All of us were born with perfect feet.
Toes wide apart, thumb in straight line along the ankle.
A perfect 3 point contact with the ground that led to our first steps.
After a few months however, we are put in tight, restricting shoes.
The result -
1. Deformation of feet
2. Instability due to lack of toe splay
3. And in extreme cases, bunions and plantar fasciitis
The concept for shoes was simple, they were a protective layer for our feet to limit our exposure to the harmful elements of nature.
But somewhere along the timeline, things changed.
Where did it all start?
The pointy tip of the shoe was designed for aesthetic purposes.
In 12th Century medieval Europe, there was a particular style of shoe, known as the Pouline. Extremely pointy shoe, worn majorly by the rich and luxurious.
Around the same time, China had a culture of foot binding, where women would tie their feet in extremely tight casts that would deform their feet to make them practically useless. It was only recently in 1912 that the practice was banned.
What is happening today?
Fortunately, the shoes of today are not as extreme, but we haven’t given up on the pointy toe box of the shoe. The pointy shoe has continued to be a symbol of wealth.
Now, shoes mean fashion. Even sports and functional shoes.
There is nothing wrong with shoes being fashionable. But the fact that they don’t do their job anymore and are causing almost 90% of all foot health problems is.
What do we do?
You would assume that shoes that are made for feet, would be designed around feet, would be the shape of feet, but they are not.
Over time wearing these tight shoes will cause your foot shape to change.
If you look at your feet right now and see your big toe inclined towards your other toes, or your pinky really squished, the shoes have gotten to you already.
Worry not, the damage is not gonna show problems right away and we can train to reverse the years of damage done by shoes, and the solution is pretty simple.
Walk barefoot and train your feet, the body will do the rest.
Now we understand that being barefoot is not always possible, and that is where barefoot shoes come into the picture.
These are shoes that are designed around the human foot.
They are shaped like feet, wide in the front so that your toes can do what they are supposed to.
They are flexible for your feet to move naturally.
And they take away any cushion for you to truly feel the ground and get the sensory feedback to train your body.
Our feet are the foundation of all our movement and it is essential we keep them healthy.
We at Zen Barefoot are doing just that. Do check our website and explore the world of barefoot shoes.