232 Pilates Digest


The Case For Flat Shoes

How Your Shoes Influence Alignment, Movement and Longevity

I have worn flat shoes for as long as I can remember.

At some point in my twenties, I stopped wearing heels entirely. It wasn’t a dramatic decision. I just decided I didn’t want to be uncomfortable anymore. I didn’t want to walk through a city while adjusting my body to a shoe. Heels request that I change my posture, shift my weight forward, shorten my stride, and for my body to compensate all the way up the chain. And for what.

At 232 we talk about alignment constantly, and how the body organizes itself from the ground up. Our feet are not just a base. They are active, intelligent and responsive and are meant to feel the ground, widen, and articulate.

Years ago, in art school at The Art Institute of Chicago, I did a conceptual project on the history of bound feet. I think my pointe shoes were getting the best of me and I remember studying difficult-to-look-at images of bound feet and reading accounts from China, where by the 14th century this had become widely normalized. We like to think we’ve moved past that. But in quieter, more socially acceptable ways, we surely haven’t. Pointed shoes, narrow toe boxes, and elevated heels force the foot into an unnatural shape, and then we wonder why the rest of the body must adapt. Toes lose space and eventually the arch stops responding. Sadly, it is very common for our knees take on more load and then the hips follow. Luckily, my knees are still okay to this day. 

The body always tells the truth, eventually. For me, flat shoes became less about preference and more about refusal. I am not willing to compromise the health of my knees, my hips, or my spine for something aesthetic! That doesn’t mean your shoes should feel like nothing; there should still be some cushioning and comfort. When I walk, I want to feel the ground. I want my foot to behave like a living structure, not something contained. 

My shoes are very simple. Flat tennis shoes, usually. Roxy, Hugo Boss. Sometimes you can even find me walking along the Williamsburg boardwalk in thick socks. It's my best and hardest walk, as my body responds in an entirely different and positive way. When I do wear them, again, my shoes are not particularly interesting or especially trendy. I wish there were more options that got this right without sacrificing design, but I’m not willing to trade function for style.

So yes, dress how you want and express yourself. But be honest about what your shoes are asking your body to do. Remember, we live in our bodies all day long and our feet carry all of it. What you put on your feet is part of the decision to maintain mobility for as long as you are on this earth. 

-Diana Muchmore, March 27, 2026

232 Digest is a weekly journal on movement, Pilates, and intelligent exercise written from the studio floor at 232 Pilates in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.