Modern shoes with positive heels, narrow toe boxes, and rigid soles create a downward slope that forces the body into compensatory postures, leading to chronic issues in the knees, hips, lower back, and neck; the feet contain 26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles, making them the foundation of the entire body's structure, and proper foot care through gradual shoe changes and foot exercises can improve overall body alignment and reduce pain throughout the kinetic chain.
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Good morning. Good morning.
Today, conference number 1 in our series of foot health conferences.
Free your feet. So, I'm going to give people a few moments to connect, to say a quick hello. Having a good hundred people here already is fantastic. I'm so happy. Before leaving with a wealth of information about your foot health, uh, I invite you to say hello, to tell me where you are listening from. Well, if you're live, you can do it right away. If you listen to the replay, you can also leave your comments below. You can say uh replay and then uh say "Hello, I'm listening from France." That would be a nice little good evening to you from Quebec. Good afternoon to everyone, from all over the world, because it often happens that there are many people on this beautiful planet who want to know more about feet too.
So, uh, I'll give you time to say hi, to see who's here live with me. It gives me so much pleasure to share this with you.
You'll see that I'm extremely passionate [laughs] about feet [breathless] and I have a lot to say about them today, I'll try to limit it to 1 hour with you because there's more tomorrow which will really cover as much as possible. Then I know there are many, many questions related to foot health. This is really something that is rarely talked about. That's why I'm doing this for free online, accessible to everyone. And I encourage you to share this conference as widely as possible. OK?
Just listening to these two lectures will already open up a whole box of knowledge and understanding that will allow you to make better choices for your health. That's my life's mission. That's what matters most to me. That's why I share a lot of my knowledge online like this for free, because I too would have liked to know this before. I'm going to tell you a little bit of my story in a few moments, and then why I'm doing this as well. And I hope that you will do the same thing, pass on the information. Education is power, it's knowledge is power, as they say. This is extremely important because the more knowledge you have, the more you are able to make better decisions for your health, your body, and you only have one and you live with it for the rest of your life. Then today, I hope you will understand that the choice of your shoes has a major impact, not just on the health of your feet.
So, those of you who are with me live, I'm interested, there are lots of people from everywhere, but I'm also interested to know if you have any minor ailments at the moment. Uh, it could be the feet, it could be the knees, it could be the hips, it could be the lower back, it could be the upper back, it could even be the neck and jaw.
You'll see that today I'm going to explain all these links to you together as well. Uh, even perineal problems. So if you feel like sharing a little bit, well, I have foot problems, I have a hip problem, I also have back pain, you write it to me like that, I don't want to know who is with me live. Then if you're watching the replay, you can share it with me. So, uh, normally, uh, thank you Marianne who says "It's about sharing".
I think everyone can see me.
Jean-Louis tells me there is no picture, no sound. Yes, we've made a good start. You can give me a thumbs up just to confirm that you can see me and hear me properly. [laughs] Me, at least, I see that you're here and that you're sharing information with me. That makes sure you can hear me. Hi Chantal from Victo.
Who else is there? A from Belgium.
Hi Joel. Hello, hello. Um, who has... There's Christine who tells me it's a fairly common Achilles tendon problem.
Valgus problem as well. Isabelle's hollow feet are wearing half-height shoes. Yeah, if you wear orthotics too, you can write it down for me. Um, thank you for confirming that everything is perfect. Hi Emilie. Hi.
I'm glad to see you.
Marie Nancy has back pain.
Blow and jaw. Hmm, complexion, that could be related for some reasons as well. Pain in the feet, knees, hips, neck and shoulders. Jacinte, we have the same thing as the whole chain, which also lights up.
Diane says she has pain in her feet, knees, uh, perineum, lower back, hips, and neck. Is that one of them here too? There's Jassin who, oh, Jassin who says pain in feet, knees, hip, neck, shoulder. I already mentioned that it passes so quickly that Radur is in the thick of it when I get up in the morning, sometimes even giving me headaches. That's not fun.
Natalie, uh, who's here? You 're great at responding. [laughs] It's going so fast, I don't even have time to click before it's gone. Uh, Marc is telling me about lower back pain, hip and knee pain, the whole shebang. No, you don't have the whole thing, you only have parts of it.
[laughs] But uh, feet are extremely linked to that. Sometimes people will have a real problem with their feet, and other times they'll have lots of problems everywhere, and they haven't even looked down yet. This will make you understand that there are real connections with what you wear.
Today we were talking about our small, silent enemy. I'll even tell you a little story. So you will better understand why the type of shoes we wear, which are sold in our stores, are like that too. Well, it's not exactly about doing things right for us, it's more about selling more. So you'll get a little bit of an understanding of the history of how our shoes have evolved. Ah, so that was going so fast, it was passing by so quickly that I'm having trouble calming down. Stress from the bill for Louise's ankle injury. foot knee for linen back makes me invite you to continue to share with me where you come from if you have just joined me and also your little aches and pains currently that light up in your body. And if you're here, well, you've probably thought that there might be an interest in paying attention to what you do with your feet, what you put them in, and the impact that this has on your health. So it's really something OK, I know, every time I talk about this, it stirs things up a lot. Give me time to gather all the information because there are going to be a lot of questions that will arise. And I'll tell you right now, there's a part of the thing I'm going to share today and then a part tomorrow because I couldn't do it all together. There was too much content, there was too much information. Okay, you'll see as we go along, you 'll think, "Oh my god, I've done this to my body. Oh, but now, okay, I'm going to throw my shoes out the window, I have to change everything. Ah, stop! Okay?"
Know that you also need to listen to the second part, the second part of the lecture, because if you actually go, this can also cause problems. So I'm going to explain it to you step by step as well.
Today, I'm specifically educating you on what your shoes do. We're going to do some tests together. I hope you have your shoes with you. Oops, I even have two. Okay, I even have some Crocs, you know.
If you wear... What do you wear most often?
Okay. Are my shoes white? Are they little ballet flats? Are they Crocs? The famous trendy Crocs. Okay. Are they... A shoe that looks more like this?
Is it those famous Burkin Stock shoes? Okay, maybe choose at least one or two shoes that you wear most often. Okay? Because we're going to do some tests together. I've taken down part of my wardrobe, and as I explained in a live video last week, I even went shopping with my daughters for shoes we don't wear at home, and my daughters were really amazed. " But Mom, why are you buying these?"
[laughs] " It's not good, Mom." Because they already know the features we want in our shoes. And then they were testing them in the store, and we said, "No, these don't work."
Why are you buying it?
So today, I'm going to share that with you too. Uh, great. And there's even Marie France who says she's from Tawa and then continues walking while listening to me. It's perfect for now. Uh, I'm going to share on screen, uh, a little screen sharing of my PowerPoint, but uh, you always have the option to listen to it again. And if you happen to stumble upon me and you're not registered for the replay, you can ask my team to write it. You can go to universityoga.com/conference to register. That's all in the comment that just went through the platforms. You can go there and there you will also find the replay link. That way you'll be able to share it with someone else because I think everyone needs to know what's going on in their foot and then how they can improve what they're wearing in their feet. And uh, two, uh, you can watch it again, so if you are currently at lunchtime and uh, you have to leave or whatever, or at dinnertime or suppertime, uh, you can listen to it again at your own pace as well. OK.
So, uh, we're going to talk about shoes. [laughs] I really did dramatize it. It's an enemy, but yes, it's a super silent enemy. OK.
Um, I think he had such a great job in shoe marketing and it's been such a big part of our lives since early childhood. Our parents, at least I am from that generation, put shoes on us before we even started walking. It was even funny that they put us on our feet. My mother said, " We're making pasta." OK. or the monks did that too, putting us on our feet with our little boots before we could even walk on our own two feet. So, uh, your shoes are part of your life. Well, it's such a permanent part of our culture that we don't really see them as structures that will affect our health. And because you will understand later, because they don't always directly affect the foot, they also affect other parts of the body. I'm going to show you, and then I'm going to explain why as well. Well, uh, that's what makes the impact difficult to perceive as well. Then it's silent, we continue carrying. Then I'm going to show you how a vicious cycle has developed where we have to continue wearing this type of shoe because our foot is so adapted to this type that it's not possible to get out of it in a certain way. I will give you a much clearer explanation tomorrow, but today, uh, it's really today, I'm going to explain the current state, the characteristics of your shoes, what you want to look at, the tests you can do, uh, a little more of the history so you understand where it comes from. That way, you'll better understand why. We've been saying that for so long, in that way too. and uh allow you to have uh more knowledge the next time you go uh to the store and thus choose a shoe that uh will allow you to be healthier. Then, I'll tell you, gradually, okay? Because it also needs to be done gradually. And there are some lovely people I see again. Hi Mido, thank you. Hi, I'm glad to see you. Who says uh thank you for confirming that yes, I have been teaching about feet for 15 years. It's been a very long time. Um, I want to share why with you in a few moments. And hello Françoise too, who is here, Françoise, the little squirrel who also transformed her feet with me too. OK. So, first of all, who am I? Um, for those who don't know me, I'm Mireille Martel. People also call me Mimi. Uh, I've been sharing knowledge, especially popular science, for over 15 years. I simplify scientific knowledge to make it as accessible as possible to people because I sincerely believe that all the power is in your hands. You live in your body 24 hours a day. You know your body better than anyone, but because we don't have the knowledge, because we don't have the ability to understand how it works, we don't have the information, well, often we make the best decisions we can with what we have. And because it's very little, well, often we end up with all the little ailments you mentioned earlier. Uh, like Françoise who says the sciatic nerve in her left leg shoots all the way to her toes. Meow, uh, you know, or the lower back too, uh, which was sensitive for some as well.
