Why the Mobile Yogi Runs Barefoot

Michael rests as he muscles up the energy to pull himself out of his home hospital bed with a broken arm and new titanium hip and femur in 2006.

From RunBare Co-Founder, Michael Sandler.

It was five years ago on April 2nd when I was injured in a near death accident. I’d been out inline-skating, training for a world record ultra-endurance coast-to-coast attempt to help students and adults with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder. It’s something similar to what I’d done in 2004, when I rode my bicycle 5000 miles, in 40 days, solo and unsupported across the US to help with the same cause. That effort helped me reach people across the country, and yielded an invitation to speak before members of the House and Senate.

On this fateful day, after finishing training, I’d unlaced and sat down in the cool snow-melt run-off of the Boulder Creek to meditate and pray for safety and guidance. Then I laced up my skates and pushed off. The words from a new CD (Inspiration) from Dr. Wayne Dyer were resonating in my head “Everything happens for a reason”. I told myself to go slow, as I was in a touristy part of town and on a Sunday. However, I never expected what happened next. A tourist/father teaching his toddler son how to walk inadvertently stepped out on the bike path before me. Even with a great brake sponsor, and going slow, there was no time to react.

I would either hit the baby, or hit the deck.

And no one hits a baby.

I threw myself up and back, a move that would have made an Olympic high-jumper proud.

In the air, I wondered if I’d still be able to do my cross-country skate.

And as I landed with a dull, concussive thud, I had my answer.

And yet, I was smiling.

I’d prayed for safety and guidance, and somehow had my answer.

I wiggled my fingers, then toes, looked at the baby I’d avoided, and his dad, then up at the sun above.

Life is good, I thought. Life is good.

It was a moment that changed my life. And I knew it in an instant.

In 2006, doctors put together Michael's hip and femur. Today, he no longer sets off metal dectectors.

I’d shattered my femur, hip, and arm, and later found out shards of femur were less than a centimeter from my femoral artery, or a centimeter from death.

But I believed everything happens for a reason, and this event too would help my life.

It’s been 5 years since that event, or the ‘gift’ as I call it. A lot has changed in that time. They were lucky to save my leg, but with a titanium femur and hip (and near 1 inch leg-length discrepancy) told me I’d be lucky to walk again, and to forget about ever running. They were right, too, until I took off my shoes, felt the ground, and began to heal. Now I run 10 – 20 miles a day barefoot, touching the earth and feeling stronger with each step.

Since my accident and healing, I’ve gone on to help others, whether that’s runners looking to improve their performance, injured runners looking to heal, or people who used to love running but have quit because of their ‘bad knees’, ‘bad hips’ or ‘bad feet’…runner’s who’ve been told they just couldn’t’ do it anymore, or whose bodies just weren’t letting them. But once you go barefoot, and learn a lighter way to run, you find yourself dancing on the roads and trails, almost effortless, with a child-like grin once again.

Five years ago put me on this path to help others, to help us reconnect, run again pain free, and to dance with our feet.

I am very thankful for this day, and for where the ‘gift’ has taken me.

Thank you too for sharing in this special day, and thank you for listening.

With blessings,

~Michael Sandler,
Co-Founder, RunBare Company

If you have legs of equal lengths, congratulations! You’re in the lucky minority. If you are a runner with LLD, take comfort in the fact that you are not alone. Studies show that 75% of people have LLD up to 2cm. Next time you get to the starting line, remember that most of the people around you may have the same challenge – and may not even know it.

My near death accident left me with a nearly 1-inch leg length discrepancy.

After a devastating accident nearly five years ago, I was left with a one inch LLD as well as a titanium femur and hip to boot. I was told by several stern-faced doctors that I would never run again, and that I should give up on my athletic endeavors and fade silently into a couch potato. Luckily, I didn’t listen. Now I run faster, stronger and (most importantly) pain free for 10-20 miles a day. If I can do it, so can you. Don’t let LLD stand in your way, you CAN overcome this obstacle. If you read carefully and do your homework, you should be running barefoot in just three to six months, without pain and injury-free.

Step 1: Say goodbye, farewell, sionara, arrividerci to heel-striking. A BIG NO NO. Your knees and hips will rejoice in exultation with this choice. NOW is the time to switch to a forefoot landing in your stride. The really good news is that some of the world’s fastest runners (ever heard about those runners from Kenya and Ethiopia?) have always landed on the forefoot. A forefoot strike gives an “independent suspension” to your body, meaning that one leg or foot can come down more than the other to help you get level. Once you have fully transitioned to this new stride, prepare to switch your running into high gear!

