The Free Radical

The mountains are right there! I couldn’t see a thing from the lookout. These morning squalls are to be expected. We get mercilessly thrown back into winter, and by the same evening it’s gloriously spring again. That’s March.

I already made the switch a couple of days ago back to my Vibrams. It sure is a relief to ditch my big clunky Sorels– which were absolutely necessary for trudging through the foot and a half of snow on the path this winter. It’s so much better to be able to feel all the minute contours of the ground beneath my feet, and to have the option of gripping the forest turf with my toes again.

Isn’t it a bit cold? If I’m just standing around, yes. But walking in Vibrams necessarily increases the circulation to all parts of my feet. And then there’s the little “trick” I do with my breath, sending warm energy into my feet through conscious/directed breathing. I’ve written about this numerous times before, so I won’t repeat the procedure again. I’ve been doing it so long now that it has become second nature to simply direct warmth to any part of my body requiring it; I don’t even think about it much; I just automatically do it.

There was a recent headline in my inbox last week… something to the effect of “Vibrams Will Ruin Your Feet and Posture.” I didn’t look into it. Whatever the “expert du jour” might have to say on the matter, my own experience trumps his/her “expertise.” I’ve been in Vibrams for more than 5 years now. I wear them more than any other shoes I own. When I’m at home, I’m almost always barefoot– even when it’s -30C outside. My naked feet policy has healed my feet, fixed my posture, eliminated back pain, straightened my hips, and facilitated the final healing of my ACL tear in my left knee (I elected to forego the reconstructive surgery). I suppose if one were to wear Vibrams only very occasionally, they could cause alignment problems as the body has to adjust accordingly to one’s footwear. For me, they are my default choice. Everything seemed a little out of whack as I was “forced” to wear my big white boots for the winterish months.

I realize that this isn’t panning out as a typical Forest Report. Additionally, I had intended to post a few more missives on the blog in recent days– especially new messages to the TOURS (Team Of United Renegade Sovereigns), as the questions are really piling up! Yesterday I got massively distracted by a little bit of unexpected bigotry that couldn’t be ignored. So in the next few days I will make an effort to update things here. There is so much going on right now it’s nearly impossible to keep up.

Thanks for checking in.