Feet, The Fool and the Zodiac

In the medieval mind, and probably much earlier in antiquity, the zodiac signs were thought to influence or rule over certain aspects of the body, which can be seen from the accompanying plates:

In the Zodical Man, Aries, the beginning of the Zodiac rules the head, whilst Pisces the fish at the end of the Zodiac rules the feet. For those not so acquainted with the zodiac these sigils can be reviewed along with this charming rhyme:

The Ram, the Bull, the Heavenly Twins,

And next the Crab the Lion shines,

The Virgin and the Scales,

The Scorpion, Archer, and Sea-Goat,

The Man that bears the Watering-Pot,

The Fish with glittering tails

The rhyme rightly describes Capricorn as the Fishtailed Goat,

as it was in Ancient Babylon. Capricorn is symbolic of man in his dual aspects of hard (earthy) matter and his spiritual (watery) nature, often in esoteric art the Initiate is shown to have a fish tail showing that the Initiate also journeys in the spiritual world.

The zodiac sigil for the Sea Goat Capricorn

appears to contain the sacred tools of the ancient architects – the engineers square and the measuring rope, which links the sacred buildings of antiquity such as the Pyramids at Giza to the medieval masons and the Gothic Cathedrals.

There is also a link between the Zodiac sign of Capricorn who has a fish tail for its hind quarters and Pisces the Fish who rules the feet of man; the symbolism directly relates to mans spiritual journey - the spiritual is often depicted as "watery" and hence an initiate would be depicted with a fish tail; the fish (pisces) was associated with the Knights Templar, a Chivalric Order established for esoteric purposes, and; furthermore the fish is of particular significance in the Christian faith (echoed in the Grail romances with the Fisher King).

Fish appear in number of the biblical stories, Christ walks on water to a fishing vessel, is the fisher of men, he breaks bread and fish to feed the five thousand; furthermore his ministry is within the Age of Pisces, the Christ fish becomes an symbol of the early Christians. Christ himself is anointed on his head (Aries) and he initiates his disciples by washing their feet (Pisces), that this action is both symbolic and important is stressed in Christ’s reply to a reluctant Simon Peter. The doors of the San Zeno Church in Verona show Salome dancing for Herod, contorted like a fish with her head touching her feet (completing the zodiac) after which John the Baptist is decapitated - embalmed heads become a point of interest in the Grail stories.

Moving then into medieval literature and the Grail story Perlesvaus which was almost certainly written by a Knights Templar again brings us this idea of the Fisher King and Keeper of the Grail and the interest in recovering Christian relics as well as embalmed heads – the Grail quest is both a temporal and spiritual journey. We can see in the Gothic Cathedrals, which are books made of stone, a continuation of this Grail Quest. At Chartres we see an image of a Knights Templar, or actually two Knights Templar (their famous seal depicts two knights on one horse) thus supposedly linking to the Zodiac sign of Gemini or twins but with, beneath their feet, a fish. In this way the feet, fish and Christ are somehow linked with the dual nature of man who stands upon Pisces who rules the secrets of initiation. 

It is worth noting at this point that the origin of Pisces, as seen in the sigil, is not one fish but two side by side. 

Like Gemini, Pisces is also a twin, two fish for two feet.

As the zodiac moves from Pisces to Aries, from the foot back to the head, we find ourselves at the beginning of April and April Fool’s day -  a tradition taken from the French in the 17th Century (called the April Fish in France), a day where many of us act the Fool and play jokes on one another. This use of Tomfoolery, or silliness, links almost certainly to the medieval practice of the Feast of Fools or Feast of the Donkey (or Ass) when all manner of tomfoolery was implemented within the auspices of the Church by the local populace it was a type of social pressure relief valve, in which medieval peasants would 'act the goat' and for one day only to turn the church led hierarchy on it's head. Incorporated by the church into the Medieval Feast of Fools where the true meaning became forgotten - it is mentioned at length in Fulcanelli's Mystere des Cathedrales, reminding us that the way of the Fool is in fact an esoteric spiritual path of initiation - the restless, traveling Initiate, perhaps also bringing to mind the expression 'we are all fools for God's sake'.

