attention to when it’s on, and mainly being distracted by fluff like The Vampire Diaries…), this week’s episode  caught my attention:

The Perfect Runner.

A documentary-turned-episode about barefoot running. And I LOVE BAREFOOT RUNNING! I will re-post any article I can find to support barefoot/minimalist running so that I can put positive heeled everyday shoes into trash cans around the globe.

Disclosure: I haven’t watched the episode yet. Obviously ^^ … but I’m excited to, as a staunch supporter of barefootedness! I just want to get this post in before I shut down the internet for the day

So what is barefoot running? Well, there’s a spectrum: anything from actually running/walking/existing barefoot to simply wearing a pair of minimalist running shoes instead of the traditional chunky runners we are familiar with. The concept is relatively simple. You are allowing your feet to act in their natural, god-given biomechanical state. We are the only animal on the planet who has created external protection for our feet. It makes sense; after all, we evolved as a nomadic group who traversed a variety of terrains and temperatures. Calluses only go so far in the winter!!

Thus, early wraps and shoes. Somewhere along the line, however, footwear evolved into function AND fashion. Hard wooden or leather soles replaced flexible moccasins. Thick uppers lasted longer, but sacrificed foot movement. And don’t get me started on the regality of adding heels. Over time, our footwear grew to encase our foot, rather than encourage it.

As with most problems, science stepped in. It looked at the symptoms, not the cause. It made our shoes cushiony, supported, springy, complex. Orthopaedics exploded in response to low back pain, sciatica, and sore knees. We kept adding to our shoes to solve the problems that wearing shoes created in the first place.

Enter barefoot living. The reaches and origins of this movement are too big for one post, so I encourage you to take a trip down Google lane. But essentially, barefoot living takes as much of the shoe away as possible, while still honouring the fact that we do need some protection from the modern environment. I have 3 rules for barefoot living in my own life:

1. No shoes at home.
2. No heels. Ever.
3. Vibrams or Minimus runners.

So what does that mean? First of all, it means that when I am home, I don’t wear shoes. Not in the house, and in the summer, not in the yard. Yes, I’ll put on shoes if I’m out in the forest, but for the most part, the steadfast rule is no shoes. This is a rule both for me and my kids. My girls have a myriad of dress-up princess shoes that I am constantly down-playing and hiding. A barefoot Rapunzel in Tangled was a huge coup for me in this battle, as well as the gypsy in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Ultimately, I want them to have the greatest opportunity for natural foot growth (and subsequently, body alignment) while they are young and not stuck in school.

Yes, my kids will be the bane of every teacher’s existence because they’ll kick their shoes off under their desks

But what about heels?? I was a rabid heel-lover for most of my twenties. I waitressed 8-10 hour shifts in 4″ stilettos. I can’t even consider a kitten heel. GIVE ME HEIGHT!!! …And then I learned how a positive heel of any height throws off your skeletal alignment. It also wreaks havoc on your pelvic floor, and as a devout pelvic-floor-health advocate, I had to honour that. Plus, there’s this stunning x-ray:

Look right down at the ball of the foot. That right there should convince you to kiss your Louboutins goodbye.

And finally, Vibrams or Mimimus. Yes, many of you have seen them by now: the creepy, 5-toes foot gloves loved by hippies, nature nuts and bandwagon jumpers. Or, maybe just by us normal people too. The shoe equivalent of toe-socks. The ick-inducing separation of toes into individual pockets of the shoe. Weeeeird:

But let me tell you: as a fervent hater of toe socks, I have MAD love for Vibrams. They allow your foot to spread out naturally, and for you to strike the ground with more mid foot. You see, traditional runners have a very high heel for a flat shoe. They force you overcompensate in your gait, which leads to a host of problems and complaints like, “I hate running.” Such an awful statement for beings who were designed to walk and run!

By negating the over-emphasized heel strike, and fixing other biomechanical impurities, these funky shoes allow your body to regain it’s evolutionary purpose of locomotion without pain. Now, that’s not to say it’s without effort. Barefooting takes some getting used to. It requires the activation of dozens of formerly sleeping muscles in the body. It’s the kind of decision that requires a person to gently introduce barefoot shoes into their lifestyle, working up to full time use.

However, if you can’t stand the concept of toe pockets, the next best thing is a minimalist shoe. Same idea, less separation. My favourite are the New Balance Minimus. Lightweight, flexible, breathable, and in this frigid province – SOCK FRIENDLY! Your toes can be married together in harmony. These are my every-day shoes – a little more socially acceptable, I suppose:

So there you have it.

I’ll be sitting with my popcorn and wine tonight, embracing barefootedness in The Perfect Runner. In the meantime, you can check out these links to barefoot living:

Aligned and Well – Katy Bowman

Barefoot Runner

Barefoot in the snow

The Nature of Things barefoot episode

The Perfect Runner official site

…and let me know what you think! Do you barefoot? Or are you madly in love with your heels?