The evening my body cried: NO MORE HIGH HEELS!

Last week I went to a Cello & Piano concert. I dressed up and I had just bought some new shoes with 7cm heels (app. 2.7inches). I have to admit that I haven’t worn such shoes for a couple of years. I mean, I work from home and spend a lot of time on the bike or with my kids at the playground.

But somehow I thought, I want to get into high heels again. Because I really enjoyed wearing them before I had kids! I thought this concert was the perfect moment to put on my new high heels.

And then – my body clearly told me that it wants no more high heels. This is what happened:

• After about 1 hour I noticed that my calves started to cramp. Not much, but it was quite uncomfortable. Not only when I was standing or walking, but even when I sat down. Because the position of the feet and ankles doesn’t really change while sitting. So I actually decided to sit with my legs stretched far in front of me. Very ladylike, indeed! 😉
• Next I felt the additional pressure on the ball of the foot. It was this little burning feeling and I even remembered it from back in the days when I wore high heels every day. Only back then I was “high heels trained” so this burning feeling would appear at the end of a night dancing away. Now that my body is “relax trained” I could clearly feel that my ball of the foot was not happy with the additional pressure!
• Close to the end, after about 3 hours sitting, standing, and walking with heels, my sacroiliac joint started hurting. I am quite sensitive in this area since I was pregnant. And I was really shocked to notice that the different heels actually put so much stress on my pelvis that it lead to that pain! I walked home VERY carefully and tried to relax as much as I could. Getting in and out of the cab was actually painful, too.

At home I obviously got out of the shoes immediately. And the good thing is that the different pains where completely gone the next day. And can you imagine how happy I was to put on my favorite Tai Chi shoes and practice!?

of course, this experience really got me thinking what we women do to our bodies every day (or at least every night we go out). Is it worth it? Should I say no more high heels? Is short-term sexyness more important to us than long-term health? I wanted to know what happens in the long run if I would really start wearing heels again.

Uh, I really don’t want that. Thus for now: I give my body the chance to stay relaxed and properly aligned. I want to take care of my body, my feet (including pedicure!), my health. I simply don’t want to throw days, weeks, months, and years of Taijiquan and Qi Gong practice out of the window. For an evening of wearing uncomfortable shoes that might (or might not) make me look sexy.

What do you think about it? Does your practice of Taijiquan and Qi Gong change the way you feel about your shoes and clothes? Do you say No More High Heels? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Qi!

Angelika

(I know it is a little off-topic, but while searching for the video above I had to look at this one: Men Try Heels for a Day. Hilarious!)