Barefoot

This isn't an article about dancing in socks, I don't really mind that in all honesty!

This is about the importance of being barefoot, not just for dancers, but kids and parents too.

I love summer purely because I only wear shoes when I really have to, I encourage my daughters to be barefoot as much as possible. This is always how i've felt most comfortable, I remember my grand-ma always exclaiming I was going to get something in my feet but I feel most grounded this way.

Samuel and I were having this conversation about one of his clients and that she wanted to work on her feet. She's been told she has flat feet and has been sent to get special arch supports for her shoes cause her ankles and knees hurt. Now i'm not a doctor but this is not what I'd do, I feel like using something man made to reduce pain rather than looking at natural elements should be the last resort. Think of the orthotics as aspirin for a headache, take the pain killer - the pain goes away, stop using the pain killer the headache will return. I'd for hormonal imbalances, osteopathy, hydration, homeopathic rememedies for the headache before any pharmaceutical intervention anyday. (And no I dont have anything against pharmaceuticals, but I do charge my crystals on a full moon).

I don't own barefoot shoes, Zura does for nursery (because she's in them a lot, and if youve been to my intensives you know about my School Shoe Theory) but we also have AirMax's, crocs etc. I like to say were a hybrid family, do a bit off everything. But i've read and researched a lot about Barefoot shoes. People used to think that low arches were an issue, but there pretty common, not usually causing pain. It's been researched that footwear, injury or other lifestyle factors are greater factor to foot pain and the problems that come with flat feet. There was a study of 2,300 children in Manipal, India, that compared school kids who regularly wore shoes with those who didn’t. It found that the kids going barefoot had wider feet - a sign of foot strength - and presented with fewer flat feet.

I used to teach in Nike's with a thick chunky sole, I had plantar fascitus, knee pain, hip pain, back pain, I now teach only in wider softer soles and touch wood this has changed tremedously. I found this online - 'Walking barefoot improves posture by strengthening the intrinsic muscles in your feet and increasing proprioception. This allows for a more natural gait, better joint alignment, and a reduction in the compensations that cause back and neck strain.'

So, get those shoes off, walk in the sand as much as you can. (I actually feel there is a correlation between kids who live near the sea and their ability to point their feet- further official research needed) and consider something more barefoot when it comes to shoes you or your child are going to wear all the time.