Um, so what else is there? You know, there was a total knee-high situation we were talking about earlier, there are plenty of them like that. OK. So, uh, it's mainly to provide that information. Um, I 'm not a healthcare professional with a degree. I studied abroad extensively. I have over approximately 3000 hours of private training. Well, I have a lot of experience because I've been doing this full-time for 15 years. Um, I have several people who are here right now. There's Rolland too. Uh, I think we've known each other for at least 10 years easily and uh I uh started uh from the beginning to teach uh this knowledge. So, I have a lot of experience in classes, with students, with my clients regarding feet and then regarding the rest of the body. My approach is truly holistic. I created the Body Fix method because it is a multi-systemic approach, meaning that it does not point directly to where the symptoms are, but it understands the whole person, the human being in front of me, on all these aspects and on all these systems. So that's why today I'm going to emphasize how everything is interconnected and that the problems you have in your neck between your shoulder blades may not have a link with what you wear on your feet or the current state of your feet. OK.
So, so, so, so, so, so, so, I just have to make sure I say everything I have to say. OK. So who am I and why have I come to speak so passionately about feet? I'm going to tell you a little bit about my personal story. at 14 years old. Uh, first day of secondary school, so maybe even at 13 years old. Well, in any case, in secondary school, we go from 6th grade basically at 12 or 13 years old to what we call secondary school here in Quebec. Uh, first day of high school, I'm playing tug-of-war and I hear a very loud clunk, a sharp pain. Okay, fine, it's the first day. Okay, I'm getting back into position and it's a team game. We're just playing around here, it's nothing. That's how we pulled the rope like that and I came home limping a little more for the first day.
Eventually, after having a consultation several weeks later, I was told I had a displaced bone. I can even show it to you. It is called the navicular bone. It's a really important bone in the arch of the foot. It's the one that was displaced laterally that got compressed like that. Uh, I am someone who is hypermobile, who has more laxity at the ligament level and that creates a space. What we are, what my parents were able to provide, was to go see a foot specialist. And what I was told was that I now had to wear orthotics. There were no other solutions. There was never a solution to put the bone back in place [laughs] and then strengthen my foot. It was never raised as a solution. The fact is that I was given half-hearted favors. It really is a city of ortaises. I don't have them anymore. I threw them away about 6 or 7 years ago. Uh, uh, I should have kept them now that I'm teaching this. But well, uh, they are midfoot orthotics and uh, they were to support my arch because my avicular bone, the bony structure in the middle of my arch, was, oops, that's it, it was displaced. So, structurally, it was more stable. Well [laughs] you'll understand later that there was n't much muscular support either, and that's why it came out so easily. The brace was there to support my arch and help me reposition my body in a better posture. OK? Let me tell you right away, there are times when you need an orthosis and there are times when you no longer need one.
I will explain that later as well. I 'm not 100% responsible for orthotics, but it's often due to a lack of education. Then that's what happened to me too. I was told you have to wear this for the rest of your life.
I was 13, 14 years old and still growing. And that's where I had to change that.
My parents had to pay every year because I was growing up too. Uh, and always wear them because if I did n't wear them, I was going to cause more serious damage to my body. Uh, I did that until I was 26, 25, 26, 27 years old, about 14 years more or less.
I didn't plan it because it just happened like that, where uh life made me end up on a rather deserted island in Africa for other reasons and uh I lived there. So, closed shoes in lots of sand don't work well. OK. Most people were either wearing sandals or were barefoot. So I introduced a lot of barefoot walking because it was extremely uncomfortable. Firstly, because their style didn't fit in practically any of the shoes I wanted to wear, even espadrilles, it was complicated. That caused the foot to lift up, so the heel came out. So in any case, plenty of those who leave from the "allez" are sure to understand. Besides, when you're young you want to be a little bit fashionable. It never worked. I couldn't wear sandals anymore either because they did n't fit into any other sandals.
So I started walking barefoot, and eventually, walking more and more barefoot. Uh, when I came back to Europe or uh, to Canada, well, I put my toes back on because I was told I absolutely had to put my toes back on, and uh, I realized that when I put my orthotics on, it was extremely painful and problematic.
Afterwards, I returned to Canada. Um, I became interested in the human body for several other reasons as well, and I understood by studying more about the biomechanics of the feet and the whole context of the human body as well that my feet had really been transformed by the stimulation of walking on a completely uneven, unstructured surface, not like a straight floor, and in a regular way. And so I now had an arch that I could have when I wore my orthotic or even at that time my whole arch had become collapsed because the orthotic placed my foot in the right place but uh as soon as I had the orthotic I had a foot, a false flat foot. OK.
So I had regained an arch, I had found much more muscle strength and I was able to place my foot in a proper position. It also allowed me to study feet more.
Then I thought, well, if I managed to do it, then there are plenty of other people who will manage to do it. and I started to make more informed choices about my foot health and also the shoes I was going to wear because what I also realized was that the shoe had a major impact on the condition of my foot and my foot had become, I [laughs] say more difficult to fill in a certain sense because it had, it had completely changed too. OK.
Uh, so I no longer have any help there, I mean. You know, it's been about 26 or 27 years, more or less, since I stopped wearing orthotics. I don't know exactly anymore. Uh, I don't have any more hortaise. I wore those horteses for about 14 years in total. Uh, I kept them the same because, you know, I was thinking, well, oh my god... They stayed in my wardrobe, they accumulated a lot of dust before I finally threw them away because, after all, a lot of money was invested too. Uh, and uh, now uh, I've been teaching for over 15 years how to take care of your feet, how to strengthen them, how to regain balance, stability, better posture, how to treat all the ailments that are related to the foot, such as the famous neuroma, plantar fasciitis, neuropathy in the foot, Achilles tendon, tendinitis, and so on. All those little aches and pains. OK, I won't be addressing the bourgeois bohemian in particular today, but know that they all have a connection with what I'm about to share. These are just symptoms of the same underlying causes. That's why I address the causes rather than each of the symptoms. All right?
So, uh, this is just to tell you that I experienced this firsthand. I experimented with it on myself and then afterwards I worked even more on my feet.
Now I am able to jump, I am able to run, I am able to walk barefoot over a very long distance, I have no problem. During the period when I wore orthotics, that is to say from all of my secondary school and twenties onwards, I can easily tell you that I sprained my ankles more than twenty times. OK? Due to my hypermobility.
Uh, I also, uh, I had five severe sprains that required me to use crutches. I never consulted the others.
All right. But this shows you that that's it, I really have very unstable feet and ankles and very unstable feet at the ligament level. I haven't injured my feet like that since I strengthened my feet, since I changed what I wear on my feet and also what I do with my feet. So, uh, it's super important to understand that. Then I know you have a lot of questions, you're like, "Ah, what should I wear? What should I do?" I will answer several questions today and then I will answer some more tomorrow. That's why I separated the two conferences, also because there were too many questions, which is often what happens. Um, but um, I'm going to read your questions and then I'll try to answer as many as possible as I go along. Let me tell you right away, there is always the possibility of contacting us if necessary. But you will see that today, with the approach I have, which is much more focused on the causes of your problems, you will also be able to find solutions.
All right? I'll explain the solution to you really, really step by step tomorrow as well. But today, I really want us to do some tests together and for you to have that knowledge in your head so that you can understand that [laughs] it's part of our culture. Then it's really like I said, an enemy that is silent, that we do n't see directly, that we don't think has an impact. So uh I'm going to uh I'm going to I'm going to share my screen for 2 seconds. Give me... Oops, that's not it.
Oh dear, oh dear. Screen sharing.
[grunt] It won't be long.
Ah, it's 2 seconds. Ah, there it is.
