Barefooter's best shoes-Tessa Clogs

Wearing a good pair of clogs is like going barefoot with our shoes on.

Mountain clogs in black. These were our first pair. Years of everyday work and they still look like this. They are worth the price you pay, as your feet will feel like a million bucks all day long!

Today, we review Tessa Clogs. Tessa's are just one of numerous brands we've worn and would recommend you try for those days that you must wear shoes. Wearing these clogs won't feel like a chore.

  

Tessa Clogs are named for professional skier Tessa Manning. She now lives in Vail, CO with her husband, Chris, where they operate a store well-known as the Swedish Clog Cabin. It is easy to order from their excellent website, and clicking through the wide variety of clogs is a fun shopping experience even if you’re not into shopping-especially if you’re not into shopping, because you’d never know there were so many choices.

The choices of funky colors and even painted designs is extensive, but that makes these clogs no less practical for barefooters when we must wear shoes. Among the many options, the favorite choice of Almost Barefoot is the Mountain Clog. This clog is tried and true and combines all the aspects of practicality with fun.

The clog has an adjustable sling back that offers a wide range of positions so that you can walk for miles and have the assurance that your shoe will stay on, and when you don’t need the sling, it flips over to be an ornamental strap that doesn’t interfere with kicking off your clogs when the opportunities to be barefoot arrive.

The Mountain Clog has a genuine lug sole which makes the clog adequate for walking in rough spots when shoes must be on and this also allows for quite walking while giving your clogs a rugged look that makes admirers often think that they are boots. The Mountain Clog has a narrower toe and, like Olssons, it has a stepper platform slope that lets the clogs fit closer to your foot and become part of it. Your feet roll forward effortlessly with each step and will allow you to walk for hours. They may need a couple of weeks of break-in time since they have tighter fit, but once broken-in, wearing them is like walking barefoot with your shoes on.

This writer has owned Mountain Clogs for eight years and remains as happy as they day they came out of the box. The leather upper will last a long time with just a little treatment now and then. They are an excellent shoe for the person who lives Almost Barefoot.

BUY TESSA CLOGS-Please tell them you heard about Tessa Clogs from Almost Barefoot!

 

World's most famous barefoot runner shatters femur-again-and again, he vows full recoery is at hand

Almost Barefoot is asking viewers, if they can, to help out one of the people who has helped make the world a better place for barefooting.

Coach Michael Sandler fell and shattered his femur while on a recent hike.

The doctors said there simply aren't any odds to describe the likelihood of Sandler's situation. After all, he just recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of shattering his other femur-and half his pelvis, the event that led him to barefoot running for recovery-full recovery.



"While out on book tour, on May 19^th, 2013, I was injured in a hiking accident that nearly took my life.  I slipped while crossing a creek in leather moccasins, flying through the air, and shattering my right leg on impact.


Yes, for those of you who are familiar with my story, I somehow did it AGAIN. This time shattering my right femur. Seven years ago, I shattered my left femur.

The accident was profound, we were stuck in the creek for two hours as I bled internally and nearly slipped away. I had to literally force myself to breathe to stay alive. And so I thought of the most positive thing I could, LOVE, and focused on the love, with every single breath. I kept repeating to myself, “breathe in light… breathe out love”. The incident was an incredible learning lesson; our lives flashing before our eyes, as the clock ticked away and we desperately waited for help to arrive. It took two long hours before I was stabilized and air-lifted out,"

Sandler wrote on the website runbare.com  With Jessica Lee Sandler by his side, he has vowed once again that he will recover as he did the last tie this happened-back then on a bike path while rollerblading, for those who haven't yet read the book, Barefoot Running.

The accident caused the couple's tour and the promotion of the newer book, Barefoot Walking, to be cut short, and financial challenges that come from not touring are daunting.

Jessica and Michael are asking for our help to get them back on their feet. They certainly have made the world a better place for our feet go without shoes, so please help them out if you can.

They are seeking help between now and the end of September.

They released a book about recovering from tough challenges called Breath Love can be purchased-it's an amazing story about positive attitude and recovery from serious set-backs-Michael is quite an expert ont his!

Other ways to help: shop RunBare.com for all sorts of great items that helped the whole movement take root!

See Below for Other Ways You Can Help Do you have press contacts? We have an uplifting message to share. We constantly get messages about how Michael's other healing story has changed people's lives (maybe even yours!). This new healing story, which isn't just about a physical comeback, has the potential to touch so many more.  Of course, if you're a journalist yourself, we'd love to speak with you! Please email: info@runbare.com Can you facebook? If you simply know how to use Facebook or other social media, we could really use your help spreading the word! From sharing to posting on relevant forums to Facebook groups that resonate with our message, we'll take anything we can get. And we're open to new ideas! Please email: info@runbare.com Other Ways to Help If you know how you can help, but it's not listed here, feel free to get in touch. Please email: info@runbare.com. Barefoot Running DVD Download We're happy to announce our DVD is now available for download! You can now watch it instantly on any device. We've made it one of our Indiegogo "rewards" - see the far right column for all of our rewards. Or you can sign up through our website here.  For all of those who have been asking for a download option, we thank you for your patience!

follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  BLESSINGS!   

More coming soon!

Thanks for stopping by! We'll be posting more soon!

Best shoes for Barefooters-Olsson Clogs

Olsson clogs are a wonderful shoe for the barefooter when the barefooter must wear shoes. Like their name, Olssons hail from Sweden, a country that produces many wonderful things that are unique to the nation’s Scandinavian heritage, including our favorite wooden shoes.

This writer owns three pairs of Olssons and acquired the first pair over 12 years ago. Yes, I still have them and I love to wear them when I must wear shoes.

My first Olssons...and certainly not my last!

 

It was my first pair of Olssons that allowed me to correct my excessive pronation. Don’t misunderstand, pronation-the lateral movement of the ankle when one steps down-is normal for many people and is not some sort of podiatric curse, as some would make it seem.

World superstar runner Haile Gebrselassie is pronates quite a bit, and it doesn’t slow him down.

International superstar marathoner Haile Gebrselassie of Ehthiopia. Source: hailemarathon.com

But his foot also lands flat, as you can see in videos that look at his steps. My pronation caused the inside of my heel to dig in, which was evident in all of my shoes (before I wore clogs) and it thus put stress on my ankles and back.

Olssuns have a raised ridge for the toes to grab so the clog can roll with your natural gait as you walk. You get full mobility and a stable step.

These clogs are of medium weight with an authentic wood bottom and are made in Sweden. You can walk quietly in them with a very small amount of effort, and if you decide you want to make some noise, that is quite effortless. They are light enough that you can walk for hours and for miles once they’re broken in and you’ll be comfortable all day.

Global Barefooter-Barefoot in Israel

Greetings to all, and we officially welcome our growing readership from Israel!

With the last-minute move to avert the U.S. fiscal cliff and the impending Israeli election, our leaders could learn from Moses by taking off their shoes and treading on the pebbles of the people they purport to serve.

By Rabbi Joel Seltzer / Jewish World blogger                 

 

We're not writing a political piece, but we couldn't help sharing that eloquent statement made today by a Rabbi since we're writing about barefooting is Israel.

 

And we're not writing about religion either, but we can't help noting that the Bible story tells us that God asked Moses to remove his shoes in His presence as the commands came from the burning bush.

 

Near the time of Jesus, the patriarchal social hierarchy was already the standard for the modern world, and thus it had become apparent that shoes somehow separated the upper classes from the lower. Pre-Christian priests of the region often remained barefoot to demonstrate their position as servants of God, that they were below him.

 

Bible History Online tells us much abut this. One excerpt says:

 

 "Priests on Duty Went Barefoot:
The priests of Israel, as would seem true of the priests in general among the ancients, wore no shoes when ministering (see Silius Italicus, III, 28; compare Theodoret on Ex 3, questio 7; and Yer. Shet., 5, 48d). In ancient times, certainly the priests of Israel, when going upon the platform to serve before the ark, in Tabernacle or temple, as later in the synagogue to bless the congregation, went barefoot; though today strange to say, such ministering priests among the Jews wear stockings, and are not supposed to be barefoot (CoTah, 40a; RH, 316; Shulchan 'Arukh, 'Orach Chayyim, 128, 5; see Jewish Encyclopedia, article "Barefoot")."

