Runner's Knee and the Ego

One of the attractions of "Barefoot" running is the promise of never having a running injury again. This idea is romanticized to a large extent by the book Born to Run and the account therein contained of Barefoot Ted. But barefoot running is not quite the cure all it is made out to be - the lawsuit against the claims made by Vibram Five Fingers being an example, as well as people actually snapping their metatarsals.
For me, after a year of barefoot running I have succumbed to runners heel in my left foot and runners knee on my right knee. The heel pain, which could be the start of Plantar Fasciitis, started when I had stopped running over December having contracted sinusitis, not helped by wearing traditional shoes everyday to work, however after a hiatus, I found that running again barefoot helped the heel pain to some extent that is until after a slippery muddy run I also got runners knee.
The knee pain seemed to be linked to a stiffness in my hip and the pain in my knee actually made me stop running. Three miles from home and the night drawing in, the only thing I could do was switch on my headlamp and trot home. (As night fell about 20 deer came out of the forest - it is a remnant of old Sherwood Forest - to watch me... now immersed now in darkness, I found the normal everyday world meets a sort of non-ordinary world of a more primordial experience, fear, focus and intent) I found that the pain would go when I completely relaxed my hips and knees and slackened the pace - in the darkness I did not have that worry of "what do I look like?". I guess I was almost shuffling along. However when I put on the pressure to start running faster the debilitating pain in my knee started again.

I was barefoot running forefoot striking so where did it go wrong, as both these conditions are meant to be helped by barefoot not caused by it? Over the next weeks I solved the heel pain by really focusing on my walking (rather than running) and seeing where the pain would start and then modifying my foot fall, in this case making sure my left foot went more on the outer edge as this was the only way I could relieve the pain. In this case the pain was a useful tool to find a solution.
As for the knee pain it is reoccurring, and just as I was back to running 8 miles pain free it came back as bad as ever. Truly Awful. Again 3 miles from home the only way I could run was to totally relax my hips and knees, and this was not something I could do intentionally it was a very abstract action, but I knew when it was happening as the pain in my hip and knee stopped.

Louise Hay in her book "You Can Heal Your Life"  says the knees express "bending and pride, ego and stubbornness...we want to move forward but we do not want to change our ways. This is why knees take so long to heal; our ego is involved."

Taking a spiritual approach falls in line with my whole "barefoot journey" using it to uncover at greater depths aspects of myself however I often dispute the current trend in New Age books to disparage the Ego - Wayne Dyer for example often states that Ego is Edging God Out. However I disagree. The Healthy Ego is a big part of western life in general, and even a part of western spiritual practise to find an individual (and direct) connection with this Great Spirit (or Godhead). The development of a healthy ego, a part of the historical (hidden) western esoteric thought, or Mystery Schools, is at odds with the Eastern tradition of abandonment of the Ego. One of the clashes of culture (and politics) from the West to the East, is I believe, a totally different sense of self. The Western tradition is focused on individuality whereas the Eastern tradition, a sort of group (tribal) sense of self as a community.

Anyway according to Louise Hay the solution to knee problems is:
FORGIVENESS; UNDERSTANDING; COMPASSION
Something I know I need to work on, whether it is related to my sports injury...perhaps I need to not stubbornly run 8 miles when my body is telling me not to...perhaps I need to be more compassionate and forgiving to others (and myself) who knows? What I do know about the Western Tradition is that we shouldn't reject our Ego we should embrace it and healthily develop it...We can use our individuality in Forgiveness and Understanding...and, as the Dalai Lama recently tweeted: we can all practise Compassion.
As for knee injuries, well, I guess these will always plague runners...but the pain teaches us how to run correctly, and maybe also teaches us a greater truth at the same time.