Not that one I'm going to show you first. We're going to talk about that. So ah I have one, this is Perry Nicholson with whom I studied. He's a chopra practitioner who is really more of a chiropractor. uh, you can't heal in the environment that made you sick, and that applies to lots of things, including the environment around your feet. [laughs] So if you have problems in your body and then a part of your environment resides in your shoes, that's kind of the idea. Well, you can't heal while keeping the same environment.
Things need to change for that reason too. OK?
Um, what are your feet like?
First, before we get into everything we want to avoid or the characteristics of your shoes, I just want to remind you how incredibly important the psyper are. They are the most beautiful thing you have. I call them natural 4x4s and often uh we have them it's like if you had kept if you like cars, it's like having a super 4x4, a dream car that goes off-road, you know, a jeep or whatever, and then you put it in the garage and lock it up there. OK? You're not getting the full benefit of it. [grunt] Your feet have 26 bones. That's more than 25% of your people who are here. 33 joints.
OK, 20 is right, that's 25%. 33 joints. And by the way, all those joints move in multiple ways. There are 10 to 26 different joint movements that you can perform in your feet. Let me tell you right now, most of us have barely twenty possible movements in our feet when we wear modern shoes. So, most of us are extremely limited. But these 33 joints, each articular facet can move in an extremely varied way, which is not possible in a modern shoe. We also have more than a hundred muscles, tendons, ligaments, and these are really what will stabilize the bone structure. So it's extremely important that he is solid, that he is committed, that he is awake and that they are connected. because, uh, if they're not connected to our nervous system, well, it's going to be difficult to engage as well. Then we have tens of thousands of nerve endings, which is extremely important. Uh, I have a study published in 2024 in the Journal of Neuroscience that even demonstrated that the foot surpasses the hand in the fine discrimination of mechanical pain. What does that mean? This means that there are more nerve endings, noceptors, in your foot than in your hand.
OK? So what do we do with it?
It's like putting oven utensils on our hands, at least 14, 15, 16 hours a day. Besides, you wear stockings all the time. This makes you imagine how these nerve endings can be stimulated or not. We also found this really interesting 2500 2500 sorry sweat gland. That's crazy.
This is really, really important. It was designed to ventilate, transpire, and then breathe the soil. Our feet need to be completely bare.
[laughs] And that proves it with the quantity of sweat glands, it's even the percentage is extremely high compared to the rest of the body too. This is one of the places with the most sweat glands. OK. Um, what I'm asking is, if nature has invested so much energy in 4% of your body, when you look at the profile there, it's just 4% of your body, well, it's certain that if we put them in super soft layers, in high heels or with rigid shoes, uh, it has an impact on everything the rest of our body can do, okay? because we are completely imprisoning all that amazing potential there too.
Uh, it's kind of like I'm going to show it here, it's kind of like we did this. I thought the image was beautiful, so I'm going to put it here. Um, imagine that you plant a tree and that the tree has soil that is able to go everywhere. where the roots will be super large, they will go down into the soil, they will get all the nutrients and then all the potential. So the tree will also spread out much better. But if you plant a tree and then put it in a box, like we see in the red box here, well, the roots won't be able to spread as much.
That means it will have an effect on the rest of the tree as well.
Your sole and then your foot, it's really like the roots of the foundation of your human structure. We are bipedal beings.
In evolution, we have chosen to transfer all our weight onto our two feet, and the only constant contact we have with the ground is with our feet. So if we constantly confine them, we create the same thing that we create for that poor little tree whose roots are eventually limited and we have difficulty deploying its full potential.
The branches will be smaller, the leaves will be less nourished too, everything will be more limited. You will understand even more in a few moments. OK. Um, and I'm saying this now, but how many years has this tree been growing in a limited space? Calculate your age here too. OK? Then you will see that it has had a lot, a lot, a lot of extremely dormant potential for many, many years. Then I'll say it right now, I'm going to show you how to free it from this box [laughs] there too.
I'm not leaving you in despair. Don't leave just yet. I'm going to show you another beautiful picture because if you're lucky enough to have children around you, look at babies' feet. Those who haven't put on slippers or socks or booties, you'll see that baby feet really have a shape that is much more natural than our feet than what we have.
If you take your foot out of your shoe right now, I invite you to do so. Why not be barefoot while you listen to me? Uh, to allow you to really understand the difference between a baby's foot and an adult's foot that has worn shoes. OK. Uh, there are even, uh, I've been looking at a lot of photos lately, and there have even been specific research projects that went to regions where people wear quite a few shoes, and they took photos of people who had been working without shoes since the beginning of their lives. Their feet looked very much like those little feet. OK. For me, in Africa, that's what it was like. Africans had an extremely dollin sole of the foot, you can see it there the line on the toe here the the between the toe, the toe is straight. The big toe is completely straight here. And it's spacious. There's space between the toes too. OK?
It's a little more than it looks. If you look at the left foot, that's pretty much what our feet should look like from below. And it looks like the one with the red elastic band right now, it looks a lot more like what you see when you make marks in water or sand. Our toes are all tightly curled and stuck together.
And here the photo doesn't do it justice. But most people who have worn shoes, even the width, I don't know if I'm able to draw them.
He will love me or he will not love me, the width of this here, there, or there, we can see that it is someone who has worked on their feet who has just put an elastic band on. But for most people who have worn shoes, if you measure that distance between the two, it will be much narrower as well. OK?
It's not just your toes that stick together, but the width of your feet because they've adapted to your shoes too. So, let's move on to some features of your shoes. I'm going out, I'm just going to show off. That's another way of looking at it. OK. A shoe. We'll talk about the width later, but we can see it from above now with the water. In my drawing, I wasn't able to put the bone in the right place. But even in this right shoe, the width, what we call the metatarsals, that is, the waters at the base of the toes is much narrower here than here. Then the toes will be at an even greater angle. It's going to be more like the foot with the red line versus the foot with the green line. OK, get out of here.
Now, we're going to take our shoes and then we're going to look at three specific characteristics of our shoes. All right?
Uh, give me 2 seconds so you can see a little better. So, I'm going to take [sigh][breathless] my famous shoe. If you were with me on social media too, you may have even seen my little test that I shared yesterday on social media. I have this shoe, but I have others that are mine. I could even take that boot too. Okay, okay, let's do the tests. These are things that I wear, whether it's the boot, my more sporty shoe, or my partner's shoe, OK, which is more of a running shoe. Um, all of that can be done with these shoes, so if you have your own shoes that you wear most often, OK? The one you wear in the house, the one you walk around in most often outside.
I know it's a change of season right now as well. So, uh, it's possible that, uh, you were at the boots. OK, I have boots. Ah yes, I have some of those, those are OK.
So there's still grass on it. Famous winter boot. OK. uh or uh you are still you have just switched to a more summery shoe, lighter or even little ballet flats. Earlier, I saw someone wearing ballet flats. Okay, take the shoe.
Then we're going to talk about three of the six characteristics that can affect your foot.
All right? I demonstrate it on this shoe here. Then I will also demonstrate it on a more modern, classic shoe. All right? The one that most people will say, "Ah well, it's a shoe that's good for your health, it's a shoe that supports me well, it's a shoe that allows me to do physical activities." OK? Um, then I'll show you what I usually wear too. Well, I have plenty of examples too. I even have my daughter's shoes with me too, uh, for now. OK. Otherwise, it could be your famous croques or uh I uh you know I went [laughs] I did the Burking Stock too. It could be anything from that. All right? It could even be something that maybe is more than what you're wearing. All right. In fact, I'll show you three characteristics.
Most of us will find at least two of these characteristics on your shoe, based on the tests. There are some, I've gone through six fingers in total. Tell yourself that most modern shoes, this one, it contains all six in a negative way. Today, I'm showing you three because three is already a lot to change. Uh, so the first one is really the famous positive heel or what I call the high heel.
Everyone calls it high heels. Do you think the person wearing that is wearing high heels? OK, I know if there are some who already follow me, who already know me, [laughs] they're going to say "Yes, but those of you who are new to this, have you never heard of uh of positive heel?" Hey, I can even do that.
Do you believe that it has a positive aspect? The little ballerina here.
All right? People often say, "Oh no, I don't wear heels. No, I don't wear heels. I wear running shoes or sneakers. I think in France you call them sneakers." And others say, "No, I don't wear heels, I wear ballet flats." Okay. Do you think these shoes have a heel? You can answer me too.
Okay, I'll be back.
So, Isa says yes, yes, 3 cm, probably there's Gabal. Yeah, Gabal, I know you often follow me, so you know it too. Jassin said yes. Okay, so what does a positive heel mean? It means that the height of your heel, so inside when you wear the shoe, the height of your heel—I was just pinching the distance between my finger that's inside and the heel versus the front—the heel is higher than the toes. Okay. Even this little ballet flat here, it's not very High positive heel, but it has a positive heel. Okay? Yes, that's it.
