…how freeing your feet can stabilize your body and impact your mood
I was trekking in the jungle in Laos to visit a tourism-based conservation program.
The jeep had got me and the other travelers as far as it could and it was now time to walk. We were only 20 minutes in when we found ourselves in front of a river. I’d done my research and had opted for sustainably produced and bright orange footwear described as a “go-everywhere, do-anything “part water-sandal, part hiker” with a “higher-traction rubber outsole”. At this point in our treck while everyone else stopped to take off their shoes and socks I smiled under my breath as I took full advantage of my ‘water-sandal’ and walked straight through the river.
But I would not have the last laugh. The jungle held lots of surprises, living in tree houses, the acquaintance of many weird and wonderful insects and forest ‘fauna” and seeing the illusive Black Crested Gibbon. Despite that first positive experience, I was dumbfounded at just how useless my hybrid high traction soles actually were! Whether I was going up or down the steep banks of the jungle I felt like I was skating on ice, struggling to stay upright as the roots of the most impressive trees interrupted my steps, and then there were the moments where the suction created by the mud made it impossible to lift my foot at all. I couldn’t hold my footing and that made me feel hyper vigilant and constantly on edge.
The guides, who wore mere flip flops, glided across everything effortlessly. They were calm and smiling, maybe entertained by our struggles, but with no high tech gear they seemingly floated on the extraordinary engineering of their (nearly) bare feet.
No matter how impeccably designed, man-made-things are a very poor imitation of nature. Our feet are extraordinary feats (pun intended) of design.
Consider this: our ability to move is depenant on the the movement that happens at our joints, and…
our feet contain a massive 25% of all the joints in our body
One of my teachers would compare our use of conventional shoes to “owning a Ferrari and keeping it locked in a garage.” Imagine having all that power and not using it? The guides in the jungle had a life time of walking on natural surfaces which meant they had full access to all that powerful engineering. They had maintained and developed the natural movement and sense of their feet.
The benefits of strong, flexible and mobile feet go way beyond walking the varied terrain of the jungle. To feel this for yourself I invite you to try the practice which you will find below
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If you want the theory and the science then read The Foot Brain Connection
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The Practice
Foot Massage and Developing Body-Centered Awareness:
Massage is a wonderful way to passively move and open up the foot in ways that we may not otherwise do. The muscles in the foot can also be trained to actively move the feet and toes, but massage is a starting place to notice where they feel stiff and begin to encourage the foot to be more receptive.
I would encourage you to explore and be guided by what feels good to your foot. You have the option of using your fingers, knuckles and/or your thumbs to get to know your feet. If you would like some ideas or suggestions, you can also be guided by the practice video.
and beyond what you can do as a stand alone practice:
Whether you live in the northern hemisphere or live in the southern hemmisphere take advantage of this clement weather to step out of conventional shoes and walk barefoot in the grass, on the sand and so many other weird and wonderful surfaces that will move and massage your foot naturally with each step.
