Move Your DNA with Katy Bowman

Barefoot Expo May 16-17 2025In this episode, Katy is talking foot pain and minimal shoes with podiatrist Dr. Ray McClanahan. Dr. Ray attended Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine and completed a two-year podiatric, surgical residency training in Portland, Oregon, at Legacy Health Systems and Kaiser Permanente as a Podiatric Physician and Surgeon.We've got all these moving parts called feet--parts that need regular movement in order to keep being able to move--stacked beneath the weight of the entire body. That means we ask a lot of our feet because our feet bear the brunt of our body weight. And whether you’re new to movement, an athlete, a young adult or a goldener you must prioritize keeping your feet as strong as you can (perhaps through the use of minimal footwear). Why? Because a significant portion of your lived experience depends on them!

Barefoot Expo May 16-17 2025Kids are dynamic learning machines, but they have been placed in an ever-increasing sedentary educational environment. In this episode, Katy shares the small adjustments--to clothing, backpacks, and before and after school time---you can make that will help your kids get the movement they need.

Barefoot Expo May 16-17 2025If you have been listening to and following Katy's work for a while now and want to share what you have learned with the ones you love, this is the podcast episode for you. Big picture of movement in a world made for the sedentary can be tricky stuff to distill and explain to others. So this episode is for those folks who may be asking you why you’re wearing funny shoes, or how come you like to stand at meetings, or sit on the floor when hanging out.

Barefoot Expo May 16-17 2025Since that first walk in 2017, Ken continues to balance a daytime desk job with his on-foot passion: experiencing, illuminating, and preserving the numerous Black Heritage Trails in the USA so others do not forget the many steps that have been taken.Support Johnston’s current Walk to Freedom project: gofundme.com/f/walk-to-freedom-new-york-to-canadaLearn more about Ken Johnston and his walks at ourwalktofreedom.com

Barefoot Expo May 16-17 2025Katy and a special guest (her husband) outline some furniture-free lifestyle steps to transitioning your body to less supportive sleep surfaces and also how to get more sleeping movements without going mattress-free or pillow-free. 

Barefoot Expo May 16-17 2025The definition of health is tricky but hopefully can agree on many elements of what it looks and feels like. On that note, in this episode, Katy and Pilar talk about why health is becoming more and more elusive and why our society is becoming synonymous with behaviors that lead to those deviations away from our physiological or biological needs that result in disease. 

Diana Hill, Ph.D., a modern psychologist and co-author of ACT Daily Journal, discusses strategies to motivate others to be more physically active. Topics include breaking sedentary habits, the importance of movement and values, the power of choice in behavior change, sustaining change, and joining others to create stronger connections.

Barefoot Expo May 16-17 2025For some context, this was how Katy's talk was written up by the presenters at the library: Biomechanist, author, and movement expert, Katy Bowman, M.S., will provide an engaging and interactive presentation on how to age dynamically. Katy will cover the difference between movement and exercise, why both the whole body and each body part needs its own dose of movement, and how to fit more movement throughout each day. Katy’s books, including Dynamic Aging, can be found in print and eBook at the library.

Barefoot Expo May 16-17 2025Most of what we want to do in life uses our body as a tool, and many don’t realize how to maintain the tool of our physicality. But it’s possible, by investing a little time, to maintain your body better not only for longevity’s sake, but so the things you want to do stay available to you, or even develop into greater capability and experience. Yes, even physical challenges. And yes, even with advancing age.

Barefoot Expo May 16-17 2025In this episode, Katy shares an old blog post from her first long trail walk in minimalist shoes (back in 2008) as an example of how we need to pay attention to what we wear on our feet as well as what we are putting those feet on while we walk. Katy says that having a blog is sort of like having a diary. But, since she doesn’t have a journal or a diary, what she writes, you get to see, and in this case, revisit in podcast audio form. Enjoy!