Such purposeful and exacting foolishness finally takes us to The Fool, or zero in the Tarot deck. The Fool in the tarot deck analogous perhaps to the joker or court jester but more specifically to the Troubadours of the South of France's (Cathar Country), begins a journey on a spiritual path of initiation armed only with a sack (containing his Karma) on a stick carried behind his shoulder and a dog (indicating the Astral body of emotions) running at his heels a  little like the leopard from Dante's Inferno (Dante begins his journey meeting the Astral as an independent entity manifested in a leopard - sometimes translated as panther - ‘una lonza leggiera e presta molto’. ): The Fool stands at the beginning of a physical and spiritual journey. 

This Tarot card in whose earliest rendering shows the Fool barefoot reminds us that it is our feet, linked to the secrets of initiation, and the twin-fish, that take us on both a temporal and spiritual journey, and that it is the bringing of the feet to the head in a circle (zero) which completes the Zodiac.

Review of the Xeroshoe Huarache Sandal Kit

I previously gave a poor review of these shoes; I did not like them at all, however I recently found myself in the tropics and being unable to find my normal sandals took my huaraches. As you can see they are a Xeroshoe Huarache kit and I had to finish making them.
(The Xeroshoe Kit contains 2 rubber soles which smell like tyre tread, two lengths of paracord, a hole punch and a hair clip and no instructions. You have to go online to the Xeroshoewebsite and watch a video). Making them was very frustrating and a trial and error affair...and I still do not think that I got all the knots right, but now I am scared if I take them to bits I will be unable to get them tied again!

So, having arrived in the tropics to 35 degrees Celsius and almost 100 degrees humidity I was very thankful to have these huaraches as they are so light (due to the thin rubber sole) and with the minimalist paracord strap allow maximum air flow to the feet.
Previously my criticism was that they were uncomfortable and that the toe post dug into the toe webbing, however I have now worn these in and they are becoming more and more comfortable. Of course I was reluctant to blame my poor attempts at tying the paracord strap rather to blame the shoe itself...my fathers oft quoted expression now comes to mind: a poor craftsman blames his tools...

Running in them feels a little strange yet they soon become second nature, mainly because  they are so light and the sole so flexible. The 6mm rubber sole has almost no "bounce" so that the barefoot experience is probably the closest you will get however I found running in these particularly heavy going on the ankles. That toe post strap will also take a while to get used to as it feels a bit tight at first.

I found that the paracord eased in after a few days... I started to get a foot slap sound which is not right...and so needed a readjustment to make it tighter. A few days of adjusting the paracord and they became a very comfortable sandal.

However after a further week they loosened up again and I again experienced the foot-slapping sound, so again started to tighten up the paracord. To fully lock the foot to the sole meant making the paracord quite tight, and this meant that the cord between the big toe and the second toe started to chaff the skin. I re-cut the paracord and removed the thick wrapping which I had made around the toe post.

I found that the thinner the cord at the big toe the more comfortable however, I also found that although the paracord was now tight enough to lock the foot onto the sole, after a day of wearing them the paracord had left grooves in my skin, and the top of my foot was a bit puffy. For this reason I cannot envisage these sandals as practical for running.

Conclusion
These huaraches have been a lifesaver in the hot and humid tropics.The one criticism I have is the paracord which feels a little uncomfortable at first, I think a wide strip of leather would work much better, however Xeroshoe chose Paracord because of its durability however I found the paracord to be a poor choice of material. I fully intend to re-string them with leather lace or a wider strip of leather.

Despite my reservations of the paracord I would say that, all in all, the Xeroshore Huarache Kit gets a belated thumbs up from me, they are well worth giving a go...they may well be the best and most cost effective barefoot running shoe / sandal on the market...and would at least provide a low cost entry into running sandals - to see if running sandals are for you...I have to say that having worn these sandals every day for 2 weeks that the running sandal is not for me, I will wear them for walking around and on the beach but for running I prefer my leather Skora Form!

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.

A Year of Barefoot: journeying the active lines of intent?

“All the faculties, possibilities, and accomplishments of shamanism, from the simplest to the most astounding, are in the human body itself.”Carlos Castaneda - The Eagle's Gift (1981)


My "barefoot journey" was meant to have been a journey of a 30 something year old man to fitness and his first race. I began the journey light-hearted and with much humor, expecting to reach a 10k race within six months. This did not happen. I did not get to my first race, nor did I win any medals...in fact some might say I had failed on my quest...but I have LEARNED a great deal...

