Barefoot Energetics - improving the overall health, happiness            
and  energy flow of the whole person – body, mind, spirit – through natural
exercises and activities for the feet, including barefoot walking.

Classes, workshops
now available
in the San Francisco Bay Area
and beyond.

Community, Corporate and Special Events
510-356-8854
darren at gstouch dot com

Consultant & Facilitator
for the construction
of reflexology pathways
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GOLDEN STATE TOUCH homepage
REDISCOVER YOUR FEET
WITH "BAREFOOT ENERGETICS"
"The myth of the good, solid shoe is like the fallacy of communism. People do better
when they’re free, and the foot does better when it’s free.”
                                                  – Dr. Lynn Staheli, quoted in a 1991 New York Times article
Darren led particpants in a "walking workshop"
(above) in Napier, NZ,  in May of 2011 as part of his
Barefoot Energetics presentation to the annual
Reflexology New Zealand Conference.
“Walking doesn’t cost you anything, you can do it barefoot and you can do it now, this
minute.” – James Levine, M.D., Ph.D., and a Mayo Clinic expert on obesity (in 2007 Mayo Clinic editorial)
“When you exercise especially, but as much of the time as you can, you should go
barefoot. Going barefoot is really great for your feet. Shoes really are like splints –
think about it for a little and see how inflexible most of them are.”
- Maggie Lettvin, 1970s TV exercise personality of “Maggie and the Beautiful Machine”

“If you strengthen the foot by going barefoot, I think you reduce the risk of Achilles
and knee and plantar fascia problems.”  –Vin Lananna, Oregon track coach,
quoted in "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall

(scroll down for additional quotes & resources)

“We seem to be missing something essential – perhaps a rooted feeling – when we
don’t stand barefoot on the ground from time to time. A gardener friend of mine
suggested that a crucial element in a healing garden is a clean, smooth, earthen path
for barefoot walking.” – Carol Venolia, ecological design consultant for ecological design and consultation for
homes, healing centers, camps, and spiritual centers.
“Perfect feet are probably possible only for people who all their lives can and do go
barefoot." - New York Times editorial, June 20, 1922
“You can feel the floor and connect with the earth more easily without shoes. The flow
between you and Mother Earth becomes stronger. The longer you practice this
connection, the more your heart will be softened and opened, and the more you will
feel nurtured, solid and taken care of by the earth.”  - Thich Nhat Hanh
“Shoes do no more for the foot than a hat does for the brain.”
—Dr. Mercer Rang, the legendary orthopedic surgeon and researcher in pediatric development
“From this day forward, make it a practice to spend as much time as possible
barefoot. Let your feet live the Natural Way!” – Patricia and Paul Bragg in their book "Build Strong
Healthy Feet." No less a foot authority than Dr. Scholl himself called the Bragg approach to building healthy feet "the
best foot-care program ever."
RESOURCES
“The key to good foot heath is barefoot locomotion – moving along the ground on
your bare feet.” – Daniel Howell, Ph.D, author of “The Barefoot Book”
“If we went barefoot, our brains would receive many different kinds of input as we
went over uneven surfaces. Shoes are a relatively flat platform that spreads out the
stimuli, and the surfaces we walk on are increasingly artificial and perfectly flat. This
leads us to dedifferentiate the (brain) maps for the soles of our feet and limit how
touch guides our foot control. Then we may start to use canes, walkers or crutches or
rely on other senses to steady ourselves. By resorting to these compensations
instead of exercising our failing brains systems, we hasten their decline.” – Dr. Norman
Doidge, author of "The Brain That Changes Itself
“There's nothing in the mechanical world that matches the sophistication. complexity
and multi-tasking ability of the foot.” - Michael Sandler, author of "Barefoot Running: How to Run Light
and Free by Getting in Touch with the Earth."