Verro said yes, but small. His is really small. Okay. Uh, but most people, yes, you might wear this for part of the summer, maybe, but when you move on to other seasons or when you're training, you might train more in this kind of shoe. Uh, don't just rely on the rubber edge here because it also has trendy visual ways of rising, or making it even when it's not even on the inside. So really, the true way is to measure the distance. There are calipers that exist like this, C-shaped calipers that measure the distance between the bottom of your shoe.
Okay? The bottom of your shoe here, then the base, and the same thing here at the front. Okay? In fact, there's a difference that's at least, I'd say 2 cm easily. There's a 15mm to 20mm difference between the toe here and the heel of this sneaker or athletic shoe. So you're constantly on a downward slope. Okay.
Uh, that too, if you find something, it exists. What we call [grunt] the zero drop, it's an English term, but it means there's no difference. The height between my toes here and my heel here is the same. Okay?
Literally, my heel is at the same height. What happens if my heel is higher than my toes? Well, people often notice it more because it's been around for years. I mean, even shoes, I think children's shoes are even more dramatic with the drop because the shoes we put on very small feet, the angle, the distance, I don't know, these aren't shoes for very small feet. This is my 11-year-old daughter wearing these, so it doesn't matter. But when it's shorter than a foot For example, if I have a 1 cm heel here, the slope is steeper than if I have a 1 cm heel here. And there are many, many children's shoes that easily have a 1 cm heel here. So they're even steeper. If you have very small feet, the heels will have even more influence on the slope. What does that mean? Well, I invite you to stand up, take off your shoes, and go barefoot. Okay? Then [grunt] place both feet parallel here. Okay? And you might even have difficulty feeling it because when you wear shoes with a positive heel, even, I'll tell you right now, even the 3 or 4 mm or the 5 mm of the ballerina flat, and in my transition to zero-drop flat shoes, I even had a time when I only had 5 mm and it affected my body. I had pain because of it. Okay? Because I was in transition and I I was working, I could really see that it was affecting my posture. So when you've been in a position for a long time, the body adapts to the demands placed upon it. If you've been leaning forward for a long time, OK, meaning you here, I've lifted my heels here, but even better if you have a yoga mat or a cushion, a blanket, a towel, but [grunt] if you lift your heels like this, what happens? Like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it's slanted forward. If I lean forward, mechanically speaking, what happens? But if I push harder here, you can do this yourself, transfer your weight further forward, even if you have your heels on the ground. What's going to happen? I can feel my quadriceps contracting more and more. What that means is, these are the most superficial muscles of your thighs. What that means is that it's going to pull as much on your pelvis because your quadriceps is attached to your pelvis as it does on your knees. Earlier, there were people saying, "Ah, knee problem, knee problem." Okay. It's also going to scratch—I don't know if you can feel it, but if anyone sees it while it's happening and wants to write it down, it's also going to tend to scratch your toes. Hammer toe. Okay.
A lot of angry plantar fascia contracting to stop you from falling forward. It's like the Leaning Tower of Pisa because it's leaning more to one side than the other. And that's not its natural state. There are a lot of restructuring costs to prevent it from falling. That's what's happening in your body. It's your toes. It's the entire engagement of the front part of your body. That includes your Quadriceps that lock up and pull on the knees because the quadriceps muscles, I have pants for that.
Okay, I have them that directly attach to your knees. So, patellofemoral syndrome, hypertonia in the quadriceps.
You might not feel them, but below your quadriceps, just below, what do you have? You have all your hip flexors, including your famous psoas. [grunt] Okay? Then your psoas, these are muscles that run on either side of your lumbar spine and stabilize it. But if you're falling forward, they'll contract to prevent you from falling forward. There will also be tension that builds up, and then it will pull on your lower back as well. Ah, back problem, back problem. Okay. Uh, it's certain that you can't live like that. So also, what's going to happen because you're always leaning forward, even now I don't have Lifted a lot there. I have about 1 cm. You can't see the screen. I don't even have 1 cm. Okay. The body, you mustn't... Oh no, I don't want to look at the ground. So it's going to bend. It's going to bend where? It's going to bend in your knees. It's going to bend in your lower back, it's going to bend in your back, it's even going to bend in your head. And the problem, which is difficult to perceive, is that no one bends to exactly the same degree.
And depending on the shoe you have and the condition of your body, and where it's more mobile, where the nervous system has more access to more mobility, well, it's going to bend where it can most easily. So there are people who are going to have a lot more knee flexion. There are people who are going to stick their buttocks out more. There are people who are going to move their pelvis forward too. Okay, like that, because there they are going to shift the weight of their upper body backward. Me I call that the banana pose. There's also the Kim Kardashian pose. There are people who round their backs, then push their heads forward, and then bend them too. This means they'll have a lot of neck pain just because your foundation is crooked.
So what I want to emphasize here is that, yes, if you have a choice between these ballet flats and these, in terms of heel height difference, it's going to be lower. So you'll have less compensation. Do you always wear that height? And do you still want to be in a lower position? Same thing. Okay. And what often happens, I know, is that people will say, "Oh, I'm going to take my shoes off right now, I don't want my shoes, I'm going to wear my shoes." I'm always put my feet up in my house."
Yes, but the amount of time you 've worn shoes, your body has already adapted to that. So even when I see people barefoot in my classes, they're already in a posture like that without even having shoes on their feet because the repetition of wearing shoes has really created postural patterns that make it so that, oh, I'm going to make my position easier, bend my knees a little more, so there's a lot of pressure in the menisci and then the knees, oh, I'm going to arch my back a little more, so there's a lot of pressure in the lumbar region. And by going through this constant forward lean, all it does is over-engage the front of the body and completely deactivate the back of the body. That is to say, all the very large, very bulky muscle that allows you to support your pelvic floor, support your back, allow you to lift weights, OK? isn't there.
So if you have glutes that are completely off, glutes Asleep, OK, Sleeping Beauties, [laughs] which also causes a lot of problems for the perineum because the perineum needs that support because the lower back and the rest of the body need that support. Also, there are really big muscles in your hips and thighs. If they're not balanced, if there's always more weight in the front and constantly more weight in the back, well, the balance is lost. And that's often how you see people with flat butts. OK, I've had flat butts before. I've had flat thighs before. I've had legs with no calves. I can tell you that my partner knew me before I started taking care of my feet and is very happy that I'm taking care of my feet now because I've completely changed my shape, not because I've done glute and ab exercises, but simply because I've regained my balance. OK? I managed to load up the muscles, all the That's a lot of muscle mass here. That means better posture, but it also means better stability, far fewer back problems, and neck problems too, because the neck muscles are also posterior.
So, better positioning in space as well. And my list of the impact would be extremely long; if your neck is n't in a good position, how it can affect the rest of your body too. Just from a small heel. Oh, it's just a small heel or not, it's... I was advised to wear them. These are shoes that are good for your health. Yeah, but you're on a downward slope the whole time when you wear them. So when you do squats to train in a posture like that, you're constantly loading your quadriceps. Maybe that's why you have knee pain. Maybe that's why you feel your squats so much in your knees. Okay.
And in your thighs, Have you ever done squats and really felt your glutes? If you want to feel your glutes, you absolutely have to be able to load your glutes in a shoe like this; it's going to be impossible. Okay? I could say a lot about the impact of heels, but I just wanted you to check. So, does your shoe have a slope like this? I have others. Okay, wait.
[grunt] I'm not going to be mean all the time here in my famous Crocs. Okay, there are n't many downslopes. So in a Croc, a shoe that's too trendy. You'll see there are other reasons why we don't want them. Uh, but here, with the zero drop, it's not so bad. Okay? Because the toes are roughly at the same height.
Ballerinas, okay, the choice between a shoe like this and ballerinas is better. Uh, this shoe here too, you know, it's a shoe that... Really equal. So the heel is roughly the same height. So there are shoes you can choose where the heel will be at the same height as your toes. Okay? They exist. Okay.
Hh, then, ah, and then the famous Burkin Stock, this one is a little higher. It's kind of like the equivalent of a ballerina flat, too.
Okay. In summer, summer shoes are often closer to a zero drop. In winter or autumn/spring, we might be more inclined to have higher heels. Uh, it's like I told you, look at my partner's winter boot. Uh, he knows, but there really is a high heel. I've often said that you wear high heels more than me. Uh, but there is a high heel. Okay. So often boots or ankle boots will have this kind of thing.
I'm showing you this, it's my autumn boot. There is No heel.
It's literally the same height on this side. Okay. But my Diversion boots are the same too.
Second, I'm going to move right on to the second feature of your shoe that you can test.
