The Importance of Taking Care of Your Feet

When people say that they hurt themselves while getting up out of a chair, that's because their body did not communicate with their feet. This lack of communication meant that the required muscles were not turned on. The body waited until its first step yet you are already bent over, so it will use whatever it has to move. In this case, it is your lower back. So this is where it's going to get cramped because your quads are going to work and go through. We need to get access to our feet, but we have to wear shoes.

So how do we do that? By being barefoot as much as possible to use what's going on inside each foot. We teach this in the restorative therapy program. One of our first foundations and the first steps that we take, are with bare feet to get them to work.

To get your foot to become more sensitive, you can use a pumice stone. There are different types of pumice stones. The lava rock is a big, hard brick that starts to get the dead skin off. The dead skin is there because your foot is trying to protect itself from the constant impact of the shoes you wear. We have to get you to learn how to scrape that thickness away, so your body can feel. By using a pumice stone, you can actually clean up that dead skin, along with the miscommunication that happens there. This is very important to take off. There are also rounded pumice stones, but either way, they all work. Don't think of this as a beauty technique, but as a way to feel the ground more. They need to learn how to feel again.

Notice I mentioned the word 'again'. Your feet need to learn how to feel again, because they have been asleep for so long. You have to start waking them up by doing muscular exercises and by getting the skin to start talking with the ground. Feel what's going on and then your body is going to start responding better and better. After the pumice, you're going to feel so much more of the ground. Your body will be able to detect that the feet are moving so it can stretch the required muscles. By making you aware of how thick your shoes are, your feet can approach that minimalist state. This is your first attempt at gaining access to the world through your feet. You need to keep it somewhat active all the time, even though you are using different types of footwear.

I saw a commercial for memory foam in your shoes but all it does is take the pressure away. Your body actually needs that pressure. It needs that feedback from your feet or your ankles will start to roll. So remember, try to get your feet to communicate with your body so your body can feel more and your muscles will stay awake.