Heel pain? Dance barefoot!

Why would I ever want to take off my shoes?

Before I started Nia, I guffawed at the idea of shoe-less fitness. In fact, after my first Nia class (with the fabulous Martha Randall), when she asked for feedback, I distinctly remember my (admittedly) stuck up reply.

“It just seems strange to work out without shoes on”.

After that first class, I did not buy into Nia. Instead I continued with a very demanding physical fitness regime, which led me… well… to an unhealthy place.

My stubborn ignorance and blind subscription to the “shoulds” of the fitness world took me away from myself.

At the same time, I did begin an earnest period of flirtation with Nia. I went to the odd class, while I continued to be driven by running, step class, weight training, sports. My “passion” for high impact activities led me to plantar fasciitis, shin splints and knee problems.

My whole being screamed at me. I was in pain. My feet ached, my knees creaked, my hips were on fire.

Until I finally stopped. And let Nia help me to heal my body.

First up was my feet.

Dance Barefoot

Just like there is a complicated set of nerves that allow us to experience our world through our hands, our feet give us so much information. And when we box them into shoes during the entirety of our waking hours, we’re cutting ourselves off from our bodies and their wisdom.

In Nia, we call the feet “the hands that touch the earth”. Why? Our feet have more than 7000 sensory nerves. Know what that means?

We are meant to sense and feel through our feet.

Our feet are our foundation. They offer us the stability we need to have healthy ankles, knees, hips and a happy and healthy spine. Our feet give us incredible amounts of information about how we can move in ways that our bodies are designed to move.

Interesting that we dull the messages from our feet.

We do that through shoes.

Nia has healed my feet

How many times have I been told that I “need” orthotics because of my “high arch”?  After trying them, I was met with pain. And taking off my shoes to practice Nia? No more plantar fascitis.

Why? Because feeling leads to healing. Feeling my feet and learning how to use them as they were intended to be used (based on their intelligent design) allowed me to heal them.

Related articles 

Why go barefoot?

Going Barefoot is Good to Touch the Ground