Shoes, Glorious, Shoes

Those shoes, I love those shoes, I wore them out last night. Why is my back KILLLING me!!!????

Have you seen those shoes? I mean the big ones, the ones that make you look 3 inches taller, but make you feel like you are walking on stilts as well. What we do as slaves to fashion. So, we have said - I HAVE TO HAVE THOSE SHOES!!!!! And we bring them home and we wear them....and the next day...oh my....ankles, knees and back... pain......How many of us have experienced this? Almost all of us. There are so many reasons why we feel this pain. It's from the shoes we wear to the exercises we don't do! Most of our pains are, to be honest, self inflicted. Every time we reach for those high fashion, high heeled platform shoes, get ready for pain. Every time we say - "oh, I can grab that Danish at work and not walk up the stairs" we better get ready for knee pain. Every step we take puts all our body weight on a surface that is the size of our foot. So let us imagine this.......take something that weights what we do and try to balance it in something that it basically, in my case, 9 inches long and 5 or so inches wide......this is not pretty. So, what can we do to help our knees, ankles and backs?

Sometimes it is just a matter of choose this vs., that.......there is always the time for those killer pump, but fashionistas are sometimes opting for comfort and choosing the glamorous.....SNEAKER. I know, can you believe it? But those cool high tops with glitter may serve you well for a funky club date with a pair of hip jeans, but sneakers can also help you walk yourself into a better mood, a calmer you and maybe even make your body hurt a little less after you do choose the beautiful killer black (or red!) pumps.

Did you know walking?

• triggers the release of endorphins which relieve pain and help to promote relaxation and a feeling of well-being. The higher your level of endorphins, the greater your sense of well-being.
• it increases blood flow to the brain which helps with mental sharpness
• it helps to relieve tension in all muscles by utilizing correct posture thus "unknotting" them
• it gives time to get away from the stress-inducing activities
• it utilizes rhythm (swinging the opposite arm to the leg) which exercises the right-left brain connection (Carolyn Scott Kortge, author of The Spirited Walker, says "movement in the body brings movement in the mind. It's just natural alchemy").
• it gives a time for the mind to go deeper ( WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO LIVE THE REST OF MY LIFE?)

Just remember, even Carrie Bradshaw only wore those shoes until someone yelled "CUT"