Barefoot shoes, clothes to move in and a nerve stretch to take right now

Some things for you to click on and some movement to do right now

Photo by Ramesh Iyer on Unsplash

Barefoot shoes

An item on my Wishlist at the moment is a pair of barefoot shoes, also known as minimal shoes. Regular shoes squish our feet into a non-feet shaped ‘box’. Overtime our feet can’t move like they are naturally designed to, often resulting in weak, painful feet and very often a cascading effect of other issues further up the body.

The idea of barefoot shoes is that they are wider, more ‘feet’ shaped with softer, more flexible soles so the small muscles in the feet actually get put to work.

I’m the first to admit that I’ve been hesitant to try a pair due to the simple, possibly vain reason that until recently I hadn’t found any that I find particulary attractive! However I absolutely see their purpose and I’m keen to try some, so I will let you know what I think. If you have a pair I’d love to know what you think about them.

I’ve decided I’ll start with a pair of white sneakers from Vivo Barefoot so I will let you know! I’ve found this site called Anya’s reviews if you’re interested. It’s not so relevant for us in Australia but it gives you the idea.

Barefoot shoes are an excellent way to include more natural movement in your day. While moving the whole body from one place to another is one way to move, we also need to think about moving more of the smaller parts of our body. In this case the smaller muscles and joints of the feet.

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Clothes to move in

With barefoot shoes in mind, I also like to think about clothes we can wear to make it easier to move in throughout the day. I’m often on the look out for clothes that allow for movement but don’t necessarily look like you are off to the gym. Here are a couple (click the image for the website). If you have others I’d love to know in the comments.

While these are all shorts or pants to allow for easy leg movement, I find that floaty dresses are easy to move in because they are less restrictive, however there is always the undies flashing issue! But with this in mind, when we think about including more movement more often, it doesn’t necessarily mean we have to be doing downward dog or a wide legged forward bends. Sometimes it might just be some neck and shoulder movement, some seated twists or some breath work at your desk. One thing to keep in mind with dressing for movement is loose around the mid section so we can breathe properly (this is when a dress is ideal). Tight clothing around the belly has resulted in many of us not using the diaphragm to breathe.

Remember this doesn’t have to be all the time, just most of the time to allow the body to move and breathe well.

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Do this quick nerve stretch now to for your chest and shoulders.

Here is a stretch that you can do in just about any type of clothing! This is from Katy Bowman’s book Don’t Just Sit There. This is super simple but you can listen to the audio to be guided if you wish.

After all that clicking and reading and choosing your favourite barefoot shoes your shoulders and chest will thank you for this nerve stretch. Do it with me now.

1. You can be sitting or standing. Lengthen your spine and check that the back of your neck is long. Stretch your arms out to the sides so you are making a T shape. Make a ’stop’ sign with both hands and spread your fingers wide. Gently pull your fingers back towards you. Notice the feeling of the nerve stretch and stay for several breaths, as long as you feel you’d like to.

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Thanks so much for reading. I do love seeing those ‘open email’ stats! If you know of someone who may enjoy this please do forward it on to them. I’d be so grateful.

Here are some upcoming ways we can connect:

• Yamba yoga weekend this spring. September 30th and October 1st.
  A weekend of yoga, nourishing food and good company in one of Australia’s most beautiful seaside towns.
  

• Simple Pranyama. An online, five week course all about breathwork.
  Learn to implement a daily breathwork practice to manage stress, boost digestion and improve sleep.

• Join my membership. Move, Breathe, Rest.
  An online space to practice yoga, breathwork and deep rest. $25 a month. 14 day free trial, cancel at anytime.