SPRING RENEWAL!

A sweet spring is around the corner, after months of cold weather, and record breaking storms.  Feet begin to pop out of boots into sandals, and spas and salons welcome people with dry, winter skin into their wonderful spring treatments, refreshing the body and the feet.  We move from winter sports to spring exercising, which puts a "spring" in our step and mood.  And there we are, Beech Sandal Co., with Yoga Sandals(R) Footwear ready to join in with the sandal for health and beauty.  The Upscale Pedicure Sandal(R) that exercises the muscles of the feet, keeps joints flexible, promotes balance and body alignment, and encourages health through movement!

There have been some exciting times here at Beech.  We have arranged a donation of 50 boxes of sandals to"soles4souls.org" for Haitian relief efforts.  We know with the earthquake rubble, that our toe separators will not allow the sandals to slip or slide off unstable surfaces, and the heel support will help cope with uneven ground.  We think the people of Haiti will enjoy these brand new unique sandals while dealing with their healing process, and we were glad for the opportunity to support them in some way.

We are in the process of bringing back improved versions of the Evolutions and Fusions, wonderful stylish Summer models and colors.  Our wholesale customers are part of this process, pre-ordering these models for June, which allows us to notify our factory of the quantities we will need.  This effort has expanded our feeling of community with our wholesale customers because we are all working together to bring the public the latest in Yoga Sandals(R) Footwear.  We have also had interest expressed by some major chains, but more about that in future Newsletters.

(Wholesale customers call NOW for our pre-order process at no charge!! 877-771-TOES)

We are planning to have two lines of unisex or men's sandals, our regular BSC (Balance-Strength-Control) with the molded Samoan bottom; and a new line, the Revolution.  Revolutions are on the drawing board, and we should see them by the end of the year.  It is exciting to think about these new models of Yoga Sandals(R) Footwear, as we really believe what Prevention (July, 2007) penned about us"  "The Better Flip-Flop(R),"  a toe separating sandal that is good for your foot's health.

And to support that belief, we are interviewing a podiatrist and doctor of osteopathy about our sandals, and will be writing up their comments.  This article will focus specifically on "Challenging the Myth:  Arch support can weaken the foot, and heel support is critical to foot health."  Think about the arch:  first of all, it is an ARCH, like the

The running shoe industry has grow to massive proportions in the last 30years, and some argue that the shoes we wear today -- with all the support and cushion -- are actually weakening our natural arches, and causing more injuries than they prevent. The shoes and inserts we wear today attempt to replace our natural arches. By doing so, some argue, the natural support structures in our feet (arches, muscles and tendons) have weakened so much that they no longer do what they were designed to do.

Some experts, like Benno Nigg of the Human Performance Lab at the University of Calgary, claim that wearing shoes causes the small muscles of the feet and even muscles of core to become weak, which impacts our natural biomechanics and may contribute to knee and hip pain. Nigg believes that by strengthening muscles in the foot, we can improve our natural biomechanics.

Food for thought!!