Greetings!

Please find the powerful, famous, and amazing, historical (we have been doing this for over 15 years now, doesn't that qualify us as historical??), August 19, 2010 Wholly Macro Delivery Menu in the Weekly Menu section below.

I know that I promised that my series of articles on and about feet was over. But I did have one more most interesting thought / memory to add, about the Barefoot Inca's of the high Andes Mountains in Peru. I was in Peru in the vicinity of 1978. We really roughed it. We were oh so young, and so strong and healthy, with bodies that were as yet unspoiled by harmful diet and lifestyle practices. (That all came later!).

We did a lot of hiking and trekking in those Andes Mountains. Once we reached that difficult to reach neck of the woods, we sort of got lost / stuck up there. But in a good way. It was beautiful and fascinating, if not difficult also. Transportation was not really a strong feature of the area, especially back then. We had to walk a lot to get around. It is freezing cold up there in those mountains. There are fascinating steep and winding trails. Dirt trails. Full of rocks and stones. Really hard to navigate on foot, especially with a heavy backpack strapped to your back. My little group, (my ex-husband, my college roommate, and myself), were struggling to navigate the steep trails, even at that young and ache-free age! We wore heavy boots, and still could not get adequate traction on the trails, and we struggled to keep our feet clean, healthy, and blister free. Mostly we were not successful with that. I think, in fact I know (I just checked), that I still have a few faint scars on the inner arch of my feet where blisters persistently formed, and got infected during those days. Right smack dab on the spleen / pancreas meridian in fact. That should give you a clue as to one of my main food weaknesses: sweets!!

Anyway, as we traversed the Andes Mountains, we very often ran into the indigenous Inca's of the area. They were (and still are), a beautiful people. They were strong and ruddy, with sun burnished skin, glowing eyes, thick shiny black hair, and the most amazing bare feet I have ever seen. I remember their feet to this day although I have never been back to the area. In my (possibly drug related), mind expanded state, the Inca's looked more like graceful animals to me than like the human form I was familiar with, as they eloquently navigated the steep trails. They didn't even stick to the trails actually. They would just wander off, towards the side of a mountain and smoothly and evenly disappear over the horizon.

Their feet were like animal hooves. They were thick and muscular, very well developed, with high graceful arches. They were beautiful really. I remember watching with total fascination, marveling at how their bare feet could grip the earth beneath them so steadily, firmly, and securely, despite the freezing temperatures and rocky terrain, as I slipped, tripped, slid, and fell down the very same terrain. And I was actually ON the path.

I'm not sure what I attributed it all to back then. I think I innately knew that it was precisely from walking barefoot that their feet had become so strong and well developed. And it was also from their native diet. A diet rich in local whole grains and beans, and all kinds of native and wild plants and vegetables. I was as fascinated by the foods that they ate, as I was by their feet!!

I don't think that walking around barefoot on our tiled or carpeted floors for an hour or so here and there is an adequate workout for our feet. I think that we all need to be a little more aggressive in including our feet in our daily work out routines, to avoid sprains, breaks, fallen arches, bunions, and the like. 

As I mentioned in my previous newsletters, I love doing the various standing / balancing yoga postures to really work the muscles in my feet and ankles, while also connecting to the earth.

Interestingly enough, you can gauge how centered and grounded you are on a particular day, by how well / easily you are able to flow into a balancing posture. If you find you are all off kilter, you can mindfully direct your awareness to your lack of mental / physical balance, and focus on focusing. You can thus change the outcome of that day. You will know you are centered, when you have settled into balance in the posture. You will then be able to be focused and aware, and in the present moment that day.

And walking barefoot on the beach:HUGE! You will actually feel muscle soreness right down to the inner most depths of your feet following a barefoot walk on the beach. Swimming is a good foot workout too. As you kick your feet while swimming, you can actually exaggerate the movement of the ankles, feet, and toes, to give them a more focused workout.

There is also Tai Chi, Chi Gong, and Karate. And dancing!! Dancing, of any type / variety, is wonderful for your spirit, and for your feet.  It is such a great and fun total body / mind workout / experience. We should all be doing more dancing!! And I am sure that you can think of even more wonderful ways to work your body and sole / soul. I'd love to hear about them!

Please take a look at your own feet. Are they strong and muscular, and able to support you on your lengthy journey through life? Can they keep you solidly grounded and connected with Mother Earth? Or do they need some "tough love" in the form of a specific foot workout? There is no time like now to workout and strengthen our feet. Warm summer weather is the perfect time for all of the above-mentioned activities. We want to strengthen our feet and ankles now, because when the weather cools, and our kidneys become more vulnerable (the kidneys dislike cold), our feet and ankles (governed by the kidneys) become more vulnerable too. If we go into winter with weak kidneys and feet, we are much more susceptible to foot related injuries. They may occur during the winter if we didn't strengthen our feet and kidneys over the summer, or they may occur in the spring and summer if we didn't protect and nourish our kidneys during the winter. 

And as always, there is healthy, bone building, muscle strengthening, connective tissue rejuvenating pure and natural food!! Most of us can't go permanently barefoot. We need to use balance and common sense of course, but we can be like the Inca's as much as possible. We need to eat well, and live and exercise well in order to be at peaceful healthy oneness with our planet and ourselves.

Select any of the dishes from our menu this, and every week. They all have super powers to make us as strong and healthy and connected as the Barefoot Inca's!! Honestly.

In the best of health.

Gayle And Jaime.