I'm telling you, I have six in total. I'll show you three today.
The toe box, I'm just going to make sure I have the OK. [breathless] [grunt] So I'll find my good shoes that I can take out if you're able to— yeah, that's it—take out the insole, OK, of your shoe, good because that's going to show you exactly what's going on because there are a lot of modern shoes, especially espadrilles, that's the big ergonomic trend to help stabilize you, that the base of the shoe, which is what's here, is wider than the inside of the shoe. So if you want to be honest with what's going on, the position of your foot in the shoe, you really have to take the Shoe, the sole of the shoe. OK?
Otherwise, there's another thing I'll share on social media this week, or maybe not today, but perhaps tomorrow. I'll do it tomorrow.
There's another trick you can use: trace your foot and then put the cardboard inside. It also gives you a clue if you're not able or don't want to tear the sole off your shoe. [laughs] I tend to modify a lot. I used to modify my shoes a lot, uh, when they were, uh, classic modern shoes like these. OK. So you can take out the insole. I'm going to do the same thing on my shoe here too. There, like that.
I won't talk about it today, but neither of the soles has arch support. OK.
Both are completely flat. There's no difference, nothing changes. OK, it's possible your shoe has arch support. That That's another characteristic.
I won't talk about it today, but this also has a major impact on the health of your feet. So it's more about the width, what we call the toe box. Okay.
From the outside, people often say, "Wow, that's quite a wide shoe."
It's [laughs] about the space here.
However, if we look at the toe of your shoe, it's a point that curves. And if we look at the outside here, it certainly looks quite wide, or if we put our foot like this. I don't think so. Okay, that would be quite a lot. But when we go inside and take out the insole and measure it precisely, we might get another surprise because many modern shoes tend to be extremely wide in the sole. Why? To give you more stability. Why? Because you've lost stability by wearing this type of shoe. Okay? Because It's always a foot that's completely like the root of my tree, like when you saw it in a box. So if I asked you to do a handstand with your hands together like this, your handstand, even your quadrupedal balance, would be difficult, or your plank would be difficult. Whereas if I asked you to spread your toes, that should be the best reflex. Then you'll have a lot of stability.
It's a bit like what happens with a toe box, which is narrower. And then, you know, you can take one like this too, but it's very narrow. Okay? Very, very, very narrow.
There are even people whose feet naturally won't fit in there because it's really a surface.
This one is still very wide. [laughs] The advantage, [grunts] why so many people are happy in their toe box? It's because, oh, it's very, very wide. Okay. And there's also the fact that the big toe really has its own space to go in. Right, like I showed you for the baby's feet. OK? Whereas here, uh, his toes are really stuck, and then he'll have to turn inwards too. Same thing here, I couldn't tear the sole off. This one's leather. But if you look at the width, it's practically the same as the other one. Uh, and it points, but that means my toes would really be stuck like that too.
Okay? So if you want to do the test, [laughs] I'll put it on the screen. I'll show you... Will we be able to see it?
Hard to see. I would have needed a cameraman on hand.
I have my sole, you can't see it as well because it's... I'll just put a cover on so you have a bit more contrast, maybe.
OK. My espadrille, I'll arrange it [laughs] at the bottom.
It's still quite high here. If I put My foot on the sole, I really have to push all my toes in, even though it would be really difficult for me to get in. Push, then both sides of my toes. By the way, I have very narrow feet. Okay? I have very small bones. I can't wear adult watches. My wrist is too small. I really have very small feet. Uh, but over the years, they've gained some space. Then I'll show you tomorrow what they were like before and what they are now. Uh, but if I want to get into the sole of my espadrille, I really have to squeeze. I push as hard as I can and then I squash my toes so that I either ask my second toe to go over or my big toe to go over. Okay? Like that, and then my little toe will go in a little bit because I'm really squashed in the sole of my shoe. I showed you the white espadrille, while if I put my pink espadrille down, and I don't know if you see, but There's really a lot of space.
I can even see the space between my toes from the top. Okay, so if you have a shoe where you have to [clears throat] push your foot in, force it in, that tells you exactly what's happening in your shoes, and you do that consistently. Test all your shoes. Another thing to know is that 15 years ago, before I started taking care of my feet, even more than that, because I [laughs] when I started walking barefoot, that's what was happening. Uh, I could have fit into that. Okay. Because I'd been wearing tiny shoes for so long.
What I was wearing was this kind of thing because it worked for me with my toe. I was able to wear these, but they were a bit more feminine, or ballet flats too.
Okay. So I was able to fit this My feet were in these, and my feet had molded to this shape. Okay.
So, uh, you might be thinking right now, "Oh yeah, but mine fit." Yes, but how many years have you been tucking your little feet in because someone was saying, "Ah, it's like Japanese women, like geishas." Okay, it's kind of the same principle, but it's the type of shoes you're wearing. And what I want to emphasize is that even a modern shoe like this will, uh, compress the, uh, metatarsals. These are the bones you have here. Okay? These long bones will force your toes to do this. So [sigh] I have the right foot. Yes, the right foot.
No, in any case, uh, I have to stick my toes together.
This is one of the things that will directly affect your balance, your stability, and your ability to engage the muscles so you can regain your balance if you move quickly. So it's super important to check this, I'll tell you quickly, then I'll make the video and share it on my social media tomorrow.
You get up in the morning, you have a good, sturdy piece of cardboard, please. You need something solid so it doesn't crease when you put your shoes on. [grunt] And in the morning, your feet have had the freedom to be more natural, in bed, and you put your feet on the cardboard. You trace the width of your foot. Ideally, I even suggest you massage your foot beforehand. We're going to do some exercises to help your feet too. So, you can even massage your feet. Now, you trace the width of your foot as it is. OK? Without having worn shoes before. For the morning, that's what works best. Then you cut out the width of your foot, and if you can't go to the stores to get the insoles [laughs], just try the insole on your foot.
You take your cardboard that You cut it out and you try it. You try to put it in the shoe. Okay? If it fits, great, that means it works for you. If it does n't fit, if you feel like you're pushing, well, that might be a sign that when you wear that shoe, even if it's okay, you might feel like it's going to crush your feet. Sometimes it's on the side here, other times it's really at the big toe because there are many shoes that are much more pointed that will have a specific effect on bunions. I told you I was n't going to talk about the specific symptoms, but it's one of the main causes: the toe box. So, have you tested your shoes? Does it give any results? I'm telling you, often of the three characteristics I share, at least two are present in your shoes. The third one I'm going to talk about, I'll come back to... This one. The third one I'm going to talk about because this one, there are three of them, is the sole. The sole. So we're going to do a little twist test. Uh, you can take your shoe and twist it. Okay? If I do, I'll show you a shoe where I have no resistance, where my foot can really move in all directions, I can literally move it like a rag, I don't have to apply much force. I can apply it anywhere, whatever happens to my foot, the shoe doesn't limit me.
If I take my espadrille, my sneaker, which is apparently very, very good at stabilizing my foot, but if my foot naturally wants to twist, I'll tell you right now, [grunt] your foot has a normal, natural twist between the front of your foot and the back of your foot. There's a movement that has to happen. That's why we have so many joints. The 33 joints I was talking about, that's great Important. And that's natural. If I put this in there, will my toes be able to? I don't think so. I would n't have the muscle strength to create that twist. Will I bend? I'll bend in one place, but I can't bend anywhere else. And here, it takes a lot of strength to bend here. Just to give you a hint, the front portion here, because I was talking about the metatarsals and then the toes. It's super important in the gait pattern that when we walk, we're able to extend our toes, meaning our toes are pointing upwards like this, to have that mobility to push and propel ourselves forward. Okay? That's the propulsion pattern, the natural gait pattern.
If your toes are in shoes here, or if so, there will be some, but you won't have the full freedom to do it. So, in terms of the gait pattern, especially if you've already lost a lot of mobility In your toes, you have an alus valgus, you have, uh, an alus rigidus, which is what we call the rigidity of the big toe, so it's even greater. If you already have fasciitis or other problematic foot issues, or if you've worn this kind of shoe that restricts you this much, the muscles are atrophied. So you won't have the strength to push off and propel yourself with the force of your toes. I've already given a complete explanation of the mechanics of the big toe, but if the big toe isn't in contact with the ground, it has to take the entire weight of your foot, carry it forward, and move it. A bit like me, I 'm in the Star Wars generation, you know, the first ones, you know, the big quads, that's kind of what happens.
So instead of rolling my foot, having the flexibility to really be able to easily propel myself with all the action of my big toe, which activates my entire posterior chain—I was talking about the chain earlier. Back, I do n't have that option in a shoe like this.
