Barefoot Shoes

By Chaya Aronson | May 8, 2019

What is the craze about barefoot shoes? Why wear them? What are they?

First off, when many of us hear "barefoot shoes", we think of those separated five toe shoes by Vibram. Those are all well and good, but not very fashionable. Since they first emerged, they have developed more fashionable and diverse styles. Just wanted to start off by saying, nowadays, there are lots of choices in barefoot shoes!

Barefoot Shoes and Pelvic Health

Most shoes that we wear have the heel boosted at least a little bit higher than the toe. We were born barefoot. Theoretically when we start walking, we are also barefoot. We are not born with our heels higher than our toes. I invite you to imagine that you lived life up to a certain point completely barefoot, and then suddenly lifted your heel a half inch to an inch off the ground and began walking around like this. Stand up and try it even! Notice how it shifts your knees, tailbone, sacrum and lower back.

Why would one consider switching to barefoot shoes?

I did it by accident! I purchased a pair of Keen sneakers, which are not technically barefoot, but do have a "negative incline", meaning the heel slopes down so it is not higher than the toe. Magically the right sacroiliac joint pain that I had chronically lived with disappeared! I did not even noticed until a couple of years later, when I was in the market for another new pair of sneakers and tried on a couple other brands that had higher heels than toes. Immediately, I felt the echo of that familiar pain I used to live with in my right hip and realized how much and how quickly my shoes impacted my pelvic health.

Barefoot shoes and Menstrual Health

Our posture impacts the position of our organs, our uterus in particular. Having a uterus out of proper position can give rise to all kinds of menstruation issues. Changing shoes is likely not the end all be all solution, but rather a piece of the puzzle. For more information about supporting an aligned uterus locally to Northampton, visit me and to find a practitioner closer to you, visit the Abdominal Therapy Collective.

Barefoot shoes and Musculoskeletal Pain

How we posture ourselves in our bodies is an expression of how we posture ourselves in the world. Our posture impacts every aspect of our bodies. Again, if you have struggled with a particular chronic pain for many years, changing shoes will likely not be the end all be all solution. And, from the ground up, we get to build healthy habits. Starting with what we wear on our feet and how we hold ourselves in our bodies. Creating a foundation of healthy posture, while addressing the other layers of why we have chronic pain, offers great opportunity for healing.

Where to find barefoot shoes

I do not make money from endorsing any of these businesses. I have simply done lots of research to compile a list of helpful resources for you!
Here are some of my favorite places to get barefoot shoes:

Lems
Xero Shoes
Soft Star Shoes
Vibrams
Merrells
Keen

Blessings to you and your healthy and healing pelvic bowls!

Tagged , , ,

About Chaya Aronson

Chaya Leia Aronson, RN BSN is a bodyworker, health and sexuality coach, dancer, lover and mother. Chaya believes that we source our creative, life force expression through our pelvic bowls and if the energy is blocked here, it greatly affects our capacity to be our full authentic selves in the world. Her passion is to support pelvic and abdominal health and healing. The main forms of bodywork she practices are the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy® and Holistic Pelvic Care™. Bellydance, contact improvisation and yoga have been the central core of her spiritual and physical practice for over 20 years. She weaves the knowledge she’s gained about movement patterns and body structure with her playful and intuitive spirit to support her clients in actively healing their own bodies and spirits.