Step 2: Before you jet out of the gates, keep in mind that you will need to start SLOW. This can be hard to swallow for those that have been taking daily 10 mile jaunts and racing competitively, so it bears repeating. You will need to take it SLOW and LISTEN to your body. Remember, you are teaching your body something completely new and it will require baby-steps to adjust properly. Start your barefoot time with just a few hundred yards, building 100 yards every other day. Concentrate on form by standing extra tall, working on your pelvic tilt (to get the front and back of your waist sitting neutrally pelvis level) and never bending forward at the waist anymore. Your strides will go from long to extra short (as if you’re running on hot coals) with roughly 180 strides per minute, and you will want to start fully barefoot to let your (temporarily) weak skin keep you from doing too much. Start on cement - the harder the surface, the lighter you’ll land.

Step 3: Let’s address that hip. Over the next week or two, run on the edge of a quiet road that has a good deal of road camber or

I was often caught barefoot running up this road in Boulder, CO due to its severe camber, especially around hair-pin turns.

banking. Instead of running with an orthotic heel wedge to raise your leg (which does nothing for a forefoot strike), you’re going to use the road to raise your shorter leg. Start by running on the edge of this road this way and then gradually over time, work on moving toward the center of the road. What you’re doing is twofold: first, you’re beginning to feel what it feels like to be level again (in essence, teaching your body) and second, you’re working on engaging the core to hold your pelvis in a level position. Quickly you will learn that it is not as tough as it seems. If you practice every other day (never go barefoot two days in a row to begin) your body will begin to figure things out.

Some of you may be modifying these steps in your head because you feel you are stronger and can handle more. And I don’t disagree, you are likely quite strong. So please read the following words carefully: the stronger you are (or were) the HARDER it is to overcome this challenge because you’re likely to muscle through things and do too much, too soon. You may not even know you’re doing too much because you’re so strong. But this is only taking your old running muscles into consideration - not the new muscles you need to develop along with the ligaments, tendons and bones that need to adapt, as well as the flexibility your foot needs to gain. Something you will notice immediately is the forefoot strike works the calves in ways that they have never seen before. Before you overdo it, remember that one mile barefoot or in minimalist footwear is the equivalent of thousands of calf raises with the new forefoot strike. Unless you want to walk in crippling pain and regret for two weeks, heed my instruction.

Take this challenge slowly, realize it’s a game of going slow to go fast in the long run, and listen to your body. It’ll tell you how to get level, how to heal, and how to run once again, like the wind, light and free. Feel free to write with questions and keep us posted on experiences, we love to hear from you! For more detailed information and instruction, attend an upcoming RunBare clinic (upcoming tour dates soon to be announced) or take a look at our book Barefoot Running.

And as always, Run Free!

~ By Michael Sandler

So, it’s the dead of Winter. The air temperature has finally climbed into the 40’s, but the ground's still as cold as ice.  Plus, it looks like snow is in the forecast this week. “Wait, I’m not ready for barefoot running in snow!” you exclaim.  The fact of the matter is we can’t always go barefoot when we want to, especially as beginners.  And, that’s when you start eyeing that trusty treadmill.

Can you run barefoot on a treadmill? The answer is, “Yes,” and it’s not a bad idea if it’s the only way you can get barefoot running. But, please, please, please proceed with caution and consider the issues below before you get started.

Issue #1: The Treadmill Belt Comes at You

There are several mechanical challenges going on with a treadmill. Because it’s coming toward you, rather than you toward it, your mechanics often change from propulsion to deceleration. In other words, we find it hard to spring off of our toes, but instead often have force driving through our toes.

Solution:

You can help avoid this by decreasing speed, while increasing incline, naturally putting you up on your forefoot. Over the course of a run, you can gradually begin to decrease the incline and increase the pace. This way, you should still be able to spring off of your toes.

Issue #2: Running on a Treadmill is Running in a Tight Space

Personally, I find it difficult to keep up on my toes properly when it looks like I’ll land on the plastic in front of me.

Solution:

To overcome this, back up a good foot from where you’d normally run on the treadmill, to give your mind the space you need to stride correctly (chances are, it’s one of perception, NOT of reality, but your toes may think you don’t have enough room to come down correctly when you’re so close to the machine.) Trick here, make sure you can reach the control panel or safety rails and more importantly, make sure you’re not so far back you may wind up running off the machine.

Issue #3: Treadmills Lack Relief

There’s no relief on a treadmill. The surface, not the angle, is always perfectly flat. This means your feet don’t have natural relief in the terrain that lets one muscle group work a little more, and another rest a bit. In other words, when you’re on a dirt trail, or even all but the flattest of bike paths, your feet are constantly making small adjustments for the terrain, and these adjustments help prevent overuse fatigue by resting different muscles with each stride.

On a treadmill, there is no relief, so it’s quite common to develop an overuse injury running the SAME distance you were comfortable running outside. Why? Because step after step after step are IDENTICAL. The lack of relief can get you.