I have been running a year Injury Free of course but the real change was perceptual just as much as it was physical. I soon found that my "barefoot journey" was a "spiritual" journey (spiritual in a very pragmatic sense). I was following lines of intent which in some strange sort of way related to that old fraud Carlos Castaneda, a man somewhat adverse to barefoot it seems, in the book Journey to Ixtlan he writes:

'I can't walk without shoes...Don Juan doubled up with laughter... he assured me again that he had meant what he had said...He was right of course. I had never walked barefoot and to walk in the desert without shoes would have been suicidal for me.
'"This desert is oozing power," don Juan whispered in my ear. "There is no time for being timid."'

But it was in his last book, The Active Side of Infinity that I found some great pointers (and corroboration) relating to my own experiences - it was a book which felt to me far more truthful than many of the other books that he had written.

The fact that I believed Castaneda to be a fake did not take away from the fact that many of his writing concurred, or was corroborated by, my own experiences. Further to this, the fact that it was running barefoot that was the precursor to my intense focus of these lines of infinity, quite frankly came as something of a surprise. This but can be attributed to, I believe, the stimulation of acupressure points or meridians in the foot, akin to Reflexology, causing a specific cognitive change.

That change in cognition, as I wrote in my last post, was a focus on my life's journey - in particular the past - past events of such clarity which  stayed with me through the day and even into my dreams. Here I met with friends who I had not seen in years, I spoke to those who had passed on; it was quite profound. And somewhat shamanic in a visionary sort of way.

I realized that there were indeed two methods or units of cognition which are incompatible with each other. One relating to the everyday world and the other "unit" relating to the world of the shaman or sorcerer. I also realized that I had had many paranormal experiences in my life which had resided in a foggy place of semi-amnesia. I concluded that Castaneda was right in his view, or the Sorcerers of Antiquity's view, that there were two ways of "seeing": the mundane way and the clairvoyant way.

According to Castaneda, the Sorcerers of antiquity in ancient Mexico, saw clairvoyantly. that the body (in an energetic sense) was in fact a ball of energy. and that within this ball of energy was an even brighter ball called the Assemblage Point through which the lines of infinity enter and which relate to perception. When these Sorcerers engaged clairvoyant "seeing" (rather than mere looking) they entered a heightened state of perception, or clairvoyant vision, that these Sorcerers of Antiquity called the "Second Attention", and it was "seen" by these Sorcerers that when a person was perceiving in the Second Attention that this "Assemblage Point" had shifted from the normal position (located behind the shoulder blades) into a new position. Thus the memories of the Second Attention could not be actively remembered whilst in the everyday state of perception due to the relative location of the Assemblage Point at these two specific states of perception. Therefore these Sorcerers of Antiquity could only remember the events of the second attention by returning their Assemblage Point to the altered position in which the event had originally been perceived. The events of the Second Attention although profound were embedded within the physical form even though they were forgotten in the everyday world, or to say, the memories were off limits when the Assemblage Point was in the normal position perceiving the every day world.

I had thus  found that the "spiritual" in some pragmatic and very real sense was embedded in the physical, in the tendons and muscles and nerve endings of the body; for my barefoot running was stimulating my life review, corroborated in Louise Hays book You can Heal Your Life and also corroborated by Castaneda acting as amanuensis to the Yaqui Indian sorcerer Don Juan Matus in the book The Active Side of Infinity;

 "Walking...precipitates memories...The sorcerers of ancient Mexico believed that everything we live we store as a sensation on the backs of the legs. They considered the backs of the legs to be the warehouses of man's personal history."

I felt, even before reading that quotation, to be compelled to start to collect certain experiences in a journal and to review my life in general - all stimulated (as I saw it) by barefoot running - which builds up the muscles on the back of the legs. As I continued this life review I found I was doing something that Castaneda referred to as Recapitulation.

"Sorcerers believe...that as we recapitulate our lives, all the debris...comes to the surface. We realize our inconsistencies. our repetitions, but something in us puts up a tremendous resistance to recapitulating. Sorcerers say that the road is free only after a gigantic upheaval...[a] memory of an event that shakes our foundations with its terrifying clarity of detail."



