Following my previous article,
“Can High Heels Help Relieve
Back Pain?”
I would like to continue
exploring another truth about
walking correctly in high heels.
One of the main reasons
many women hesitate to wear
heels is foot pain.
Discomfort.
Bunions.
And the fear that wearing
heels will make an existing
problem worse.
I understand
this concern very well.
Because throughout thousands
of private high-heel sessions,
these were also the concerns
that brought many women to me.
And this is not a question
of age, profession
or where someone lives.
Many women first discovered
my work through articles
I had written about foot problems.
Some came to their first session
wondering whether what they
had read could really be possible.
Could the condition of
their feet actually change?
Then, through their own bodies,
they began to discover that
what was happening was not
a miracle.
There was a structure behind it.
Among the foot problems
I have encountered most
frequently is the pain
and discomfort associated
with hallux valgus.
Many women love high heels.
They would like to wear them.
Yet pain has led them
to give them up completely
or reserve them only
for special occasions.
But just as I discussed
in my previous article on
back pain, pain and discomfort
can also be important information
from the body.
How are you using your body?
How are you standing?
How are you walking?
Where is your weight going?
Rather than seeing pain
only as an enemy,
I believe it is important
to bring our awareness back
to the body itself.
Because sometimes,
the beginning of the answer
is already there.
I have long seen the human
body in much the same way
I see architecture.
It is a structure.
This is one of the foundations
of the ASAMI-PARIS Method.
A very slight arching
of the lower back.
A subtle rotation
of the upper body.
The position of the head.
Something that appears
to be happening far away
from the feet can influence
the way weight travels
through the body.
And this may contribute
to discomfort in the feet
or the lower back.
Of course, it is impossible
to understand what is happening
in an individual body
without observing that body itself.
Every person has different
habits, movement patterns
and physical tendencies.
And these are closely
connected to the way we move
through everyday life.
One client who came
to me was a woman living
in Malaysia.
She had lived with severe
hallux valgus for decades.
What makes her story
particularly interesting is
that she had
never worn high heels.
Living in a hot climate,
she spent most of her life
wearing sandals.
And yet,
she had severe
hallux valgus.
Her experience is an important
reminder that the relationship
between high heels and
hallux valgus is not as simple as:
“High heels cause bunions.”
When she first began working
with me, her feet were so sensitive
that simply putting them into
heels caused significant pain.
So we did not begin
with high heels.
We began barefoot.
In the beginning,
her sessions consisted of
barefoot exercises.
She then began working
with me regularly every week.
Approximately
one month later,
she was able to begin
exercises wearing heels.
Why?
Because through the barefoot
work, the way her feet were
functioning had begun to change.
This was not magic.
We were simply beginning
to awaken functions
the body already possesses.
With hallux valgus,
one area I pay particular
attention to is the muscular
support around the base
of the big toe and along the
inner side of the foot.
When these structures
are not participating
effectively, weight can move
away from where the body
needs support.
The exercises are designed
to awaken this participation.
But the exercise itself
is only part of the work.
What is the rest of the body doing?
Is the body correctly positioned?
Is the weight escaping
toward the outside of the foot?
Is another part of the body
compensating?
This is where observation
and precision become essential.
There is a fundamental structure
shared by the human body.
But beyond that foundation,
every body is different.
This is why I do not believe
in simply giving everyone
the same exercise
and expecting the same result.
I observe the individual
tendencies of each body.
Its habits.
Its compensations.
Its strengths.
Its weaknesses.
And from there,
the work becomes
increasingly precise.
For me,
it resembles sculpture.
The foundation is already there.
But little by little,
we refine what needs to be refined
while respecting the individuality
of the body in front of us.
This work cannot be created
by the coach alone.
It is a collaboration
between the client and myself.
And at its deepest level,
it is an art.
If you experience foot pain
or discomfort,
you are not alone.
And if you have been afraid
of high heels because of
hallux valgus or another foot
problem, I understand that
hesitation.
But before concluding
that high heels themselves
are the problem,
it may be worth looking
more deeply at the body
that is wearing them.
How does it stand?
How does it distribute weight?
How does it move?
How do the feet participate
in the movement of the whole body?
From the tips of the toes
to the top of the head,
the body functions as one unit.
Every connection matters.
And sometimes,
what appears to be a problem
in one small part of the body
invites us to look
at the whole structure.
For women who would like
to begin this work without heels,
the Hallux Valgus Structural
Recalibration Program offers
another way to explore
these foundations through
barefoot structural work.
The body is not something
we need to fight against.
Sometimes,
we simply need to learn
how to listen to it differently.
Private Online Sessions
— Available Worldwide —
Contact
ASAMI-PARIS
—
asamiparis.fr@gmail.com