Barefoot Bliss 2

As you may remember, I have been trying out minimal footwear and proudly presented my home made barefoot shoes in April. They were very comfortable and a lot more sturdy than I thought but as you may have guessed from the use of the past tense they are not completely intact anymore. The leather soles are fine but the back heel stitches went on my right shoe. I need to re-enforce them with a double layer of materials and they will be fine again.

The other problem I encountered, was that my feet weren't ready for that much barefoot walking. After a few weeks, I had some persistent pains in the arch of the right foot and I went back to wearing more supportive negative heeled shoes. I need to stretch and roll/mobilise my right foot on a tennis ball a lot more before I put that much pressure on it again for that amount of time. Katy Bowman's "Fix your Feet" DVD is one of the programmes I follow to regain foot mobility. Have a look at a trailor.

I found some Bama shoes - Schuhe wie Barfuss - in my mum's wardrobe which didn't fit her well and adopted them. They are cute and very thin soled. Unfortunately there is a little heel at the back.

I also tried out the Swiss kevlar socks last time I was in Austria and they are fine but very fiddly to put on. I didn't wear them lots but went completely barefoot instead.

If you into sewing I very much recommend making your own barefoot shoes out of sturdy material. Send me a photo if you do.

Oh and a little aside, I have figured out what to do with one of my last pairs of high heeled shoes - mules that I wore throughout my pregnancies. They are now my very own garden clogs - ideal for getting into a full squat with neutral spine while weeding and planting.