I have not finished this process - this life review: nor the barefoot running - so I cannot make any conclusions other to say that I find I am walking on a new line of intent...to an unknown destination.

All I know is that I am seeing and experiencing a new world of perception which directly impacts in the material world through the force of intent.

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...

Review of the Boruit Head Lamp and the Ultimate Performance Runner's Head Torch

For those in the Northern Hemisphere, especially for those countries who have daylight saving, the days have turned cold and dark. Here in the UK, although we have had an "Indian Summer" (a mild bout of weather which has lasted right up until almost end of November, and caused by warm currents from the Gulf of Mexico) things have suddenly turned dark, damp and cold. We have had our first frost and the Northerners their first snow. It is for this reason that runners in winter have to start adapting their routine or start to use various bits of kit to enable us to carry on running...gloves, hats..torches...

The head torch is the most obvious one, especially for those of us who like to trail run, or at least run on roads and paths where lighting is either non-existent or otherwise bad.

Review of the Ultimate Performance Runners Head Torch - In a Nut Shell
Well this little baby costs around £9 and weighs in at 25grams...making it a very lightweight torch. There are no buttons and you have to twist to light up. Unfortunately you also have to twist to open the battery case so if you are a bit dyslexic like myself you will probably end up twisting it the wrong way...after which it all falls to bits in your hands.

The light itself is an LED and is quite bright. It does OK in the dark, although perhaps not quite bright enough to take on a trail run. I have used it in the dark on paths with those orange neon street lamps and through a park with no lights and it works perfectly well. Good for missing wet leaves or Dog poo on the pavement. It is super lightweight and the lamp can fit to your forehead by the strap or you can use the pinch clip to put it on the peak of your cap.

Conclusion
This little light is a good torch to have for urban night running, and to use as a spare emergency lamp as it wraps up as small as a walnut and you can put it in a zip up pocket. I have used it in the attic to do some rewireing...it doesn't give enough light to discriminate colour wires or details...so be warned. It however gets a high rating from me for Urban running - it is lightweight and easy to use.

...however the Ultimate Performance head torch, despite its name, will definitely not cut the mustard on a trail run - it just doesn't have the power. So having seen a cyclist with what looked like a halogen lamp on his head I trawled the internet for a high powered torch and this is what I settled on.

Review of the Boruit -  In a Nut Shell
This cost £19 and I obtained the little beauty from Amazon and comes with rechargeable batteries and a charging adapter. It has a battery pack to the rear of the head which also holds a red rear light, the forward facing lamp holds a total of three torches...one central high beam and two side diffuse lamps. You can select one or the other or both, and you can make it flash for a strobe effect. The rear flashing lamp is something of a bonus I suppose.

I took mine on my usual forest trail and it worked very very well. I used the full 3 beam mode and it gave enough light to traverse a rough pathway, mud and puddles, a dark woodland, was bright enough to attact two massive deer, who eye balled me quite intrigued...and then back through the Urban Jungle I had to be careful not to dazzle pedestrians and car drivers.

Conclusion
It is much more heavy than the Ultimate Performance however the heaviness didn't really affect me...if any thing the solid feel of it was reassuring. It is very versatile and can be used for camping, and even going up in the attic to fix some wiring when all the lights have gone out. As for a running head lamp it is worth giving this a go as it is good value for money. I know it will open up my winter running that's for sure...and although I have succumbed to a cold and have had to lay off the running for two weeks I am raring to go out again for some night running with the Boruit head lamp with the Ultimate Performance Lamp as my trusty back-up torch.

Night Running: running with the Boruit head lamp in the woods

I went for my first night run and it was an awesome experience! In part inspired by the blog Run With No Regrets , and partly inspired by a work colleague who is training for the London Marathon...I bought a powerful "Boruit"  head lamp borrowed a Karrimor belt with water bottles from my sister (who is one of those long distance walkers, does Nijmegen 100 miles and all that malarkey), and, took for the first time in my life my mobile phone, and gave detailed instructions to my wife just exactly where I was going (in case i did not return) and disappeared into the night with my high-vis running jacket, a spare head lamp, and my old Helly Hanson cap...

