Fox or cow?

So the question is.... are you a fox or a cow?

i should preface this blog first with the fact that i am some what of a hippy.  some what because it is more of i want to be than i actually am :)  i am

 into the whole green thing, we feed our animals a raw diet (raw meat and bones - yes the bones too), we dont vaccinate our animals (or ourselves), we try to buy organic when we can, we pay extra on our utility bill for "windtricity", we recycle

, use alternative medicine when we can, dont use chemicals in our house for cleaning or for yard work, etc...

however we do still eat unhealthy a lot, we dont drive hybrids (yet), and we dont live off the grid :)

anyway... so i am on this email list from a website i love www.mercola.com.  scott recently said that he had read an article about how flip flops are bad for your feet. i have HORRIBLE feet (thanks mom) as does most of my family.  so a couple days after scott told me this i get my email from mercola's website about flip flops being bad for your feet - ironic.

apparently there is what is called a "cow walk" and a "fox walk".  the cow walk is a learned thing that people do because we wear shoes that restrict the natural way our feet move.  a fox walk is what babies do who are just starting out walking and have not trained there feet to walk incorrectly.  apparently the "heel-toe" walk is wrong and called the cow walk.  the fox walk is more of a toe heel walk.  not exactly though... more like a test the ground with the fatty part of your foot then roll to the flat part.

with flip flops your toes try to hang on to the shoe so you are doing this weird tension with your toes while you walk.  apparently it shortens your stride too.

so the cure... back to nature.  go barefoot when you can.  we live in a "no shoes, no shirt, no service" type of world - so barefoot isnt always an option.  but when you can - be a fox not a cow :)  interesting to note - when you fox walk you engage your butt muscles... which doesnt happen when you cow walk.  so fox walking even helps you look less like a cow by using major muscle groups and therefore burning more calories :)

interesting side note.  when you walk on the ground (not carpet, concrete, tile) you are getting rid of free radicals in your body.  the ground is - just that - a ground and it discharges these free radicals - bonus!

okay... so the moral... dont be a cow :)

oh and i found this cool shoes that people say are close to being barefoot... not pretty though :) they are called fivefinger shoes...