Rewild Your Feet: Lessons from Injury and the Journey to Holistic Health
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As Above, So Below: What My Foot Injury Taught Me About Building a Strong Foundation for Optimal Well-Being
The phrase "As above, so below" recently took on new meaning for me. It’s a reminder of the harmony that exists in nature, where what happens on one level of reality is reflected on every other level. This balance is not just external—it’s mirrored within our bodies as well. Alchemists understood this deeply, seeing the connection between the world around us and the world within us. When we think about the foundations of human health and well-being, this principle becomes both clear and practical: the state of our inner world is intricately connected to the world around us.
The Importance of Movement
Today, I want to talk about movement—one of the seven pillars of health I discussed in Episode 160 of my podcast, The Fundamentals for Human Health Are So Sexy. Specifically, I want to delve into what I call "wild" or "feral" movement, also known as primal movement. This concept was popularized years ago by Mark Sisson, and it’s about reconnecting with the way our bodies are naturally meant to move.
My relationship with movement has evolved significantly, especially after a hiking fall on May 2nd, which I mentioned in a few podcasts ago. This incident forced me to slow down and reconsider how I move my body. In the modern world, movement is often plagued by a lack of variety, a shortage of time, and a tendency to view exercise as something that must be done in a gym or through structured workouts. But movement is so much more than that.
I grew up in the 70s, a time when formal exercise routines were not as common. My parents didn’t go to gyms or take yoga classes, but they were active in their daily lives. My dad was always working on something, rarely sitting unless he was reading a book. My mom was constantly busy with yard work, house chores, or cooking. This was before the era of home computers and remote controls, so our lives naturally involved more movement.
Research now shows that being sedentary most of the day cannot be compensated for by a brief workout. A long period of sitting outweighs the benefits we get from a short period of exercise, which does not emulate the movement patterns our physiology and anatomy require for health.
My Journey to Rewilding My Feet
Because of my fall, I had to spend a lot of time with my foot elevated and was forced to sit more than I would have liked. Despite this, I found ways to move my body, even though walking normally was out of the question for about eight weeks. I decided to get back to basics—literally. I got down on the floor and relearned how to move, much like a baby learning to crawl. This process reconnected me with my body in a profound way, helping me to stay aligned and avoid compensatory postures that could lead to further issues.
Over the past decade, I’ve transitioned to wearing barefoot and minimalist footwear, gradually increasing my barefoot experience. Most days, I go without shoes entirely. This journey has taught me so much that it’s hard to encapsulate in a single post, but I’ll try to share some key insights.
Modern shoes, with their thick soles and raised heels, act like a splint for our feet, causing the 33 major muscles in each foot to atrophy. Our feet are designed to sense the environment, but thick soles reduce this ability, converting complex terrain into a uniform stimulus with each step. This disconnects us from the ground and disrupts our body’s natural alignment, leading to long-term joint and muscle problems.
By transitioning to barefoot walking or minimalist footwear, we can restore the natural function of our feet. Minimalist shoes, with thin, flexible soles and spacious toe boxes, allow the foot to move more naturally, promoting better alignment and stronger muscles. However, this transition should be gradual, especially for those accustomed to modern footwear, to rebuild strength and flexibility in the feet.
Lessons from My Foot Injury
My recent foot injury has been a powerful reminder of the need to shore up my foundations—both physically and metaphorically. It’s taught me the importance of slowing down, listening to my body, and finding the silver linings in setbacks. Sometimes, we need to go back to the basics, to crawl before we can walk, as part of the journey to rebuild and strengthen our foundations.
Injury can be an opportunity to pause, reflect, and rebuild. Whether through non-surgical procedures, prehab (to avoid the need for rehab), or simply learning to slow down and listen to our bodies, each experience offers a chance to optimize our lives moving forward.
Tools That Helped Me
After trying various treatments—acupuncture, massage, chiropractic care, personal foot massage, foot soaks, topicals like comfrey and arnica, frequency-specific microcurrent, and red light therapy—I found significant relief and improved mobility through the use of X39 phototherapy inflammation patches. These patches helped me increase my range of motion and rebuild my foot musculature, something I hadn’t been able to achieve with other methods. I’ll delve into these patches in more detail in a future post, as I’m still in the research phase, experimenting on myself and a few close others. For now, if you’re interested, you can check out the link in the show notes.
Reconnecting with Nature, Starting with Your Feet
Our feet are our primary connection to the earth, receiving vital information and free electrons from the ground. Being disconnected from nature has created challenges for us in every area of our lives, including our physical health. If you haven’t yet considered the impact modern shoes and a sedentary lifestyle have on your body, I encourage you to explore Katy Bowman’s work, particularly her book Whole Body Barefoot: Transitioning Well to Minimal Footwear. It’s an incredibly thorough resource that will teach you more about your body than you likely ever learned in school.
If you’re a bodyworker, do your clients a favor and get this book. It will equip you with the knowledge to help them restore their body’s natural function.
Final Thoughts
If you’re on a health journey, I hope my experiences with foot injuries and rewilding my feet inspire you to shore up your foundations, starting with your feet. If you need deeper support to recover your health, there are several ways I can assist you. Check out how you can work with me in the show notes, or book a discovery call today. Remember, healing is a journey—take it one step at a time, starting from the ground up.
Links that were mentioned in the episode if you want to dig further:
- Rewilding vs biohacking HERE
- The fundamentals for human health are so sexy HERE
- Undo the sit HERE
- X39 Inflammation patches HERE
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