Desperately Seeking Shoes

Hi Simon, I've been on this quest myself, and there are lots of options available. I am female, but shop for men's shoes for my husband, so am familiar with the landscape.

Using earth brand shoes has helped me. Good arch support, and decent styling for men.

Also, Chacos are very nice.  A number of stylish shoes are now made, not just sandals. REI carries Chacos.

I've been warned against Birkenstocks, because of the toe ledge, but they may be right for you. When I first started to change out my shoes, I used Keen as as starting point...Chaco's are preferred.

If you don't have shoe stores in your area that carry these brands, try zappos.com. Zappos orders free shipping both ways, as well as a 365 day return policy...if you don't wear the shoes, you have up to a year to return them for a full refund.

Good luck, and would love to hear how things go for you in the future. Nike

Hi Simon!

I'm a 24 year old man, and was also recently thinking about shoes. I've used the 8 Steps method to amazing benefit since working with Esther in March, and so am trying to fully integrate it into my life.

I chose these Keen shoes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hcxni3g_SIo

I sent this video to Esther over email, to check if they were indeed a good fit. She thought they were an excellent pair.

My reasoning behind picking them was primarily motivated by trying to find a shoe that allows you to have the kidney bean shape in your foot, while wearing the shoe. You'll see that a lot of shoes have a fairly straight edge on the inside of the foot, making it hard to have the kidney bean shape while wearing the shoe. Ideally, the shoe is kidney bean shaped so that your foot can retain their natural, healthy architecture (arches lifted and kidney-bean shaped foot. This is what's described in detail in Chapter 6 of the 8 Steps book.)

Other things to look for are support in the heel and in the arches. These can of course be added with insoles (I'm planning on using a Profoot insole + the insole in the Keens already as a way to make sure my arches stay intact), but it's a secondary thing to check.

Let me post what Esther sent me re: insoles here, so you have that information as well:

"Insoles:
1. Baseline insole
2. A push-your-limits insole
The first prevents you from splaying your foot further than you have. The second feels a little uncomfortable unless you engage the muscles in your arches to lessen the pressure on the insole. The shape and height of both insoles ideally depend on the current shape of your arches. This will shift over time. As you develop your foot muscles, you will need a higher insole to challenge your foot muscles. I think for you, the Keen insole + Profoot is probably a good baseline insole.  "

(The Profoot insole is what's sold at Esther's wellness center.)

I hope that's helpful! Let me know if you've got questions -- or feel free to post some pictures or videos of shoes you're thinking about!

-Nagle