The Barefoot Experience - Back to Basics with Vibram Five Fingers

For me it is back to basics  (and short distances) with the Vibram Five Fingers as I convalesce from a Sinusitis and a 6 week absence from running. Why back to the VFF's? Mainly to build my muscles back up and to teach my feet to run again. Because I think us lazy office workers quickly get lazy / clumsy feet and legs when we stop running. (twenty seconds into my run - to prove the point - I managed to catch my big toe on the pavement bend it under my foot and step on it! Ouch!)

I returned to the VFF also to get back into the Barefoot Experience because I had found some interesting "side effects" from Barefoot Running which reminded me of Foot Reflexology.

Foot Reflexology states that specific areas of the foot relate to the body, and by applying pressure to these specific areas an effect is created in the associated organ or part of the body. It is appropriate to ask the question whether barefoot runners and minimalist runners are stimulating their acupressure points.

From my experience, nearly a year into the Barefoot Running Experience (mainly VFF's but more recently Skora) I am find some definite effects which are encompassed in the Mind Body and Spirit or alternative therapy field. Skeptics may not be convinced but if you have an open mind read on...

One of the main aspects of  the Barefoot Running Experience is the growing focus I have had since starting upon my "Life's Journey". No other running in trainers has caused this focus. It has become quite intense. I have started to think of friends who I shared childhood experiences with, now out of touch, and more recent friends that I have lost contact with. I feel that barefoot running has focused my conscious and unconscious attention on life's journey and trying to make sense of life's journey, and the purpose of being here... I meet old friends in my dreams, and when I awake I feel I have connected with them; in the waking world I find myself thinking of other past events, the present and where I want to be going in life. I have started cataloging in a handwritten journal some of the most important points in my life so far, mainly focusing on events which occurred heightened states of perception, in non-ordinary reality, and certain paranormal events.This has all precipitated since I have started barefoot running.

Louise Hays' book You Can Heal Your Life has something quite pertinent about the Feet; she writes that:

"Our FEET have to do with our understanding...of our ourselves and of life - past, present and future"

And this seems to corroborates my experience. In a way it kind of relates to Reflexology, but not so much. Reflexology refers to stimulating organs, and I haven't found any particular change associated with organs, rather, the change has been in a sort of philosophical way, a inter-relation of Mind Body and Spirit in a very real and authentic sense. Not wishy-washy spiritual clap trap but real life-changing stuff. Whether I can attribute this to my barefoot running or it is caused by other factors I cannot say, but it is a hell of a coincidence.

Have you had any interesting personal changes with barefoot running...or am I the only one? Leave a comment...