| Vibram FiveFingers |
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| Reviewed by Ceri Balston | |
| Wednesday, 30 July 2008 | |
  
I love walking barefoot and in summer will rarely be seen wearing shoes – sandals are fine but there’s still nothing like really feeling the ground beneath your bare feet. The problem is that I’m also a bit of a klutz so most of wanderings will be punctuated by the occasional “ouch” as I trip over some insignificantly small pebble or step in a bed of thorns. So when I heard about these new shoes I thought that these could be the answer to all my stumbling problems.The FiveFingers are bit like a cross between a climbing shoe, with its sturdy rubber sole and snug fit, and those funky socks you get with slots for each of your toes. Vibram, the manufacturers, have been making rubber soles for climbing boots and shoes since 1936, and with the FiveFingers they were looking to make something that fitted more like a glove and acted like a second skin. There are currently four different FiveFingers models to choose from, Classic, Sprint, Flow, and KSO. The range of activities that Vibram suggests they’re suitable for is really impressive and shows off the versatility of this unique product. They include; hiking, climbing, bouldering, canyoneering, running, trekking, sailing, boating, kayaking, canoeing, surfing, kite boarding, wind surfing, yoga and pilates. I’m yet to try my Classic FiveFingers out on anything more serious that a short jog around the local park and over some boulders and through a few streams, but I have to say they were great fun and I certainly felt far more connected to my environment and the earth than had I been wearing takkies. It’s possible to feel the texture of the ground you’re walking or running on and the extra grip on the rubber soles (which comes right over the top of the toes as well) offers great protection and gives far more assurance to your step. |
This is the powerful story of the author's struggle with Multiple Sclerosis and how a healer's unusual prescription of mindful altruism - to 'give away 29 gifts in 29 days' - ignited her energy, her happiness, and invited more abundance into her life.