OK? Because I'd really have to push as hard as possible, force the position. Okay? Same thing. Shall we try the Crocs? Yeah, Crocs are a bit soft. That's how they're made. But they definitely move like hooves. OK.
Literally, hooves are like alpine ski boots. Louise said.
[laughs] Uh, so there's no movement. I mean, they bend because I'm forcing them here, but at no point will your toes be able to get that propulsion either.
Hey, I know, there are people who tell me, "Ah, that's exactly what my orthotics did for me, the complete opposite."
I have nothing against orthotics. There are situations where you have to use them.
However, there are ways to get out of orthotics. I'll present them in a few moments. Also. Burkin stock, these are stiff as wood.
[laughs] Okay. They don't bend. Uh, what else do I have? Uh, these are my partner's winter boots. Same thing, they're very difficult to bend. They're very similar to these. The ballet flats.
Ah, here's my little shoe. There's zero drop. However, the toes are a little narrower. They bend, but I mean, it's really difficult to get them to bend in the right place. They bend more in the middle. That's not where we want that flex. It would be more here. I really have to force it more for that. Okay. Same thing for the ballet flats. I won't do the ballet flats. I'd break the sole, I think in two. But there's... I ca n't bend them. I can bend them in the middle, further back, but I... They don't bend where the toes should bend. So I have to carry my foot like this and then move it forward. OK. It requires a lot of quadriceps, those famous flexors like the psoas, a lot of tension that will go up into the lower back because these flexors are attached to your back and your pelvis. And that creates a lot of tension because of the knees too, because it's your knees that have to make the movement that your toes shouldn't, uh, should be doing, sorry. and the propulsion portion that activates your entire muscular engagement circuit in the glutes, hamstrings, calves, and that goes all the way up into the back is not active. So the girls from our childhood are a good choice. No, the flip-flops of our childhood were not a good choice because there are other aspects that I will not mention here, but neither flip-flops nor flip-flops are good solutions either. Most of the flip-flops and sandals I've found on the market right now have a super rigid sole like that. They are only attached to the toes. It's a bit like your famous clogs with the croqu that you're tossing around and it creates a lot of plantar pressure. In countries where people wear more flip-flops and sandals, we see an increase in plantar fasciitis, especially in the summer seasons, due to the inability of the sole to follow the foot, and therefore there is no possibility of engaging the entire posterior chain again. OK.
So Annie said I'm good then I can't wait to [laughs] find out, there I've given you three characteristics. Three OK, there are six. [laughs] So imagine if you already have two that change your entire posture, your alignment, uh, the activation of your muscles, well, your shoes currently have an effect on all of them. I hope you understand, it has an effect on your entire body and not just your feet.
All right?
I just want to be sure that I have it, so we have it, I repeat.
positive heel. OK, ideally, we're looking for a neutral heel. By the way, if you've been wearing a positive heel for years, you can't switch to a neutral heel immediately. Extremely important. I will explain the whole process in the next lecture, but you need to know that you can't just say "OK, I used to wear espadrilles like that." Well, if you say that Ballorines are better, I'll switch to Ballorines right away. OK? Well, if you frequently drop 1 cm, it's like you're stretching, I'm taking your calf muscle which is often the most affected and pulling it 1 cm all at once to enlarge it. Because when you wear shoes with a positive heel, you shorten the muscle, the muscles that are above. And the one that is most often affected is the gastrocnemius muscles, the calves. And that's why there are also plenty of people who can cope with Achilles tendonitis. This happens frequently when you change, uh, shoes. OK. The fact is, there are lots of people. Oh, where can I find these shoes? Wait, wait.
All right. It's the shoe. She's the one who caused a lot of problems. But if you just change the shoe, you'll end up with other problems too. All right? because your foot has adapted to these shoes, you've been in these shoes for decades and decades, you can't ask your body to go back to neutral, to natural all of a sudden, it's like having an animal that grew up in a cage literally [laughs] and you leave it in the forest, if there hasn't been a rehabilitation process it won't literally survive, and I know, I know there are some who are listening to me, maybe also who are part of it, who have done the rehabilitation, who have done nature, who have made the transition. There is a process, and I will explain it tomorrow. OK? Extremely important. At least you've realized that there are things in your feet that have an effect on the rest of your body. That's the first thing. That's already, uh, the awareness that is extremely important. All right?
Yes, so I got tendonitis from going too fast. OK, that's exactly it. If you go too fast, you'll end up saying, "Oh, but Mimi said these were the right shoes to wear, then I hurt myself." No, wait for all the information. It's just that I can't give you all the information all at once. Uh [laughs] you have several steps, that's why I'm doing both conferences.
[laughs] [breathless] Uh OK. Ta ta So where was I? Well, I think I'll just share the screen with you here, but I think you've already grasped the whole idea of the chain of [laughs] destruction. I was being very dramatic about what happens in your feet changing everything that goes up above your foot. OK? And yes, if you are on a downward slope, here I have the drawing I have, I didn't have the shoes that lift, but if you are on a downward slope, you will automatically create a curve in your back which will cause the head to move forward and then the jaw will be forced to rise. It will create a lot of tension in the neck, even the famous buffalo humps, those things too, it's a postural link. The thing I want to emphasize here is that as long as your foundation is compromised, I know that's why you're like, OK, what needs to be done?
[laughs][breathless] I was going to say, like I tell my children, w the nerves W patience. My youngest has little patience. As long as your foundation is compromised, everything you build on top of it will crumble. That's pretty much what's happening. That's why I was asking, what were your aches and pains? OK.
Because when people come to see me, one of the first things I look at is their feet. Even if they tell me, "Ah, I have shoulder pain, I have neck pain, I have a pelvic floor problem, I have menstrual pain. Me, I don't have menstrual pain anymore." OK? I still have my period. I am in perimenopause. I still have my periods but I haven't had menstrual pain for years because I straightened my house and so there is less tension pulling on all systems including my digestive and reproductive systems as well. All right? It doesn't matter how much time you spend repainting the walls. That's what I mean. That's why taking care of your feet isn't just taking care of your feet, it's taking care of your whole body. And that's why I've seen huge changes.
I never initially thought that I would stop having those famous lower back pains, those tensions that pull every month because I was menstruating. Then, when I changed my shoes very gradually, I'm telling you, I'm going to show you how to do it step by step tomorrow. One of the consequences is that I stopped having lower back pain and tension every time I had my period. OK? Perhaps you have heavier periods, but that doesn't mean there isn't tension in your back from wearing shoes. So it's super important that you work on your foundation. The shoe affects your foundation, but it's not the only thing that will affect your entire house. Then it's important that you don't just focus on the shoe but also on the condition of your feet. And that's also important to understand, the shoe has transformed the state of your foot. Then, you need to work on the condition of your feet so that you can put them back in shoes that will allow you to have a beautiful house, like the one that is also solid. Then I'm going to talk to you about this because one of the things you might say is, "Oh yeah, but I've been wearing orthotics for 30 or 40 years. Oh, but I've had these problems for x or y years. OK, that doesn't really matter. I'd been wearing them for 14 years. I know other women who have been wearing orthotics for even longer, and they've changed their feet. OK? Those of you listening to me right now who have already gone natural and want to tell others, please share your story, share your experience, because one of the things people stop believing is that because I've had this problem for so long, or because I've been told so often, well, we have this limiting belief that our body can't adapt because we're 50." Because we're 60, because we're 70. That's not true. Okay. It has nothing to do with your age. It has more to do with what you do with your body, how you work your body, or don't work it, how you stimulate it. Okay? Because it adapts to the demands placed upon it.
Uh, I want to share something else with you, so you understand why shoes like these have become so popular and so normal in our society, and why they're supposed to be good for us. Okay. Who you see on the screen are two men, an Olympian, and I think they were two track and field coaches. I'll check their exact names so I don't make any mistakes. Okay. They're two coaches, an American track and field coach named Bill Bowerman.
That's the man on the right, OK?
Who's running right now. And uh, the other one who partnered with a former runner is named Phil Knight. And he's the one on the left you see. OK? And so together, they started a small business. They started a small business that imported Japanese shoes. Then this company later, did it become the famous Nike?
Oh no, that's New Balance. OK, but it's similar to that. Uh, how did it all start? That there was the famous idea of putting in the shoes, I mean the running shoes that the Olympians wore, it looked more like, maybe, this. OK, I don't have the exact picture right now, but it was a shoe where everything was flat, which was just to protect the foot. And even, you can see, the screen is even thinner than that, smaller than that. It It's still quite a thick sole, and so on. Uh, and it has the same height. Uh, Bowman had the idea of taking some foam and putting it in his wife's waffle iron and placing the foam in the heel of the shoe. Okay. Yes, he's a runner, but he wasn't someone who specialized in the impact of body biomechanics or the ergonomics of foot position. So, okay, he decided to put the foam there and then he decided to popularize it, to ask his friend Phil Knight to try it and to popularize the use of his shoes. If I remember correctly, he had created about twenty pairs and he hadn't distributed them. He asked for feedback. Uh, I think Phil Knight, the first time he ran in them, said, "My feet are bleeding because they're so outdated."
