bare feet.

I used to play sports... all of them. Volleyball, Basketball, Tennis... whatever the school was doing I was doing. It was fun - at one point I was the fastest long distance runner in our program. ME: Miss I-Hate-To-Run. Unfortunately, at some point during my Tennis stint, I hurt my knee. I don't know how and I don't know precisely when it happened, but suddenly it was seemingly impossible to work out. It hurt too much and the doctors warned that if I didn't stop whatever I was doing to aggravate it, I would have to have surgery. Painful, horrible, invasive surgery. Surgery that wouldn't even guarantee that I would be able to ply sports again.

Now, don't get me wrong, I've never been that person who lives for sport. No way. But it was fun, and team sports gave me a chance to be a part of something and have friends that held the same interests. So was I devastated? Not really.

But now I'm getting older. It's more difficult to keep excess weight off without working out, and so it has started to accumulate. A couple of months ago I started working out with a trainer - at first it was good. I was feeling better and really getting back into the swing of things. Round about week 5 I started hurting really bad.

"Hello Rachael, it's me, your right knee. Did you forget about our arrangement? Apparently so... let me remind you. ZING!" And thus ensues the shooting pain under my knee cap. :(

At this point, I can't sit "indian style" on the floor anymore. I can't squat down without my right leg extended, and I won't even mention the things I can no longer "do" with hubby. It's really disappointing. Really. So I started researching. (Let me just say that I am never going to be interested in any kind of surgery unless I am unconscious and someone decides for me... plus, who can afford that right now anyway? No thanks... on to the research.)

I came across a study about feet. Yes, feet... seems unrelated, no? Apparently there is all kinds of research and evidence to support the health of your entire body tied in with your feet. Your bare feet to be specific.

Whether you believe in God or science, there is undeniable proof that our bodies were designed to operate at its best when it operates bare footed. Doctors agree that most adult foot problems would not exist were it not for the addition of shoes. While some shoes are better than others, they all do damage that could be prevented by going barefoot. Additionally, there were no recorded foot-related problems in history until the introduction of proper shoes. That's not even taking into consideration how high problems and surgery numbers have risen in the wake of high heels and pointy women's shoes. Anyway, it's all connected, feet, ankles, knees, back and neck. A vast majority of the problems like mine and other feet/leg/back problems come from this shoe thing.

Here are some websites to check out if you're interested in learning more:

Major Health Benefits of Going Barefoot

For Fancy Feet, Take Off Your Shoes

Society for Barefoot Living

Barefoot and Healthy

In any case, the point of me sharing this with you was to tell you that I've started working out barefoot. Running the treadmill mostly, but anything else that happens to be going on I try to do barefoot. Let me just say that I found knee relief immediately.

While I hardly feel any pain at all anymore, my knee bothers me less and less every day, even though I'm working out at the same intensity for the same amount of time. Not only that, but my back hurts less (already a problem for someone like me with abnormally huge breasts for my frame), and I have fewer neck problems (an old injury stemming from a careless 5th grade school bus driver who almost threw me through the front window of the bus).

In any case, I am a believer. That sounds like it's faith... it's not faith, it's science. And I am damn glad I did it! :)