(Vibram Komodo Sport LS)

For years and years…in fact, for as long as I can remember, my morning routine was to wake up and put my shoes on. The only time my feet were bare was in the shower or in my sleep. I was never a sandal or flip-flop kind of guy either. A couple of years of ago I realized that my foot covering habits had turned my toes into retards. They can’t move independently. I can’t spread them. Remember in Scooby-Doo how the characters didn’t have individual teeth? Instead, they had one giant tooth.

That’s basically my toes. An attempt at moving my big toe results in all the toes moving. This realization that I had no ability to move my toes how I wanted seemed wrong to me. I feel as if I have wronged my feet. I’ve held them back and not let them live the life they desire. I’ve neglected them from all the pleasures feet seek…picking things up off the ground with my toes, pinching Coral with my toes, letting the bottoms of my feet enjoy the feel of wet grass.

I made a half ass attempt at curing my feet by wearing toe socks for awhile. My theory was that my toes needed to not touch each other. They needed to spread apart from their comfort zone. The problem was I didn’t wear them everyday and eventually just stopped wearing them. I had seen a couple of people wearing the Vibram Five Fingers shoes, but I thought it was just a fashion statement. Other than thinking they were kind of funny looking, I didn’t give them much thought. Then, a couple of months ago I came across this post by Tim Ferriss, which led me to lots of research and You Tube video watching about feet.

So, I finally picked up a pair of the goofy looking shoes. Although, now I think they look kind of cool. And they feel awesome! It really feels like walking barefoot, but with no worry about getting hurt by stepping on sharp rocks or a piece of broken glass or just the genreal grime found on any sidewalk in America. It’s been quite liberating walking around in them.

Coral has been massaging my feet and I’ve been doing foot and toe exercises and my feet are showing the beginning signs of freedom. I can slightly spread my toes apart and I am able to grip the floor a little better. Eventually, I want to be able to do this with my feet.

Yeah, she’s my toe hero.

If you want to learn more about Vibram’s check out this video.

And be sure to visit their site at http://www.vibramfivefingers.com.

Remember to love your feet. They are amazing. Or, as Leonardo Da Vinci puts it: “The human foot is a work of art and a masterpiece of engineering.”

– Jeff