In Those Heels, You Look Mahvelous !
Do you remember those old Saturday Night Live episodes when Billy Crystal played Fernando Lamas ? He exaggerated like crazy, and spouted the famous line, "It's better to look good than to feel good, Dahling."
Our culture overemphasizes beauty and aesthetics at the risk of personal danger.
Many will read this blog and ignore it completely. I'm here to tell you:
Those heels are killing you!
To clarify, I'm not just talking about four-inch stilettos, wide-heel pumps or ankle boots, and I'm not just talking about women.
I'm talking about ANY and ALL shoes with a raised heel:
Loafers, cowboy boots, clogs, even NIKES! I'll bet most of the shoes you own have a heel.
You see, the incline heel wrecks your posture by pushing your body-weight forward, forcing your knees to bend and your hips to flex (into duck butt). This in turn forces your spine to curve in exaggeration and throws everything out of whack.
http://excelle.monster.com/nfs/womenco/photos/0000/2756/posture.jpg
If you look at a human skeleton, the weight of our bodies comes down onto the heel. Balance lies in the heels, not the balls and toes of the foot.
Taoists wear flat shoes. My teacher's grandfather was the greatest warrior in all of China, and the guy wore slippers (his name was Fu Zhen Song...).
http://www.futaichi.com/ZhenSong/FuZhenSongBGZ.jpg
Do yourself a huge favor and cut your wear of heeled shoes down as much as you possibly can. Go try on a pair of Earth negative heel shoes (they put your heel lower than the rest of your foot). I also like Keen shoes because if there is a heel, it ain't much.
Tommy Kirchhoff is an expert in Taoist health systems, exercise and athletic training. He studies under the world-famous Grandmaster Victor ShengLong Fu.
http://www.ForgetFitness.com
We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
Add a Comment3 Comments
Tommy - I couldn't agree with you more. I pretty much stopped wearing heels a few years back and stick to "healthier" shoes. Now on the few occasions where I do need to wear heels I find my feet really hurt afterwards. Thanks for your post! Pat
January 21, 2010 - 5:21pmThis Comment
Tommy (and Pat)
I know what you are talking about and I wholeheartedly agree that constant wearing of high heels are bad for the body but I don't wear shoes when at home at all and when I go out I do wear 4 inch heels (my favorite size!).
Despite my knowledge of the dangers, I continue to wear them and have no plans on changing. I think I could see photos of badly damaged backs and feet (like smokers are shown terminally ill people caused by cigarettes) and I'll still ignore them in favor of heels.
It's weird but none of the statistics or research remotely scares me!
Perhaps I need an intervention...
January 22, 2010 - 12:33pmThank you for leaving a comment, Pat,
and thank you for your honesty Susan.
I really appreciate it.
I wrote that article knowing that many
women patently WiLL NOT give up their heels.
They make you taller; they accentuate
your curves; and they make calves look great.
(all aesthetic...)
I created the message simply to plant
January 22, 2010 - 1:10pma seed. My life work is about sustainability.
Women may choose to wear heels now;
but later in your life, when your hips are
stiff, your back hurts like mad, and your
mobility is limited, you WILL give them up--
and will probably wish you had done it sooner.