Barefoot running and Yoga

I am into running big-time. Have been for many years, with the occasional bout of inactivity. I'm also into Yoga, as you're probably aware by now... For a long time I've seen running and Yoga as two separate areas. Over the past 1-2 years the boundaries began to fade. And now, I can safely say that in the space of just one weekend (or rather: one single run, to be exact) these boundaries that stared me in the face for such a long time, disappeared as it finally hit me: it's all in the feet.

In this post I'm collecting some loose thoughts, almost as if it's a stream of consciousness... I'm hoping to publish a decent article out of it in a good Yoga magazine at a later stage.

Background: I read this book "Born To Run" and it made an excellent point about how we're treating the feet when they're caught in these small coffins called shoes. Shoes completely turn the dynamics of your feet up-side down and inside out. Muscles that should be strong are weakened, bones that should be left along are supported, and forces that should be absorbed hit you a lot harder instead. The result: injuries, injuries, and even more painful injuries - and not surprisingly most people make an ugly face when you mention the word running!

So I went out for my first barefoot run last night. A tender calf muscle I'd been struggling with for 2 days did not bother me in the least. I felt light, completely in control of my movement, energetic and immediately felt muscles working in what seemed to be the perfect way. It was exhilarating!

I knew I'd hit on something that my running would benefit from greatly.

But when I got on my Yoga mat this morning (after another barefoot run I was very eager to put in in the early hours) I immediately felt the difference. My stance was more firm, there was a lot more action, proper action all the way from the soles of my feet to above my knees, and a pleasant sensation in the nerves at the bottom of my feet. As if they'd been awakened.

It just had to be because of the barefoot running... Here's the logic. The running works the muscles in the right way, the way nature intended it. It strengthens all sort of small muscles (which help with balancing) and builds flexibility. The movement improves the circulation and activates the nerves, again helping with balance and awareness.

Not wearing shoes removes the artificial barrier between the feet and the ground, works around getting the wrong support from the shoes, not to mention the lift in the heels that makes most people heel-strike.

Barefoot running naturally tilts the body forward, so that there's a mid-foot landing on the feet rather than a heel-strike. The mechanics are so fundamentally different, one would have to feel it, rather than try to intellectually grasp it...

But I can assure you it was the first time in my life that I heard the beat of a drum, a tribal drum, fast, as I was accellerating on the final stretch this morning. I felt I had the light-footedness of a rabbit being chased by it's hunter... Strange the images that come to mind when moving as a single, flowing unit.

Now many Yogis are no different from everybody else in that they spend the day with their shoes on. And shoes, well, they inhibit just about everything. Not surprisingly, our feet are week, fragile, sensitive in the wrong places, and so on and so forth. This has a huge impact on the quality of Yoga postures. Standing postures can't be done well if the feet aren't ready and engaged properly. Many seated postures (dandasana, pascimatanasana, janu shirshasana, maha mudra), too, would be negatively affected by foot and lower limb weaknesses and imbalances.

Spending 20'-60' on the Yoga mat everyday isn't enough to undo the negative effects of wearing shoes all day. The feet would still be understimulated and overcompensated. Instead, we'd need to let nature take its course - and allow the feet to express themselves by moving quickly and freely, taking your weight and propelling you forward. In other words: give them a break and go for a run, outdoors, in the fresh air.

So I'd recommend Yoga practitioners to go out for a barefoot run first thing in the morning on the wet grass. At least a couple of times a week, 5' for starters might do the trick. If you're like me, you'll feel the difference, and you'll begin to think differently about your own (and your student's) feet and footwear.

Similarly, as the Yoga gets better, the running will get better too! Before long you'd get on an upward spiral...