I did my usual 7.3 miles run through the woods, there was not a soul about and I saw a decent display of fauna. I stuck to my usual forest run and was reasonably secure in the fact that no other person would be in the woods at that hour, I switched on my head lamp and disappeared into a familiar if disorienting world, for although I knew the route well at times my imagination got the better of me.

What did I make of night running?

First of all it is a myopic adventure a little like scuba diving. where your attention is focused just in front of you. Second it seems a very long run as you cannot gauge your speed; third, you find your olfactory sense compensating for the poverty of vision, I could smell the forest and the trees: Earthiness, pine leaves, conifers which I noticed smelt like myrrh; resinous, leafy smells all about. And then the feeling of isolation and feeling of being all alone.

It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, in a way it was exciting and relaxing, knowing I was alone in a wood in the dark with nothing but trees and animals...OK I did feel a slight twinge of fear too. In any case my animal instinct was so increased I think I could have smelt if anyone else was about! But no human scent was present. A field mouse ran past, a couple of squirrels, a millipede! I started to contemplate wild boar when....

Two eyes shone out of the darkness, penetrating pin points of light...I slowed down to a trot, transfixed by the eyes staring at me...suddenly two large deer appeared from the darkness, apparently captivated by the head lamp.

I realized that this wood must be a vestige of that ancient woodland once part of Sherwood Forest and contiguous from Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire through to Nottingham - of course there would be deer, they have been here since the times of Robin Hood! I got quite close to  them before they ambled off.

Having a drink of water from the Karrimor belt really helped me as I ran through the blackness but I must have been slower as it seemed to go on forever...until finally I was back in town and feeling elated. It was like a mini adventure and very satisfying...a bit scary too!

The head lamp worked better than expected and I realised I was now hooked on running in the dark!

ChiRunning, The Tanden, Carlos Castaneda and Star Wars

Running...a pursuit whose motivation is physical...can it be more like a spiritual experience?

First of all ChiRunning...what is it?
ChiRunning is a method of running developed by Danny Dreyer based on the principles of Tai Chi, to harness the invisible energy called Chi, and to use body lean to use gravity for forward motion, with the feet not grasping at the ground and “toeing off” but simply lifting off the ground as you move along.

It is a whole philosophy of motion which I have been trying to practice in my running (with varying degrees of success) since 2011 to recover from and prevent running injuries of which I had been plagued: a case of Runner Heal Thyself!

Using an invisible energy may seem darn screwy yet the Martial Artists highlight how much the body can achieve in the application of the Mind through certain spiritual practices, breaking concrete with their foreheads for example or the Shaolin Monks of China, or for that matter the intense Mind over Matter practiced by Buddhist Monks from Tibet to Japan. We might think of the Jedi knights of Star Wars. although science fiction, fall into this sort of thing - the metaphor is still relevant. The mind controlling the physical.

ChiRunning thus involved centering our minds and using this Universal Energy for our own needs, which might be running 10k, a half marathon even a full marathon. But as Dreyer points out in his book "ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running" most runners and most training methods involve Power Running – a muscle building “no pain no gain” attitude,  – the opposite of the ChiRunning “go with the flow” attitude which explains, Dreyer says, why 15.6 million runners injure themselves every year in the USA. With ChiRunning Dreyer can "run 50 miles without it being a big deal or harmful to the body".

What has Carlos Castaneda got to do with ChiRunning? 
Well nothing actually, or at least not directly. Although if you believe what McDougall says in Born to Run, that the Shaman mentor of Castaneda was a Tarahumara then there may be a link. Juan Matus the Brujo and teacher of Castaneda makes long treks across the Sonora desert and often remarks that Castaneda is fat slow and stupid like a bull, with a roll of fat across the neck...perhaps there was some ultra running involved...

Castaneda brings to us the same concepts that George Lucas would later use as the basis of the Jedi religion in Star Wars. In fact Castaneda stresses, among other things the importance of Personal Power an energy which dictates how a man lives and dies. He makes it clear that Native American Shamans collect this Personal Power (like The Force in Star Wars) and to effect change by the power of intent and to be "perennially fluid" so as to be able - at a moments notice - to seize a quanta of energy that he called a "cubic centimeter of chance"

Chi, Ki Etc
Such a discussion of power and universal energy reminds me very much of the Japanese energy of Reiki.
Reiki is a Japanese folk tradition for self development but purporting to be  a healing therapy. It’s seriousness as a healing therapy is belied by its transmission, through day courses, and in its contemporary application – often as an adjunct to beauty therapies or within health spas. In it is original scheme it is something like an adjunct to the martial arts and a process of self-change and self-healing.

