Dooley Noted: 4/9/2014
For anyone that’s seen me as a clinician, a common word used for my treatment style is “unorthodox.”
It becomes apparent when you are in the lobby.
You must take your shoes off.
Now, the place in which I practice already has this policy implemented. Had it not been in place, it would still be that way behind my treatment door.
Through the last few years of observation, I’ve noticed that people barely look at their feet, let alone touch them and get them moving.
This is problematic.
You evolved to be bipedal. You rely on your feet to sense where you are in relation to the ultimate force of gravity.
Your feet are your stability point. You are rooted to the ground by your feet. All position sensing of your body relies on your feet.
When I was a kid, my mother would constantly be telling me to wash my feet. My feet were feeling the ground, as I was exploring the world and establishing motor patterns.
I had years of cushy shoes that kept me from feeling the world under my feet. I ran 800 miles in one four-month period, never feeling the ground under thick-soled Saucony sneakers.
But I returned to my childhood.
Feel free to ask to see my feet in practice. They are more mobile and stable than they’ve been in my life. They are also dirty on most occasions! I’m feeling the world with my feet.
If you visit me, I’ll encourage you to do the same. You may find the world is smooth and bumpy, hard and soft, cold and warm. You’ll see how adaptable you are to such changes.
As you feel yourself get rooted to the ground, you might feel your body naturally be upright, just as you earned the first time you stood up.
You might awaken the inner child that wants to play, explore, and experience the ground under your feet.
You might feel your abdominals, lats and glutes come alive.
I don’t trust clean feet to help you gain stability. It might take getting a little dirty, doing done work to earn the stability you crave.
It can start by taking off your shoes.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley