Barefoot running & Alexander Technique

[panacea]

I'm very interested in this. I think most of the problem is the flat-bed disease in the modern world, it's like starting off on the wrong railroad track travelling in the wrong direction to get to a destination by going all the way around the world to get somewhere in the most optimal fashion - just not going to work very good no matter how much faster you make the train go, you need the right direction railroadtrack. So whatever that is, I'll be glad to find out. Some say hammocks, some say inclines with dehumidifiers if you have high humidity room, which is a very logically interesting idea (using the gravity-water shed vapour principle to get better quality health/sleep, and elongate the spine/muscles to relieve tension from improper posture), etc, but who knows if this is just a sales gimmick for inclined beds? Hard to tell...

[Mr. PC]

Oh and Mellis, do you think you could upload more angles of your sandal? It looks ideal to me but it's hard to tell exactly how you've constructed it.

[Oscar]

Mellis hasn't been online for over a month, so you might have to wait a bit for an answer.

[Mr. PC]

Oh, OK.

[Mr. PC]

I can't find this anywhere on the site if it's already been asked; how safe is it to go around barefoot in the city? I've read 'bare-footers' report that it's safer, in fact statistically safer than wearing shoes (I couldn't verify this), but I want to know for sure. I'm afraid I'll start walking around the city and get a disease.

[abicahsoul]

I wouldn't do it.. Dog shit, puke, glass, and pollution.. why would that be good for the feet?
Besides, I like to scrub the hard edges off ma feet.. It feels better.. The sole of my heel gets more rounded, and feels better... as does my big toes..

[Oscar]

Just use barefoot shoes, like Vivobarefoot or Vibram Five Fingers.

[Mr. PC]

Just bought the vibram, they're great, but a little hard to put on. My right foot fits better than my left. But really is more similar to barefoot than I expected.

[Mr. PC]

Update on the shoes. Now that I've had them a while the main things I notice are
-Walking quickly is awkward, I either like to walk slowly, as I always have in my own home when I was barefoot, or jog. The non-heel-toe method of walking doesn't feel natural at an outdoor walking speed.
-When going on long walks, my feet and legs get tired and sore. After a while I become tempted to revert to heel-toe walking patterns, I think because my walking muscles are worn out. I'm hoping these problems go away simply by walking more in the shoes. I've decided never to wear anything else on my feet if I can help it, although washing may be a problem there.
-I sometimes get cuts in the back of the heel from wearing the shoes. Simple solution is to put a bandage on them.
-Everyone thinks they're awesome.

[Oscar]

The more you walk vs. running, the more there is a kind of heel-toe pattern. To facilitate it, taking small steps and relaxing the ankles should help.

[Mr. PC]

What actually feels best to me is to kindof land on the outside edge of my foot, and than roll inwards as well as let my heel fall. By "more of a heel toe pattern" do you mean, more of a flatter foot? Or actually landing first on the heel.

[Oscar]

I meant landing on the heel. The more you land in front of your center of gravity, the more you heels will have to bear the force, so try taking smaller steps and relaxing your ankles.

[Mr. PC]

I thought we were never suppose to land on our heels. I must be confused about that. I wish there were a video giving a closeup of the barefoot walking techniques. I thought I had it down but now I'm questioning myself.

[Oscar]

With running never, but with walking it's nearly impossible not to do that, but 'landing' is not the same as 'crashing down', if you know what I mean.

[colorles]

naturally prefer to be barefoot as much as i can, although within a 'society' i also wear shoes, also should be noted that theres alot of unnatural objects on the ground and unnatural surfaces in societies, so to counter somthing unnatural, somtimes you 'need' so to speed somthing unnatural, hence whereing shoes in the unnatural setting of society

however in sitiuations where i need to be stealthy, i always remove my shoes regardless and either discard them or preferably put them in a bag/small 'backpack', as you move alot more naturally and alot more agile and quiet when barefoot (or in socks, which protect the skin of the foot from minor abrasions, but then again your feet will never get 'tough' without said 'minor abrasions', and its not like socks will protect your feet from anything really sharp, as shoes sometimes will; also with socks on you wont really have as much 'grip' on the ground, you might slide a bit, shoes have more grip but are louder, and still not as much grip as bare feet actually). shoes are perhaps 'benificial' in society or perhaps in certain elemental extremes, but you should still by all means move around barefoot alot