A master of T’ai Chi was so sensitive to the forces around him that if a fly landed on his shoulder, he would sway gently under its impact. Legend has it that a sparrow was unable to jump from his open palm and fly, because as it pushed away, his hand would sink beneath its legs. Such sensitivity reflects our own potential, refined through practice. – Excerpt from BODY MIND MASTERY by Dan Millman
Just twenty minutes from where I live, the Lovejoy (Lucas, TX) Cross Country Team runs barefoot in the grass everyday before their run.
What do they know about stretching *and* warming-up that the running magazines that are trying to reach the masses don’t know (or choose to ignore)?
(Proprioception)
Embracing and connecting to something *weird*.
Your foot is fully capable of acting as a mobile adaptor to the ground on every single leg landing.
Running in the grass drives the joints throughout your foot into different positions on each *and* every single leg landing.
Barefoot running in the park is dynamically preparing your feet and the entire chain.
It truly is the *ultimate* warm-up for running. (emphasis added)
Your foot is molding to the ground on every step. Every joint throughout the chain is driven by your forefoot/midfoot as it meets planet Earth.
The synergistic relationship between the ground, gravity and momentum acting on your forefoot/midfoot as you touch down stimulates the mechanoreceptors throughout the entire chain.
(Perspective)
A rear foot strike was *never* normal. (emphasis added)
Running in the park in your barefeet might look weird to some people, but not to your foot.
For your feet, running barefoot in the park is anything but weird.
Your feet feel *alive*, and free to do what they do naturally (normally).
“The brain is the violin and the soul is the violinist. They both need to work together in order to make beautiful music.” – Charles Ava
You see, your feet are unlike any other body part (even your hands) in more ways than most people can even imagine.
They are loaded with mechanoreceptors within the unique skin located throughout the soles on the plantar side of your feet.
Each of your feet house *four* layers of very small postural muscles, e.g., Intrinsic Muscles.
*Unlike* any other muscles throughout the chain, these muscles are neurologically stimulated by the ground, gravity *and* momentum when left unsupported.
The initial effort required to spread your toes might be difficult for your brain to grasp if you are not accustomed to exercising the deep postural muscles throughout your feet.
To your brain, actively spreading your toes might feel slightly awkward *and* hard to coordinate, but it is actually a component of normal function, much like spreading your fingers.
Running (not walking) requires a single leg landing on every step.
Pretend that you never heard this: A learned motor pattern(s) (or muscle memory) can be unlearned within minutes.
The learned motor pattern is simply the human body’s *natural* (innate) mechanism for protection.
It is the human body’s ability to adapt *or* compensate over time.
Consciously trying to change the way the foot interacts with the ground only allows for more compensation, *not* a different motor pattern.
The brain will only allow the foot to go into positions where the joint(s) feel *stability*.
Here is that lazy word again…COMPENSATION.
*Restore* the neurological input to the muscles, and you improve the overall mechanics within minutes.
With more overall stability the foot will meet *and* react to the ground in a very different way.
The joints throughout the foot and the entire chain can now take advantage of more contact surface at a synovial joint(s).
(Biomechanics)
Telling a different story.
*Improving* muscle function (and stability) at a joint will not change the osteoarthritic changes or joint wear at a synovial joint, but it will allow you to take advantage of more surface area at the joint.
By improving range of motion and stability you automatically utilize more of the joint.
You are now *free* to move into a position(s) that you have not been able to.
In other words *Age* is only a number.
SHIP.
(Art)
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