A Toe Shoe Meditiation – Love Em…

This weekend I joked to my friends and family about how I was on a hunt for :toe shoes”. What my friends and family didn’t know about my new interest was that months ago my other-half had sent me a really good article on the how shoes have  actually cause problems for those of us who wear them. The article “You Walk Wrong” actually got my other-half and I thinking about alternative shoe wear.

Walking Meditation

Years ago, when I first learned about sitting meditation, I was lucky enough to learn at the same time about walking meditation.  I give lots of credit to those who taught both at the same time because I never did fall into the trap of thinking there was only one way to meditate.  Walking is one of the infinite things you can do while meditating, and at times I have found that there has been no better or useful way for me to “come to my senses.”  Walking meditation has helped me immensely to get through very tough times.

There are probably as many variations of how to do walking meditation as there is sitting mediation, so I won’t give a prescribed description of how to perform it.  I think the easier thing for me to do, rather than giving instructions on how to do walking meditation properly, is to describe what it is I am going for while in walking meditation.  My preferred outcome of walking meditation is to practice being present and be present, mindful, and alive.  I really appreciate walking for this because I can do it anywhere and it brings with it bodily movement and most pertinent to this discussion, the feeling of my feet on the ground.  There are so many things to appreciate while walking.  When I feel my feet on the ground, some how I feel that much more connected to the present.

Which Style Shoe? – How Close to Barefoot?

The article I mentioned above also mentions a number of different varieties of footware that allow for a more natural walking or running gait.  Each of the different shoes they mentioned in the article is compared to the next based on how close the shoe is with the feeling of walking barefoot. While my other-half looked for shoes that he might be able to wear at work, my eye caught on to the stranger looking shoes, the Vibram Five Fingers. These were the stranger looking shoes that differentiated each toe.  My mind fell back to the toe socks I had tried out in my childhood.  Those toe socks never quite felt good to me.  Heck, I didn’t even like the those of flip flops that put that little bar between the two bigger toes. Somehow knowing this didn’t dissuade me from wanting to try these on these strange little shoes on.

Trying them on

This picture is me trying on my first pair of Vibram Five Finger shoes.  I have to say that I had not put much thought into how I would put them on, or what they would feel like when I did.  The kind gentleman who sold me the light blue and green version you see here was very helpful.

To put the shoes on, you first place your toes in the shoes and ease in each toe into the forms starting with the smallest.  After a couple times of putting on the shoes this becomes as natural as putting on any shoe, although I doubt these shoes will just slip on or off anytime soon.  Once the toes are in place, the shoes slips over the heal of the foot, and little Velcro bands are adjusted. The toes should have about one millimeter or so give at the top once the shoe is on.  Some people purchase socks to wear with their shoes.  The sport model, which I am wearing here, have the open top so socks can close them off a bit, giving them a more closed shoe look.  Socks can also make wearing them in colder weather more warm for some, although there are colder weather models.  I decided that I would go with out the socks.

The feeling of the material between the toes was not uncomfortable as much as it was different. Actually, the feeling was strangely comfortable.  The shoe allowed my toes to spread out and stretch and a full day of walking around shopping with these shoes on it felt really nice.  When I got home, I didn’t even take my shoes off, which always happens at the front door.

Not Quite Barefoot – But Wonderfully Close

Day one out with my new shoes was really really a good experience.  Day two was just incredible.

Yesterday, I took my new pair of shoes out on my morning journeys and was lucky enough to pick a day where I would be headed to a place that was rich in sidewalk textures.  You might think this silly of me, but usually I don’t chose where I am going to be walking based on sidewalk textures, maybe this will be a new thing for me.  So yesterday I was walking around doing my morning duties and then I thought to my feet, my surroundings, and walking meditation, and suddenly it was as if my feet were in love.  I walked over grates, I walked over blocks, and get this… I walked up and down stairs.  I even called my other-half and asked him if he wanted to walk to lunch instead of ride.  No, I’m not shitting you.

Now, that was just day two, but some how I think I will be liking where these shoes will be taking me.  If you like walking, hiking, running, or heck, if you are like me and just prefer being barefoot, I would definitely give them a try.