 

It is funny how things have changed. Even sandals were frowned upon for men in the Western world until about 25 years ago.

 

It appears that in Israel, barefooting is an individual lifestyle choice. If you choose to shop barefoot in the city, it's just what you do. Certainly people have much more freedom in Israel, especially women, than in the rest of the Middle East, so we'll see more barefooting there. Of course, there are also many folks there fleeing poverty who may choose shoes for the reason much of western society has. This appears to hold as true in Israel as elsewhere. For a person here with the means to own shoes to go barefoot is an act of quiet rebellion.

Cellist Maya Beiser-photo by Merri Cyr-for The Times of Israel

 

Jewish-Israelie  musician Maya Beiser kicked off her shoes before a performance as an act of self expression more than rebellion; she likes fun clothes as well and being barefoot in her dress while playing a classical piece on her Cello at a recital was a way for her to free her mind and thus keep her passion alive in her musical performance.

 

We wish no disrespect to our brother and sisters in Israel who prefer that people keep their shoes on, but to Maya and other Jewsih barefooters in the Holy Land...well...........Mazel Tov!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Blessings!



 

 

 

Barefoot for life: Stepping out with Kriste B.

        Kriste Brushaber takes a barefoot walk in the Denver Botanical Gardens. 

 Photo by Kathryn Scott Osler of the Denver Post.

Stepping out with Kriste B, and ordinary, extraordinary woman

 

Take a look at the life of Kriste Brushaber, and then you'll ask yourself, Who wouldn’t want to be like this woman? She is financially successful. She is self-empowered. She is in charge of the place where she works, she is respected among her peers and has helped many people live better lives, and thus earned a true feeling of moral goodness. And we know that much about her before we even get to the fact that she almost never wears shoes.

Yes, Kriste Burshaber lives her life almost barefoot.

She keeps a pair of sandals in her hand bag for those ties when business might require her to don shoes temporarily, and if extreme winter temperatures require them, well, then being shod is unavoidable.  woman who can be seen hiking miles of Colorado trails and climbing high rock formations without any footwear whatsoever.

One might say she is privileged by a unique situation that lets her be barefoot all the time, but her life has been pretty normal. She lost her job years back and as part of her economic rebuilding process, she started a humble business out of her home teaching Pilates. She worked hard and with passion and started to get more business.

Then she took a risk and tried something new that hadn't been done in her business before and it worked.  She has a pretty normal story, starting form humble beginnings and working hard to succeed. The fact that her chosen occupation lets her go barefoot all the time.....well that's just a really awesome work perk. Most of us dream of beach vacations where e can do that for a week or so, the stereotypical slacker's paradise. And there's nothing wrong with that, but it's downright impressive when one can do it for a job, even if the job isn't tasting Margaritas for Jose Cuervo.

Kriste expanded from the realm of Pilates to teaching rehabilitative therapy to patients, teaching them how to re-learn good movement by starting with then fundamental basics that we all started with as kids. We learned to walk barefoot as babies, and developed our sense of balance and coordination based on barefooting. Her company, Homeostasis Movement, keeps her busy full-time. She's been barefoot for about ten years.

Maybe being barefoot while being engaged in the serious work mode helped spur the creative spirit that as channeled into a successful business. It's quite possible. Maybe more business executive should take off their shoes to help themselves find new ideas and innovations and err......, think outside the shoe box??????

 

Blessings!



 

Global Barefooter-Saudi Arabia

 Our international audience continues to diversify. One of or largest groups of new readers are from Saudi Arabia. We're grateful to have you viewing our site!

We're being honest when we say we didn't expect to find much information on going barefoot in the famous desert nation. After all, women aren't even supposed to show bare ankles. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bent the rules a bit on her visit with the Saudi King.

So we expected a random search to come up empty, but the vast desert is quite an attractive place for the extreme runner.



This man is known only as "Ron"  In his running rants, Ron tell how junk is littered throughout the desert near the city of Dharan, where he lives, and also shows spiny burs from desert plants that make barefooting a challenge.

So while the social rules of Saudi Arabia may require one's shoes to be on in most places outside a Mosque, it seems that the desert is anyone's best barefoot adventure.

Blessings!