I bought my first pair of barefoot shoes (Innov8 Bare-XF) by accident. I’d joined the local gym late 2018, mainly for the yoga class, but decided to do the tour of the gym with a friendly PT chap. I asked him about his trainers, which looked a bit different and quite cool. He explained they were zero drop and good for weightlifting and general gym work. Obviously I was keen to use my new gym membership loads so I bought a pair of new ‘gym’ shoes. I think I went twice, mainly frequenting the yoga studio and swimming pool after that. Where you don’t actually wear shoes!!
In 2019 was getting a lot of pain in my hips and lower back. Which gave me trouble sleeping, as well as sitting. But most terrifying of all, I could tell I was getting a bunion!! So, I researched online exercises to help me fix this. I had already been to numerous physios, osteopaths, Alexander technique, chiropractors etc throughout my grown-up life. I’d bought a kneeling chair and various lumbar supports but still had ongoing hip and knee pain. Everyone just recommended surgery for bunions. Luckily Google led me to a group called The Foot Collective. They were pretty zealous about chairs being evil and switching your glutes off. The cause of all back pain. Worshiping foot strength, toe spacing and balance. I embraced it wholeheartedly. Buying the squidgy toe spacers, which the cat loved attacking and balancing on pieces of wood, giving me splinters. It was all pretty painful, but I persevered. Then covid had hit and I had more time on my hands.
The Foot Collective mentioned a book by Katy Bowman called Move Your DNA. I devoured it and did whatever Katy said. I stopped sitting in chairs when possible and sat on the floor or stood at my desk. I walked as much as I could in my barefoot trainers and didn’t wear slippers at home. I got some friends into it and we had a Katy says fan club going. I started hanging in trees – that’s another story and something I want to pursue more! I slept on the floor on a very thin mat, with no pillow, Japanese style. I think this did wonders for my muscular-skeletal system. Finally I could sleep without pain in my hips or neck, it was such a revelation and so far from where I’d been just a year ago.
The time had come to get more barefoot shoes. I’d been walking for up to an hour a day in my Innov8’s and whilst my feet ached afterwards I could feel it was rebuilding strength and changing the shape of my feet. I actually loved walking on stony paths. Feeling the 26 bones, 30 joints and 100’s of muscles moving again. But I couldn’t run in them just yet. Going back to my old shoes was uncomfortable. They crushed my little toe and I could see them deforming the big toe too, and they were so rigid on the sole. The Foot Collective had some suggestions to try. I discovered Anya’s Reviews which is always very helpful, even now. Plus Dr Chatterjee’s podcast had a discount at Vivobarefoot. Unfortunately the Vivobarefoot shoes were too narrow and low volume for me. Don’t forget to measure your feet before buying. So I tried a pair of Wildlings casual shoes. They were really cool, I loved them. But what I needed were some more reasonably priced, waterproof, walking boots to get out on to bigger hills. I was so happy when I discovered Freet. With a head office in Yorkshire no less. The key thing about these hobbit looking shoes is the width and the volume suited me. They felt like slippers, however they were a bit slippery. Not having lugs as they are very thin soled. They have just brought in a new range this season – Autumn 2021 which I can’t wait to try.
I wore these shoes everyday in the summer of 2020. Walking the beautiful paths around the hills of Huddersfield. My feet grew stronger and I was able to walk for longer periods. I decided I wasn’t ready to run barefoot so bought some Altra Zero drop running shoes which have some cushioning but don’t tip you forward with a heel like most trainers do. Something weird was happening though. Some of my toes were going a bit red and blotchy and throbbing. I thought it might be chilblains, but it was summer. Then I was convinced it was gout or fungal infection. I went to the pharmacist to get his opinion on what cream might help me. He told me to ask the GP. I didn’t really want to bother them in the middle of the pandemic. But I sent him some photos and he didn’t know what it was but decided to give me antibiotics in case it was an infection. It wasn’t an infection. I now believe, after hearing other barefoot warrior stories, it is all part of the going barefoot process. It may be to do with capillaries opening up in the toes which haven’t been used for years of wearing restrictive footwear. My feet felt warmer than they ever had.
Getting ready for going back into the office I needed some more regular looking barefoot shoes. For me Groundies fits the bill. Something for everyone and often more stylish than regular footwear, IMHO. I have recently bought some sandals from Shapen for a wedding.
The culmination of all this is being relieved from a many lifelong aches and pains in my hips and back. I have put my bunion into remission. If my back starts aching, I make sure I keep out of chairs and do more standing and walking to keep the right muscles firing. Going barefoot, coupled with posture alignment therapy (for another blog) using the Egoscue method has got me back into the bigger hills which I never thought I’d walk in again. There is hope that you can reclaim all movement. It is not lost to the ravages of ageing. Give your body some mindful focus to find the nourishment it needs. Remind it how it can function and you can live in a more supple and comfortable body.