Like the martial arts one of the important things about Reiki is using the Tanden, a point just below the navel from which energy builds and is projected. In Tai Chi, and in ChiRunning it is called the Dan Tien and Castaneda also speaks of it in terms of energy from the abdomen.

According to Castaneda;

 “the [Native American] seer sees that every man is in touch with everything else, not through his hands, but through a bunch of long fibers that shoot out in all directions from the center of his abdomen.”

In fact I recollect reading that in one of the Castaneda books, a shaman called Genaro uses the threads of energy from his Tanden to scale a perilous ravine and jump to a ledge...real Star Wars stuff...

Back to running...

Can we apply this shamans/ Tai Chi / Reiki philosophy to running?
According to Dreyer Yes We Can! And if barefoot running has taught me one thing it is the power of fluidity. The moment that the spine becomes engaged in the running, and releases the energy like a coiled snake, this Chi energy, this invisible energy, is released.

A fluidity of thought as well as muscles, the ability to relax and go with the flow.

My training in Reiki has caused me to review my ideas of energy and intention, and whilst I do not agree with the contemporary presentation of Reiki the use of the Tanden is really fundamental and applicable to many things...much like the Shaman Warriors of Castaneda’s books, being "perennially fluid", and this also seems to link in with the concept of using Tai Chi principles in ChiRunning.

It is certainly something to aspire to...not for competition or even beating a personal best, but for a greater potentiality. As Castaneda once wrote:

“All the faculties, possibilities, and accomplishments of shamanism, from the simplest to the most astounding, are in the human body itself.”

Review of Skora Form (Updated 2018)

RATING: Excellent

First Impressions of the Skora Form

Minimalist shoes in a minimalist box

The sleek box revealed an equally sleek running shoe made of ultra supple goat leather with a flexible sole with a canted edge and a heel with a round profile. The offset laces give a quirky look and there is a velcro adjuster at the back of the heel to tighten things up. There is a optional shoe insole and these shoes are branded as being sock optional. Many Skora runners will wear without socks which makes sense as these shoes are a zero drop minimalist running shoe replicating barefoot running.

Rounded "golf ball" heel

The toe box was not as wide as I thought it would be and the shoes look a lot narrower than expected. My foot is a 45 which is usually an 11 in UK sizing, however in Skora sizing this equates to a 10.5 (UK). I took the risk and ordered the 10.5 (11.5 in US sizing) as I had read online that one should go a half size smaller.

The Fit of Skora Form

The fit for my feet is perfect although I would have liked to see how wider the 11 (46) would have been in comparison. In length the 10.5 are perfect, and I usually wear an 11 (12 US). Sizing a shoe is never an exact science as the size of shoes differs slightly between manufacturers, and one should really try on a a half size each way I think if you are unsure. However Skora are practically impossible to find in the UK which is a shame because these leather shoes are awesome quality.

The soles are the exact width of my feet (I have very wide feet) and the goat leather is super supple so will allow give in the right places. They are snug like a glove with a little looseness in the suppleness of the leather which means I could wear socks if needed, say, in the depths of snowy winter.

Skora: Form and Function

I have been running in Vibram Five Fingers (KSO and Bikila) for almost a year now so I was interested to see how running with thicker soles would improve my running, in particular because my trail run involves some rough track ways made of angular rocks and bits of concrete (hardcore for building roads I suspect) which has in the past left bruises on the soles of my feet. The main question is: will the Skora be an improvement on the Vibram Five Fingers?

I took my normal 10k+ route which takes in pavement, rocky track, gravel path, soft loamy forest track, mud, grass, jumping over ditches, logs, brambles...

First of all I felt the shoes gave me an increased pace and a natural foot fall. I found my gait was a little more heavy and the soles made a louder noise on the pavement than the Vibram Five Fingers. However I noticed that my running style automatically followed the "ChiRunning" principles (which I happen to follow somewhat religiously). I noticed that the canted edges allow for natural foot roll or pronation throughout the forefoot strike lateral to medial, just as if I was running in Five Fingers. The Skora Form did feel initially a little clumpy compared to the Vibram Five Fingers of course but in conventional standards they are sleek, low (13mm soles) and minimalist with minimal cushioning.

