When it comes to bare foot running, the Tarahumara have this unique human ability down pat. Is it possible that we could develop this same capability? Certainly they aren’t the only humans who use their body as it is designed.

Watch this video on bare foot running

Can you imagine what it is like to put your hands in glove liners and then wear gloves all day… and then use them?

This is what we are doing to our feet by wearing sock and shoes and not using them in the same way we use our hands and fingers. The ramifications of course move upwards into our knees, hips and spine and even our neck.

Aspire to bare foot running

Now to take our modern body which has become accustomed to socks and shoes and then radically make this shift will be like most things. We’ll have to learn to adapt or in this case, re-adapt to a more natural use of ourself.

Given that many people in modern day society live with any number of postural compensations, like an elevated hip, flexed or extended spine, etc. These type of compensations can continue even if we shift to bare foot running. We might still live with our discomforts yet we can change towards a comfortable use of ourself.

This is why shoe makers such as Vibram Five Fingers have a warning label on the time it may take to adapt to a different way of walking or running about.

Awhile back I made a video on somatics shoes. The first experience I had using a so-called bare foot running shoe. Well I wanted to do was jump up and down and relish in the delight in the lightness of the feet and the ability to sense the ground more acutely.

Bare foot running a proprioceptive experience

When we sense ourself with our proprioceptive ability. We can sense and feel the position of our joints with more awareness. This is what we’ve lost with our sock and shoe modern way.

By playing in the field of gravity, for instance with bare foot running, we can recover our lost healthy ways.

For some us though, we may need to de-compensate our postures and regain our natural ability of comfortable movement. Naturally, somatics exercises are here to remind us of how we can use our brain’s ability to reset muscle tension. We remember how to feel and adjust ourself back to comfortable levels so that if we decide bare foot running is something we want to try.

The transition becomes easy since we’re already playing with gravity and reacquainting ourself of our inherent proprioceptive abilities which have gone dormant.

Why not give bare foot running a try and feel if there is any difference in how you run or even walk.


Edward Barrera
Edward Barrera

Hi I'm Ed Barrera, founder of Gravity Werks and Hanna Somatic Educator. I teach people how to overcome physical pain, reduce muscular stress & tension, and recover quickly from injury using safe, simple, natural tools known as somatics exercises where we use the brain to change our muscles back to comfort so we can confidently do what we want again with our body. As someone who lived in chronic pain (diagnosed with fibromyalgia) in my 20's & 30's, it's my pleasure to offer simple tools which allow us to remain pain free, be less stiff, have mobile & healthy joints and give us the ability to be comfortable as we age. Each week I offer live and recorded online (audio) classes to compliment the full online programs where people can overcome back, neck, shoulder, knee, hip, leg, arm, jaw, etc. pain. When we change our brain, we change our body so we can live pain-free and move easily at any age.

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