Uh, however, they continued the process and then transformed his invention into What we see more commonly now is this type of shoe. So, just to let you know, the cushioned heel, the platform we have, the thicker heel, it wasn't invented to be more natural. On the contrary, the goal was to improve the athletic performance of these people and put them in a position that required even less energy to move forward. And as I said, because it's less energy used to move forward, it might be good for a short run, but because we commonly wear these shoes for several hours a day, and because it's now normal to have a positive heel like that, it's even difficult to find them. That's what people ask: whether I can find shoes or not that have a positive heel. It's more difficult because they've popularized them so much, they've used so much marketing, sales, and influencers. Back then, well, it was The athletes who were at the Olympics. Look, I'll give you the shoes. You're someone who's going to win the race, this will popularize it.
And one of the reasons why you won is because you put this in your shoes. Okay, it's definitely influencer stuff [laughs] from the 50s and 60s. Uh, so that's what popularized the idea of having cushioned shoes.
However, this kind of shoe has a forward transfer, which is unsuitable, as I explained, but there's also the fact that your heel, which is full of nerve endings, no longer receives the information it needs, and therefore your nervous system is no longer able to perceive your body in space as well. That's where there are the most proprioceptors in your foot.
Proprioceptors, I know it's a big word, but it's your ability to perceive yourself in space. It's your entire posture. It's all about your alignment, your responsiveness to maintain your balance. The more cushioned, thicker, denser the tissue, the less connection there is with your nervous system. And one of the reasons we lose, and continue to lose, balance as we age—no, it has nothing to do with your age, nothing to do with how old you are.
It's simply that we've lost the ability to receive information from our feet to our nervous system to tell us where we are in space, so we can activate our muscles and react. Therefore, our muscles are even less used and become weaker and weaker. Eventually, they atrophy and become even weaker. Hence the problems we sometimes see in older people. Okay? So, you should know, this is a story—there are several stories about the popularity of those famous trendy shoes, espadrilles, sneakers, and all the rest. Uh, there's Louis Vuitton, I think. It was Louis XV who was very short. Okay? He was so short, and yet he had a very big ego. So, he decided to hire, uh, shoemakers to make him a high-heeled shoe. I think it was almost ten centimeters to make him taller. Okay. That's how high heels were born. And the bourgeoisie, seeing that the king had them, those who could afford it also chose to have higher heels to be as tall as the king. So that's also a story that has nothing to do with a positive heel, which is also super important to know because it really gives you a lot of information, namely that what we see in stores isn't suitable for our feet and our overall health. These are really stories, these are really historical facts that have transformed our need to have them too. Uh, drag queens must have pain in their feet, in their backs. Yes, I can tell you, I'm sure that if I went to see Celine Dion, I often make the joke. Maybe one day I'll ask her. Um, her feet must really hurt. I have colleagues who teach in the United States, especially in Hollywood, and they have umpteen stars who are hired privately. Um, these women can't be barefoot. Literally, their feet are so adapted to a positive heel that if they lower their feet completely to the ground, it pulls on their calf and their Achilles tendon, which can no longer stretch to its normal length. Okay? That's normal. And eventually, we want to be able to go even further. We'll be able to lower the heel even more. We'll have a negative heel in some cases because of the ankle's mobility. So that means their ankle is constantly locked in a plantar flexion position. Their feet are always pointed; they can't lower them. Okay? So that shows you how Um, our bodies are incredible.
They adapt, they adapt... um, enormously, but... sometimes they adapt as best they can with what's available.
[grunt] Eventually, if we give them better, they'll adapt even better. Okay.
Um, thank you, 68 years old with happy feet.
[laughs] Yes, because you've also followed the programs. And thank you for saying your age, for sharing your age, because that makes exactly the difference. I want to be sure you understand that there's no age limit for transforming your feet. It has nothing to do with that. And I'll explain exactly how it works tomorrow. One last thing I want to share too. Ah, I wanted to do a little test. After that, I'm going to share... Maybe I can share the three stories here right now, very quickly.
Okay!
Um, I have three people: Dianne, Annie, and Isabelle. Dianne followed the "My Natural Feet" program, then... After just two chapters, there are eight in total. She completely removed her orthotics. She had been wearing them for 15 years. That's a testimonial she shared with me.
Uh, also Annie, after the "My Natural Feet" training, I hardly ever wear my orthotics anymore, even though I'd had them since I was 12. She was 61.
I put that there because I want you to see that just because you've worn something for years doesn't mean your body has adapted to it, that it's impossible to change it. Your body will always adapt to the demands you place on it.
You really have to choose to make a gradual demand on it, and then, depending on the state of your body, the progression will vary from person to person.
[grunt] Isabelle, who is a physiotherapist, uh, I managed to realign my big toe with exercises because she had a bunion.
Foot or alux valgus, which is called consistency, it's super important to change the shoes I wear. I now wear shoes with a wide toe box and no heel support. I'm very happy with my feet too. Then there's Isabelle, a physiotherapist, it's the equivalent of a physical therapist in France, and she shares this information with her clients as well. Okay, I'll be back. I want to have you do three tests. Are you interested? I know we've gone a little over. I'll be back here. I'll remove this here. Okay. I'd like to have you do three tests if you're interested.
The three tests... first, we'll do a test if your feet are out of your shoes. Ideally, for a little while now, that will already give you a chance because if I were to take them out, mine are dusty. If I were to take them out just now, maybe they'd be even more numb. Okay, I'll come closer to So we can see it on the screen.
I'm going to remove it like this.
Okay. You want to take your feet out of your shoes, [grunt] you want to put them on the floor, okay? I'm elevated so you can see my feet clearly on the screen right now. And I invite you to just put them on the floor and look. We won't see them there. I'd need a camera that we can see from above. I'd have to have a camera in my forehead. Do you want to see the space between your toes? Can you see the space between your toes or is there no space? That's the first question.
Same question again. After that, you can look on the right side and then on the left side as well. Okay? Second thing, you can lift all your toes, spread your toes completely. Do they all spread apart? Okay, I'm doing this with my fingers so you can see what I'm going to do.
But don't do this with your fingers. Or if you need to do this with your fingers, it means This means your brain has a stronger connection to your hands, which is often the case. Then they ask your hands what to do to help send the message to your feet. This means the neuromuscular relay, the neurological connection to your feet, is slower.
This doesn't help with balance, stability, function, mobility, power, or performance. Okay? But if you spread your toes, do they all move apart?
Do you see a distance between each one? Are you able to place them one by one and maintain the space between your toes?
Do you have that control in your feet? Okay? Your fingers, especially if you play the piano, are extraordinary, but it's the same nervous system, the same contact, and the same muscular capacity that you have in your feet.
If you have difficulty simply spreading your toes, lifting them Your toes already give you a clue that there are lots of things your feet can easily learn. Okay? Because wide-set toes give you a much wider, super stable foot. Okay? Much more powerful too, and in control to propel you forward.
Super important as well. Okay? That's a little test. Second test you can do.
Ah, I'll put it here.
Super easy balance test.
Okay. So what are your balance abilities? You've already figured it out, I just told you. The wider your toes, the better your balance will be. But what is your ability to balance when you're standing on one leg? Okay, don't try to fall, support yourself with something near you. When you're standing on one leg, do you tend to slump like people with flat feet or pseudo-flat feet, or does your knee turn inward or wobble a lot, or are you able to keep your Active arch of the foot, or are you collapsing inward? Okay? Do one leg, see how long you can hold it, then do the same thing on the other side. There might even be a difference between one foot and the other.
Why? There are tons of reasons, we talk about it a lot in the program, but it's not because you're wearing the same shoes, it's not because [laughs] you're wearing different shoes, but it's not because you're wearing the same shoes that everything will be the same on both sides. Okay? There are reasons why you use one leg more than the other, and there are tons of possibilities. Okay? Same thing. Is one side easier than the other? Does it react the same way when you hold it for a long time? Which gets tired first? Is it the same on the right? Only on the left? Okay.
Uh, uh, are you able to do that, or is it still collapsing inward at the knee? And the arch is also affected. Okay, that [grunts] too, these are clues that can give you an idea because there are many, many people who will see this, I'm going to link it to a tendency, OK, to have lost their medial arch, which we call this arch, and that's it, that's my foot, by the way, which has a displaced bone, the bone is always displaced, OK, if I didn't have the muscle strength to support it, I certainly don't have the bone structure to do it, but there are many people... It was my case too, that it was collapsing inward.