After less than a mile I was already used to the Skora. I found the soles to be flexible and yet protective. The loss of "ground feel" did not cause me any great worries as you can still feel stones through the soles - there is just more protection. I was happy to be able to run more confidently across rocky ground and jumping over logs and ditches. They held up very well through slippery clay mud, although in the really slippery deep mud I was all over the place, but in moderate mud they were good.

I wore these without socks (having read people online doing this - bad mistake!) and I soon had three hot spots, my little toe on my right foot, and a small localised hot spot under the arch on both feet. By the time I had got home my feet were sore and I was ready for a rest. I think that perhaps wearing thin socks may have been a good idea, but you know what it is like with new shoes, you get a blister, then you get a callous and then it doesn't get sore ever again.

On the whole I returned home from my muddy run, filthy but happy with the shoes.

Conclusion 
It is not often that a shoe arrives which is both innovative and functional. I mean, those pesky Puma Mobium were based on the foot of a cat and that makes no sense at all, since the animal with the closest foot shape to man is a bear. And when I think of all the thick wedged trainers I have had in the past, the Nike, Brooks, Oasics etc...well it makes me cringe...the "barefoot" concept without a doubt liberated my running. However even the Vibram Five Fingers lose some of the functionality in their styling, the toe pockets increase the surface area of wear and tear and are not strictly speaking required - a design luxury and not "economic" in any sense of the word. So how did the Skora fare?

SKORA UPDATE: Socks or no socks...insoles or no insoles...

I have now spent a good 9 months running with the Skora Form and experimenting with the different options. I found that no socks / no insole caused blisters as did socks and insole. There is a bit of stitching along the edge near to the little toe, it feels like a little knot of stitching but it causes a bad blister on my little toe. (Now the shoes are worn in I find I still get a sore little toe when I wear socks and use the insoles.) The solution I found was to remove the insoles, this lowered the foot by a couple of millimeters and altered the contact point around this area of stitching. Making the small alteration has worked very well for me. (I later took my Swiss Army Knife to the interior of the shoe and cut out the stitching which was causing the hot spot - solution!)

Now I have clocked up hundreds of miles on these shoes I can say that the soles have worn very well. Interestingly "barefoot" shoes show wear at different  parts of the sole than, say, a regular running trainer, or even a walking shoe. So I can see from the wear of the soles that I am running "barefoot" style, on the toes etc. The only minor criticism, aside from the knot of sticthing near the little toe, is the design of how the heel cup joins the leather; already the rubber heel cup has started to part company with the leather, perhaps due to how I take my shoes off  - by treading on the back of the heel with the other foot. Having said that the loss of glue here has not meant that the sole is coming off rather it is more of a cosmetic thing which could be fixed with a little Evostick. However it is a minor quibble. It is very hard to find anything wrong with these shoes.

As the trails get muddier I find the Skora Form doing really quite well through the mud. Not so much in traction, I still slip around as the soles don't have the deep grooves that trail shoes have, however I found that the soles seem to float through the mud and the mud doesn't stick. My Vibram Bikila were problematic because they seemed to sink, fill up with water, and accumulate mud in between the toes. The Skora are like Teflon - nothing really sticks!

Skora Form made excellent all rounders for travelling

In conclusion: for me Skora are best with socks and no insoles with  the option of tightening the heel strap...but you should experiment to find what works best for you! These are highly recommended all-rounders, good for road and trail...I even took them on holiday to wear casually (as well as to run in), and they proved to be a versatile and comfortable shoe.

REVIEW 2018

I have owned the Skora for almost three years now, so how have they fared?

Design: Excellent: 

Quality: Excellent 

Fit for the purpose I bought them (barefoot running): Excellent 

Resilience: Excellent (soles quite worn but I still run in them!)

Do I still wear them Yes! (Excellent).

Overall Rating: Excellent. The only modification was to cut out the knot of stitching that gives me a blister on my little toe.

They are getting very worn now but I will definitely buy another pair when these finally give up the ghost. They have lasted almost three years so far, and I am an average  low mileage runner, but even so, what great value for money they represent.