A decade or so ago, Japanese health practitioners began noticing an odd series of symptoms in patients. These included fatigue, stiff neck, anxiety, chronic pain, and weak immune systems. What was particularly odd about the patients with these symptoms was that they were all from urban areas. There were many ideas developed about the cause of these symptoms, but ironically one of the best cures for this "disease" was spending time in the countryside walking barefoot (this story is documented in Kiiko Matsumoto's book The Eight Extraordinary Meridians). What these traditional doctors had discovered was that cities were literally making these people sick.
While these Japanese doctors did end up developing an acupuncture treatment protocol to help patients who didn't have the freedom or luxury to head to the countryside frequently, to me the more important point is that Cities were making people sick...and the best treatment was to spend some time barefoot.
In the history of medicine, in pre-modern times, there is often the assumption that people suffered greatly and died in vast quantities at the slightest illness or infection. This story reinforces the power of our modern medical system and the story of the inadequacy of traditional medicines. What most people don't realize is that historically, in most cultures there were health practitioners with local plant remedies that could treat many common illnesses. Were these remedies as powerful as modern antibiotics? Definitely not. But many of them could be just as effective, if not more so and without all of the side effects that we are now seeing from the large scale use of antibiotics for decades. Were the traditional medicines able to treat very severe trauma the way a modern ER unit could? No way. But these traditional practitioners had very powerful treatments for even serious conditions such as broken bones and internal traumas (there's a whole branch of Chinese Medicine devoted to this called Die Da medicine).
Who were these practitioners of these older medical traditions? The wise or cunning women and men of ancient Europe, the Medicine men and women of North and South America, and the traditional doctors Asia are just a few. These "barefoot doctors" of antiquity wandered around dispensing remedies from their medicine bags treating people in their local areas. Most of their medicines were made from local ingredients, with perhaps a few exotic ingredients being traded for. Perhaps when they went to gather their medicines they would perform ceremonies, sing songs, or chant mantras before harvesting plants in a sacred manner. Imagine the power of someone so connected to the Earth and Place and People and the kinds of medicine they could dispense. Contrast that with people being made sick by living in cities.
This is what we mean by a Barefoot Doctor...this is one of the medicines that we as a people need now. And, it may simply be the future of medicine in our life time or our children's life time.
Assignment: Spend some time barefoot these week. Feel the connection between the "bubbling spring" acupuncture point (just below the ball of the foot) and the deep primal energy or chi of the earth. How do you feel when there is rubber or plastic between you and the ground? How do you feel when that is removed?
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