By Megwyn White

Personal Trainer, Bodyworker, Pilates Instructor, Yoga Instructor, & Massage Therapist

Why do smart women wear stiletto heels even though they don’t feel so hot? In this article I will share with you why I not only find stilettos an amazing fashion plus and with the right self-care regimine something that will actually improve your alignment.

Let’s face it stilettos tell a story. Most of the women who wear them are seen as wielding power in there sex appeal. So does that mean that agonizing foot pain is inevitable when you strap on a pair of heels? And better yet, does it mean that the women that wear them are a kind of doomed lot sentenced to a life of bunion surgery, hammer toes, or simply endure the agony of wearing shoes fitted with inserts?

What if we start this conversation with a different question and then work our way back?

First, let’s break it down to the facts “why” do we LOVE stilettos?

Besides the obvious natural butt lift and lengthened legs there is definitely more to the mystique of the classic stiletto. When I think of a beautiful women owning her stilettos heels I think of power, strength, and beauty all rolled into one. Stilettos seem to bring out a women’s inner sex appeal almost magically. She commands attention by her mere presence. Why is that?

Think of Charlie’s Angels or Sex and the City. Carrie Bradshaw running full tilt down the streets of Manhattan in Manola Blahniks without ever toppling over. There is something dangerous and at the same time daring in her bravery to strap on a shoe that might seemingly throw her off balance but instead brings her to….

Center.

I am fascinated with the dynamics of the human body and have asked myself these same questions when feeling drawn to stilettos. As I have grown to learn more about structure alignment and the integration of the whole I have also grown to see the stiletto as the ultimate in body-mind-centering particularly for a woman.

That’s right…I’m asking you to think about a stiletto as a way of elevating yourself beyond the conventions of gravity into the higher standard of being?

What if we looked at a stiletto as kind of a pedestal? It does make you a few inches taller. I would argue that the stiletto might be poetically linked as a modern day ode to the goddess within us. I know that this might sound a little like a stretch but why not think of it that way? Remember stilettos are part of a fashion story. What does that story say about it’s wearer.

Stiletto History I recently discovered that the first precursors of stiletto heels date back as far as 1000 BC. These early designs were discovered in a tomb of Tebas in Old Egypt, and were possibly linked to the high social status to those who wore them. In the late 1500s high heeled shoes were worn by both sexes and the term “well heeled” as a way of identifying someone of high status was born. Intention is everything.It is the seed of how we see ourselves, and relate to the world. Fashion often times plays a large role in that intention. It frames our self image and can often times be a way of elevating it. It is a part of how we design our lives, and feel about ourselves in the midst of living those lives. So, why not feel like a goddess instead of feeling in pain?

Pain makes her internally feel inadequate, broken and trying harder than she might need to if her inner goddess was in charge.

Unfortunately, women are encouraged to martyr themselves for beauty. They chant mantras like “no pain no gain,” and lament when heels no longer are suitable for them to wear because beauty dies with age. My main mentor is Yamuna Zake, a bodywork genius and the creator of Body Rolling and a women in her 50s that not only wears heels but looks damn good in them!! So this is definitely not a belief system that I’m choosing to ascribe to. I am merely present to it and hope that I can be a kind of messenger to the masses to impart another way of looking at it.

Heels to me are a great way into understanding the dynamic brilliance held within the bodies architecture and how it’s own design can help us to redefine and relate differently to our bodies.

Let’s fall back in love with heels, but this time let’s have a BALANCED and LOVING relationship with them.”

Is it really necessary to have pain when wearing heels? Definitely not.

One of the main issues with wearing heels is that they naturally pitch the body’s weight forward into the ball of the foot. Overtime, the experts say most women will end up losing the padding in the ball of the foot and develop all sorts of issues.

I have read many articles that all allude this is some kind of natural aging dilemma that all women must face when deciding to wear heels on a regular basis. They are told the only way you can deal with this is adding synthetic padding to your shoes or resorting to using painful injectables.

Yikes!!!

But then being the smart and informed women we are we might want to probe further and ask … “What is this padding?” and “If it’s something my body has can I somehow create more of it?”

The answer is YES you can live without foot pain!!!

That padding is muscle!!! Halelluja!! The foot has within it 26 bones, and over 100 muscles!!! With that kind of design it’s a wonder we don’t get to working all that were born with.

If you have ever tried to look into strengthening your foot there is not a lot out there but there are some “must haves” for a foot strengthening venture. I have been doing the Yamuna Body Rolling method now for about 8 years and have found that her foot products are hands down the best.

I have seen and felt my own feet transform over the years, and have come to discover that the key to connecting to real core strength lies in our foundation. Namely, our feet. You can also think of them as your natural root.

When you wear heels it can do one of two things…

You can either “hang out” in them or you can “own them” for what they are a way to root deeper and more dynamically. Basically when you start to actually “use” those same muscles you’re entire body dynamically lifts upward. Your chest expands and your center supports you because it has to, otherwise you will fall flat on your face.

Yamuna Body Rolling as a Solution

The Yamuna Foot Wakers strengthen your feet, especially some of the key areas for wearing heals comfortably like your toes and metatarsal (ball of the foot). Something that we all aspire for when wearing heels. A half domed device with wonderful “nubbies” called the Foot Waker will be your best friend after a night out on the town. It gets all the muscles of your feet reaquainted with the strength and support of the whole leg. It even improves circulation and metabolic function by helping to activate the nerve endings in the bottom of your feet. If you want a slightly more direct approach you can also try her foot savers a smaller and more intensely targeting tool that is very useful for realigning the connections from the feet into the knees and pelvis.

So, give your feet a break and root like the goddess you are. You might just find that instead of cursing your feet you’ll learn to appreciate the brilliant design you were born with.

These photos demonstrate the immediate results of conditioning and opening the feet.

Taken before and after one Body Logic session that only focused on the feet and calf muscles. It was astounding to see how her body lifted and opened up, and she even looks lighter.

So if you still feel compelled to wear stilettos try to think about grounding your toes and lifting up and get on a pair of foot wakers and challenge your feet to work more dynamically. Think of bridging your feet to the top of the skull. You will find that your body when more fully awakened can also take on the challenge that a stiletto brings.