But what if we're doing it wrong? It turns out that the way we've all become accustomed to running, with our "high tech" shoes and gear, may actually be detrimental to our bodies. Nature seems to have designed our bodies perfectly for running, so why are we listening to billion-dollar sneaker companies and messing with our perfect system? Barefoot running, or minimal running, is becoming more and more popular in the running world, citing benefits from lower injury rate to improved posture.
Is it time to ditch the shoes and get back to nature like a bunch of hippies? Join us for a lively discussion on the benefits of running and how to do it right!
And stay tuned for Pet Health with Zoya. This week she shares tips on how to tell if your dog has arthritis.
Running Time: 01:10:25
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To best make use of your running shoes or expensive military/security forces boots with Sidas Sport Insoles( in case the rainy weather made everything muddy), is to always look for a soft forest path, a grassy meadow, a grassy hill-side or a country dirt road that has been overgrown with grass.
Even if there is plenty of grass there, but you notice traditional car tread marks on the grass and black oily greasy spots, then always use running shoes: Especially, when the dirt road runs along a crop field that has been heavily sprinkled with artificial fertilizer - you can see the tiny white balls of that toxic stuff spilled onto the grass of the dirt road. Never run barefoot, where you suspect toxic poisons - oil, fertilizer, etc.. - have been spilled onto the grass.
Soccer-fields are best. Wild, natural grassy areas are riskier, because of thorny weeds and knee-destroying holes dug by dogs/animals in the ground.
Always inspect your planned running track in nature to avoid such hazards and memorize big holes.
Running barefoot on - preferably wet (soft) grass has many benefits, because it fulfills the requirement for Grounding. It can reset your 'gut nervous system' renewing your digestion and reinvigorating your meridians, just as foot massage does. It also takes care of the bad/old blood in your body, because you destroy red blood cells by foot-strike: the action of your bare foot slamming to the ground while running and so smashing your blood cells, which results in your body making new, strong, young blood cells.
Nature Reiki:
There is a 'Grand Electric Circuit' you can complete the following way. It has three components:
1. select a running day, when there is plenty of sunshine and just rained in previous days, so the grass is wet.
2. While running, take care to blink/look into the sun for less than a second. The light rays and electromagnetic energy of the Sun enters your body through the optical nerves and it flows through you.
3. Make sure you are on a soccer-field that is all real grass - not toxic astroturf!! - and your feet touches the wet grass. Splashing water is excellent, when there is a little bit more under the grass.
Repeat 1-3 a few times. Run until your feet start to hurt: you have an excellent warning system, if you are an overpronator, then usually your ankles and knees will start to hurt, after a couple miles of jogging-->interspersed with essential straight sprints for 100 or 200 yards.
This completes the circuit:
1. the light rays / 'Reiki life energy of the Sun' enters your body through your optic nerves and travel through your body, rejuvenating you.
2. 'Bad / used up Chi'-energy exits through the skin of your bare feet touching the wet ground, via Grounding. Good grounding always requires wet ground = wet grass.
If you want to maximize your wet-grass barefoot training, make a couple of stops, where you immediately do 10-20 pushups and in seconds continue to run. Make extra stops to do 10 frog jumps (1x-5x of these stops are best during the whole exercise) and as soon as you are finished, start running immediately. The aim is to recover your normal running speed and run a relatively 'long' distance, before you stop again for pushups or frog jumps. You can also carry with you a 'sunbathing beach mat', select a spot and make stops to drop onto the mat and do 10-20 situps then get up and continue running. Repeat, until you start to feel your belly muscles go totally tired.
For a moment I thought you were going to go into something like....
"I just flew in from Vegas, and boy are my arms tired."