Barefoot Walking & Family Values – Newsletter 09/2016
Are you also enjoying these wonderful summer days? How beautiful it is to be in nature and recharge your batteries!
Just back from jogging, I was once again amazed at how much more energy and stamina I have when I run without shoes. This has inspired me to once again explore the topic of correct, natural walking in my upcoming monthly workshop:
“When everyone is limping, everyone thinks they’re walking right.”
We often measure ourselves against society. If I do something one way, but everyone around me does it differently, I might assume I’m wrong – or even think, “Maybe I’m not normal.” This starts early: as children, we begin to adjust our natural upright posture to match the slouching posture of adults. And when we take our first steps – if you have children, you might remember – did their heels or their toes touch the ground first?
This video vividly shows how the footwear we give ourselves and our children disrupts and prevents natural walking:
Yes, our children are true masters and teachers. If we would just observe and listen more often, we might save ourselves the cost of a few expensive seminars with some “great master” 😉
Interestingly, foot problems and injuries have skyrocketed since Nike introduced the first “comfortable” jogging shoe in the 1970s. The best sneakers might just be no sneakers at all.
Humans were shaped by evolution as the ultimate “running machine.” No other mammal can cover long distances with such endurance. That’s how people still hunt today: in the midday heat of the Kalahari Desert, the San bushmen (see image below) pursue their prey until it collapses from exhaustion.
In the image above, you can clearly see the natural gait of people who’ve never worn shoes.
On September 24th, I will introduce you to this natural gait – and maybe soon you’ll hang up your gym and even hiking shoes 😉 Of course, this change doesn’t happen overnight, and I still mostly wear shoes too. But I only use barefoot shoes or sandals now, such as those from Unshoes. They served me well on a five-hour hike in the Colorado mountains (and yes, people run 100km ultramarathons in them).
Russel FourEagles
To close, I’d like to share some deep and moving words from Russel FourEagles’ wonderful book The Making of a Healer, in which he writes about the teachings of his grandmother (“Gram”) of the Oneida tribe:
“…It is also sad that – unlike in Gram’s time – the responsibility of raising children today rests entirely on the two parents, increasingly isolated from the extended family. We love our children. Yet society has taught us to pass the buck. We send them to school or babysitters while we earn money. That’s understandable. The problem is, both parents now need to work just to survive.
Unfortunately, we often work more just to fill our garages with more stuff to pull out once a year for vacation. We see our neighbors’ shiny new cars and suddenly feel ours isn’t good enough. “We need to make more money,” we say – so we work even more.
Children hardly get out into parks or forests anymore. Instead, they’re consumed by expensive clothes, computers, and phones. So we work harder again…
Since we no longer care for our elders, we have even more time to chase income. But that ‘gain’ is hollow, given the harm it does to families. And still, we struggle to make enough.
What we must remember is what we’ve forgotten: children are everything. For indigenous tribes, they were the highest good. Now, they are the ones losing. They miss out on time with parents, grandparents, and extended family. I believe most parents and grandparents would never turn away from a child in need – but we’re simply not there. We’re away working – or already in a nursing home. Families have become strangers sharing a roof. Work may be unavoidable, but clarity and balance in our priorities is essential. It’s not easy, but we must try.
Society tells us to buy our kids things – because that’s what they “want.” But what they really need is family.
Meanwhile, the economic machine must keep running – smooth and oiled. Corporations like it that way. So let’s invent a new holiday and keep selling, selling, selling… and buying, buying, buying.
…
And I wonder: If – as Gram taught – we should make decisions based not only on what benefits our grandchildren but the next seven generations… and today’s children are already losing… what does that mean for those seven generations?”
So pay attention to what truly matters in life. On your deathbed, the warm hand of your daughter or son, and the loved ones gathered around you, will offer more comfort than a brand-new iPhone or digital wishes via Facebook or WhatsApp. As a client once said to me: “The shroud has no pockets.”
Namaste
Gerald