clothes
expression
Clothes manipulate the way others see us and how they treat us. They sculpt how we feel, the way we see ourselves, and even how we behave. Colours, cut and fabrics all make a difference. Synthetic fabrics are different to natural ones.
warmth
Clothing can regulate metabolism when ambient temperature is less than body temperature. More to conserve heat (and energy) or less to burn calories.
restriction
Clothes can be light, heavy, flexible or restricting. They can limit our body's range of movement.
Shoes are the most obvious example of the dangers of restrictive clothing. Most foot problems arise from restrictive shoes. These feet prisons can immobilise and deform feet and unbalance or restrict movement in the rest of the body leading to global changes including spinal deformation.
Feet exist in the brain as well as at the end of the legs. A large proportion of the motor and the sensory cortex is devoted to them.
Hundreds of components in the feet are capable of intricate articulation. If the feet are restricted the corresponding parts of the brain are silent. Very little is happening. Stimulation and feedback between those parts of mind and body are shut down. Our connection with ourselves and the world is limited. A type of partial lobotomy.
The best shoes are no shoes where possible. There is evidence of less damage to knees and other joints. Without shoes all of the feet and ankles can move as they are designed to and the rest of the body can fully integrate into balance and movement.
|
|
|
copyright (C) John Brasted 2008
updated 06/11/11