Solution:

So if you’re starting out on a treadmill, and since there are no ‘all-terrain’ treadmills in existence (at least not to my knowledge), vary the speed and incline as much as possible. For myself, I like changing the angle a little bit each minute. For instance, warm up for 3-5 minutes with the machine flat, then throw it up to a 7% to 10% grade, then with each minute, decrease the grade by 1% as you increase speed slightly. Another variation would be to have an interval setting where it changes the speed every minute – fast, then slow, then fast again.

Any change is good when you’re on a treadmill. Even if you’re focused on long, steady speed, steady on a treadmill can be dangerous until you’re ready.

Issue #4: Treadmill Belts Get Toasty

Additionally, those belts are coarser than you think. When you’re running on a treadmill and sense something burning, LOOK DOWN. Chances are, it’s your pads (the thickened skin and fat deposits on the bottom of your foot).

Solution:

I’d recommend starting with 3-5 minutes your first day, and then adding a minute or two each day afterwards. If your pads are cooked, it’s likely you cooked everything beneath as well (muscles, tendons, ligaments).

Remember, even on a treadmill, stand tall, land on your forefoot, engage your core and take short natural steps. One of the keys to barefoot running and staying healthy isn’t stride length, but leg speed. Shorter, lighter strides always win when it comes to a lifetime of healthy, injury free running.

By Vincent Gerbino

Stretch before a big workout. It’s the oldest advice in the athletic world. So it shouldn’t be a secret that the science of Yoga, an ancient discipline that’s all about stretching would have a connection with running. But why?

It’s true that running is the only traditional sport in today’s world that rivals Yoga in terms of age. Competitive running is as old as the Olympics, which date back to pre-700 BC. Yoga as we know it today has been practiced for just as long. To find the connection, we have to ask a question: Just how did people run back in the days of ancient Greece, where competitive running was born?

The answer: They ran barefoot. There were numerous running events and different types of races, just as there are many types and disciplines of Yoga, with its 900. But no matter what Yoga pose or Yoga discipline is practiced, it is always practiced barefoot, just as every race in ancient Greece was run barefoot.

When I started doing Yoga, I started to really enjoy being shoeless, and the more I did, the more I thought about running that way. I'd been teaching customized Yoga programs for different, physically-active students and gotten lots of positive feedback. And my own practice had enhanced my own condition with every sport I pursued, but I was still avoiding running since my feet and knees hurt. So when I decided to "put a little Yoga" into my running and took my first run without shoes, it was the beginning of a beautiful connection between the two disciplines.

I quickly found that the Yoga mat and the runner's course could be one and the same. When running, everything I said to myself on the Yoga mat fit right in with the rhythm of my bare feet hitting the ground.

"Feel it. Be connected with the ground beneath your feet" is a phrase Yogis all know well. It adds significance to the idea of simply being there on the ground. It wasn’t just that my feet were touching the ground; what happened was that I really, truly felt grounded in the most positive way, which is what Yoga aims for. That’s how, for me, barefoot running became mobile yoga.

On my first run, I was quite amazed by the way that touching the ground with bare feet heightened ALL of senses. Simply by feeling every pebble and every grain of sand with my feet, I become able to recognize things I never noticed before. I soon read of mutual experiences from other barefooters. With every run I’ve taken since then, that same heightened sense of being is there within me, as powerful as the best runner’s high but with calmness felt only during deep Yoga meditation on my mat. Knowing I am barefoot on the path makes me feel like a well-heeled Indian scout or hunter. That first ran barefoot run was on a course I still run several days a week before sunrise.

Like any system of sidewalks, my chosen path includes the occasional broken glass. On my first run I was surprised at how easily my eyes found those caltrops glistening in the dim street light ahead, and how successfully I avoided them. Many parts of the course are perpetually peppered with stones from the gardens that line it. Each day those stones get kicked to new places by passing pedestrians, yet no matter where they are I seem to dance right through them. But this primal awareness isn’t limited to the eyes or even the feet.

Yoga tells us to be present in our bodies, aware of how every muscle feels. As an experienced Yogi who just started barefoot running this year, I found out that the same principle applied to my new obsession.

One uses many new muscles once the feet are freed from shoes; that’s when true plantar flexion finally begins. It’s when you find out how important the small muscles that surround your ankles are to your success. Shoes restrict the ankles from moving just like they restrict the foot.

The simplest, most classic Yoga poses help prepare this runner’s ankles for their new-found freedom of movement. The downward dog and triangle stance are two typical postures I had done for years which helped me build strength in my ankles. Classic, one-legged balancing poses like the Tree and the Eagle both can help build ankle stability and shear leg strength. **** The well-known plank pose (the "up" in a regular push-up position can help build strength in the lower leg while the foot is in flexed position, like it will be when one is running barefoot.

By ditching my shoes and putting some Yoga into my running, I made running a far better and healthier activity. As far as barefoot running goes, I’m still a rookie. But as an experienced Yogi, I’ve already learned that barefoot running brought me much of the awareness that Yoga makes me look for-and even when my bare feet are just on my Yoga mat.