If I do that, OK, if I just use my muscle strength for the grip, poof, my knee collapses inward. It puts a lot of pressure on it too, it pulls my tibial band. It affects my butt, my ankle isn't centered anymore either. So it has a lot Load on my big toe, on my arch.
Plantar fasciitis in the making.
Aluxation in the making. Okay.
Ankle problem too because the pressure on them is completely different.
Knee problem too, either medially or laterally, because it pulls on both sides. And it also means my pelvis isn't in the same position in relation to my thigh. It also means, oh, one leg is shorter than the other. Is that really it? No, not really. It's just the position of my foot. Okay. So now I end up with an uneven pelvis. I end up with a back that's no longer even. No, not that either. So I have problems with my knees, more tension on one side than the other. I just want to show you how many ways your body can be affected by the position of your feet, and what your feet can and can't do. Okay?
Third test.
Those who have the option of having those famous little balls that I use and really like, my therapy balls.
Great. Okay. Uh, you can use the balls, it's even more effective. For those who do n't have the option and you want to do the exercise, I suggest you do it with your fingers.
It's important, by the way, that you ideally do all the tests without stockings. Uh, there's a reason why stockings will also limit the information.
Okay? So it's super important that you have the option of getting your feet out of whatever is encasing them because even some stockings are so tight that they'll push your toes together like this. Okay?
We don't realize it because we wear them all the time. So, we do a test, then we either massage with our hands or we massage with our little balls. The little balls are even more accessible. Plus, if you don't like touching your feet as much, some people have, as I was going to say, a dislike, but less of a taste, less of a taste. [laughs] I'll just be able to Ah, my light went out earlier. I do n't know if it will come back on.
I have a difficult light.
Okay, we'll let it be. So if you have the option of getting the little balls, you can get the TRP little balls.
Tomorrow, I'll talk a lot more about these fabulous objects to help the health of your feet. Um, but otherwise, place both feet parallel. Do a flexion test, just let your body go. Keep your legs straight. Okay?
I know that in yoga we often ask for traps. No, really keep your knees completely straight and then let go. Okay? Do you see the range of motion you have now?
Okay?
If that works well, you take one ball at a time and then roll it over the entire surface of the foot.
Today, I won't guide you through a particular massage because I want to show on the screen how you can do it without the balls. As I told you, the balls are really just for show. Thank you, Louise. Um something much easier and more malleable. Alternatively, you can use your hands and then use your fingers. You can massage the inside, move the foot, okay?
While the others are rolling with the balls. You can even run your fingers between each toe.
OK.
Andrea said the balls, the balls are magic. Yes, we love balls. So, I'm inviting you here. Oops. Yes, we'll be able to listen to the replay tomorrow as well. All right?
are available. Just register at universitedeyoga.com/conference to be sure to get the rest of the replays of this one and tomorrow's.
So there, I separated, I put my fingers inside then I move my toes, wiggle my toes. I'm going to take my two sides like this, twist them. OK, it's possible that it won't move as much as mine. OK, my feet were already very, very malleable, but there was a lot, a lot of tension. You can massage like this or you can take the point and rub like this here too, huh? It doesn't take very long. Just to see if it has any effect on changing feet. The same thing happens here just because you have one foot massaged and one foot not massaged. Put both feet on the ground even if you are sitting down, you will see the difference. Put both feet on the ground and then see if there is a difference in sensations between the foot massaged by hand or with a ball and the foot not massaged. I really feel like one leg goes into the floor and the other doesn't. OK.
Then I didn't massage there for very long. By the way, the fun thing about foot massages, uh [grunt], is that you can sit at either end of the sofa and then ask your spouse or children to massage you. Same here.
OK? You can spread your toes, even tuck your fingers in. OK?
Normally, your fingers should fit inside your toes. It's not possible to tuck your fingers into your toes. That also gives you a clue that things are really tense.
I'm moving all of this. I can make small circles. I can massage it internally like that. OK.
There, I was using the balls or your fingers, I was stimulating the nerve endings I was talking about that go to sleep when you are in a shoe or in stockings.
Uh, especially in shoes, well, they're also stuck, and so are the muscles that are between your toes that need to regain their space as well.
OK? Then, uh, all the blood and lymphatic circulation should not be neglected, especially if you have chronic pain such as the famous Moron's neuromas, chronic plantar fasciitis, tendinitis, anything that is in the he.
OK. That's fine too. So I wasn't here long. We walk, we see how we feel.
Even then, I couldn't have the same perception at all, even though I often rub my feet. Well, I was on my feet practically all day. Uh, I don't have any ground perception at the moment. So I know that if I had done an alignment or orientation test in postural space, I would have a better position too because my feet are awake. It's as simple as that. If I bend over earlier it was blocked, then now I can touch my fingers to the ground, my knees are the same. OK.
You may experience an improvement in the mobility of your hips, your back, uh, in terms of sensations, and also in terms of balance. You could do your balance test and then see if it's easier or harder. That's possible, some might say "Oh no, I'm losing my balance more." For what? Because the tension you previously had helped you maintain your balance because you lacked the muscular stability to do so. If you're interested, you can share your little massage result too, and uh, stimulation at the plantar level, but it's super important that uh, just in a few minutes you make a change.
Imagine when you have this every day: better posture, better alignment, better mobility, not just in your feet, but in your ankles, your knees, your back, uh, all the way up to your head. Uh, better fluidity of movement too. So if you do exercises, if you walk, if you run, if you do sports, it will be smoother. OK. Isa said the difference is crazy. THANKS.
Thank you for sharing. Yes, a more flexible back indeed. At that point, Marianne said, "I approve of the change." Thank you for sharing. If there are other results, write them down too so that other people can see that you're not just in your head, that it's not just you too. OK? So, let's return here. Today we talked about three of the six characteristics of your shoes. We have the positive heel, we have the toe box and we have uh I forgot the insole. The sole that isn't, it isn't, it's thick. OK. So, all of this is, uh, super important. Try the tests in your other shoes. Write to me below as well. Share this video because tomorrow what we're going to do is, I think you're a little more convinced that your shoes have an effect on what happens in your body. But what do we do with this? Is there anything I can change? This is extremely important.
Yes, you can change something at any point in your life.
All right? I even teach in homes [grunts] of retired people who are over 80, 90 years old and it has a major impact. He loves to do their feet. They feel more balanced, they feel better in space, they walk better afterwards. They also experience much less pain.
I have a student who had cervical, lumbar and thoracic pain, that is to say, herniated discs in the back. She didn't solve the problem by managing her back, she solved it by massaging her feet. OK? Don't underestimate the effects your feet have on the rest of your body.
Tomorrow, I'm going to show you how to do it step by step, how to change that, what you can do first too because it's super important to go gradually because today I said "Ah, my shoes aren't good, I'm not wearing them anymore." If you want to throw them all in the trash, one of them you're going to need for your transition because you don't want to know where you're starting from. Then two, you want to transition. You can switch from a shoe like that, OK? Shoes like my pink shoe. There you go, that way when you get injured because your body, as I told you, is like a small animal that has lived in a cage for several years. Well, if you put him in the wild all alone, without help, without rehabilitation, he's going to have problems. [laughs] So it's super important to know how to avoid problems, but especially how to change all the other problems you have. You will experience less pain, more flexibility, more strength, better posture, less rapid wear and tear in many areas of your body, but address your feet. You'll see that you'll touch one spot and then everything else will change. Tomorrow, I'll show you how to do that. Same time, same position, same place. So, we'll be back at noon tomorrow here and I'll share with you everything you need to do step by step to transform your feet. I truly believe it. Please share this information with everyone. Tell your children. For me, children understand that they know how to take care of their feet. They know how to buy shoes. They were at the store and then they were saying, "Mom, but it's not turning, it's not working." She was there, "Oh mom, these are super beautiful, I would love them." Ah, that doesn't bend. OK. That's not me anymore. Because I educated them, they are capable of making their own decisions. That's exactly what I want. I want everyone to be able to make their own decision. And if they want to wear shoes like that, well, they 're aware of it. If you choose shoes like that, now you are aware of the impact you can have on your health because you are choosing shoes like that too. Thank you everyone very much. See you tomorrow. And by the way, tomorrow I'm going to answer some questions I've seen go by, okay? If you have any other questions, save them for tomorrow. Otherwise, I also have a period of questions. Saturday, May 9th, it's just going to be questions. I'm going to be there just for that. OK? Because I know many people are saying, "Oh, but me! Oh, but me!", please place your questions either below this video or tomorrow, be there, or on May 9th at noon, I will be there to answer your specific questions as well. Bye everyone. Thank you.
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