From the Ground Up

Today, we are talking about feet.

• My insight and experience of barefoot walking
• Hip, back, foot pain and balance
• A shoe test and foot strengthening exercise you can try at home!

I think it is fair to say that modern footwear has become a real issue for a lot of our bodies. I know this firsthand because I actually deformed my own feet from years of wearing improper shoes. I developed bunions – one of which used to cause me immense pain. Today, however, that pain is completely gone, simply because I transitioned into minimal Vivobarefoot shoes, began wearing toe spacers, and started performing a basic foot strength routine daily.

Leonardo da Vinci once said, “The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.”

For most of my life, I never appreciated my own feet at all. In fact, I would have historically classed myself as quite sedentary. That all changed when I had my baby. As he grew into a very active toddler, I had no choice but to sink or swim in terms of my own physical fitness, balance, and strength!

Before Shoes – Baby Feet

To understand where we are going wrong, we need to go back to basics and look at the shape of a healthy human foot before shoes ever get involved. If you have a baby or a non-walking toddler, take a close look at their feet. I have become completely fascinated by my toddler’s cheesy, delicious little feet and how absolutely perfect they are. There are no structural lumps or bumps; his toes are perfectly straight, he has incredible dexterity in every single digit, and his toes naturally splay wide.

When I compare his perfect feet to my own less-than-optimal ones, the difference is striking. It has since become my absolute mission to keep his feet exactly the way nature designed them, while actively working to restore my own. While I can’t magically “fix” the structural shape of my bunions now, they no longer give me a single ounce of pain. This massive shift is thanks to the brilliant insights of Dr. Courtney Conley on the physiological benefits of toe spacers and barefoot-style footwear.

Spread the Word

I am now on a bit of a personal mission to spread the word that we all need to be paying much closer attention to what is happening at the bottom of our legs. I literally had no idea my feet were structurally compromised until the day the pain finally kicked in – but the reality is that it was years in the making.

I won’t be giving you direct medical protocols or strict advice on how to transition your own footwear, as that wouldn’t be responsible of me. However, if you are curious to explore the science, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Walk by Dr. Courtney Conley and Milica McDowell. It is a fantastic, accessible resource written by true experts in the field.

What I can do is share the real-life, everyday benefits I have personally experienced, in the hopes of convincing you to at least take your socks off, look at your feet, and consider their impact on your health.

The Upwards Connection: Hips, Backs, and Balance

I cannot recommend barefoot walking enough. Reconnecting with the ground has completely transformed my foot pain, hip pain, and lower back aches.

I do want to be completely honest with you: I had to transition very slowly, and the shift did trigger some temporary new aches and pains initially. That happened because muscles that hadn’t been fired up or utilized in years were suddenly being forced to wake up and work! But sticking with it has made me so much stronger and drastically improved my balance.

Good balance is something I would argue is absolutely vital for postpartum mothers. My own balance suffered terribly both during my pregnancy and after having my son. Ever since my feet have been allowed to feel, spread, and properly connect with the earth, I feel completely stable. As a beautiful byproduct, I have strengthened my ankles so deeply that the questionable “need” for stiff ankle support has vanished. In fact, my newfound foot strength was recently noticed and praised by a sports therapist I saw – and that was without me even mentioning my newfound obsession for the foot, or the lifestyle measures I had been practicing!

My ultimate wish is that all mothers are fully informed about their foot health. Barefoot movement builds stronger feet, ankles, and legs, which can naturally result in fewer structural aches and pains further up the chain in our knees, hips, and lower backs. If there are no underlying medical reasons holding you back (always check with your healthcare provider), I highly encourage you to consider barefoot walking. Even if it just means walking barefoot around the house – yes, it’s time to kick off those restrictive slippers!

As humans, we can be incredibly short-sighted. If we don’t see an immediate reward or an instant benefit, we often think, what’s the point? But trust me on this one: don’t wait until your feet actively hurt before you finally start making changes.

Barefoot Price Barrier

Before I invested in my Vivos, which I completely appreciate are a financial investment and are expensive, I actually started with a super cheap pair of barefoot shoes off Amazon just to test the waters.

If the price tag is currently your biggest barrier to trying minimal footwear, I highly recommend buying a budget-friendly alternative first to see how your feet respond. I am more than happy to send over the direct link to the exact cheap pair I bought to anyone who wants to drop me a message and ask!

My 85% Victory

The real starting point of this entire journey actually began because I read an article suggesting that chronic hip pain could be directly caused by underlying foot mechanics.

Before finding this, I had seen multiple physiotherapists, undergone X-rays, and consulted various doctors and osteopaths. Every single professional told me something completely different. At one point, a doctor even told me I would likely need an operation on my hip – as this was the only ‘solution’ to my pain. As a mother to a busy toddler, I absolutely refused to accept surgery as my only solution. How could I possibly be out of action and stuck in bed recovering when I have an energetic little boy to look after? I had my gallbladder removed when my toddler was 10 months old and that was incredibly challenging physically and mentally for me.

Driven by the need for a more practical and holistic alternative, I started searching for real solutions. Around that exact same time, I began developing acute pain in my foot- on the exact same side of my body as my problematic hip. That was the missing puzzle piece that led me to the world of barefoot movement.

The rest is history. Today, I have zero foot pain, and my chronic hip pain is mostly gone – I’d say it is about 85% better. I have only been on this journey since April 2026, which is an incredibly short period of time to achieve such a massive improvement in my daily health.

What surprised and frustrated me the most throughout this process was that not a single one of those highly trained health professionals ever looked down and considered my foot to be the root of the problem. This experience has fuelled my desire to spread the word. I want to reach other mums out there who might be struggling with a cascade of new health problems since childbirth (I myself have had to navigate gallbladder, thyroid, and hip issues since giving birth – more on those topics to come) and who want a natural, holistic path forward. But I also want to echo this message to the healthcare practitioners out there: please, look at the feet.

Your Weekly Foot Health Action Points

If you aren’t ready to go fully barefoot or switch your footwear just yet, here are two incredibly simple, zero-minute steps you can take at home this week:

The Shoe-Splay Test

Make sure your current shoes actually fit the natural shape of your body. Stand directly on top of the shoe itself. Can your toes naturally splay out, or do they spill over the sides? Your toes should never be compressed or touching the edges of the material.

The Daily Lift & Splay

There are countless foot exercises out there, but I only recommend what has genuinely worked in my own life. Every single day, I practice the “lift and splay” randomly while standing at the kitchen counter or moving around the house. Simply lift your toes and spread them as wide apart as you can.

I recently asked about ten friends and family members to try the lift and splay exercise. Remarkably, every single person found that the foot with the weakest lift and the poorest splay was on the exact side of the body where they experienced chronic issues – whether that was a dodgy knee, a tight hip, or lower back pain. It is real-world proof of the upwards system we are talking about!

Let me know if you try the shoe test or the lift-and-splay this week!

Mindful Movement & Foot Health Disclaimer

The information, personal experiences, and footwear or exercise suggestions shared in this post are intended solely for educational, motivational, and general wellness purposes. I truly believe that reintroducing barefoot movement is deeply beneficial and appropriate for most people, but everyone’s body operates on a unique timeline. There are specific medical, structural, or chronic foot conditions where transitioning to minimal shoes or certain foot exercises is not appropriate at all. Please always listen to your body’s unique signals. If you have existing foot pain, structural injuries, or chronic physical conditions, I highly encourage you to speak with a qualified healthcare provider before beginning your barefoot journey. Never push through severe discomfort – true wellness is about mindful consideration, not rigid perfection.