The Feeling It Series: Stepping Into Bliss

Each shoe comes with its own unique purpose, designed to evoke and deliver on a range of feelings and needs. Blissfeel, is an everyday running shoe, though there’s nothing standard about this style - seamless uppers deliver support and breathability, whilst soft-spring like cushioning makes movement feel breezy and light.

In fact, so intent on perfecting this style, in 2023, lululemon released their second iteration on their debut style, Blissfeel 2.

The Stack World put these shoes to the test as part of the Feeling It Series. Here, writer Hannah Connolly trials lululemon’s Blissfeel 2 running trainer.

“It had been a very long time since I last went for a run,” says 25 year old writer Hannah Connolly, explaining that since living in the city she had found herself disconnected from her wellness practice.

“I used to have a really strong relationship with running when I was younger. Then I moved to London and that fell off. Then I caught the bug for running again during lockdown, but I was running in a pair of trainers I'd had for years. If I am honest, they caused more problems than anything else and by 2023 they were basically just gathering dust in my cupboard.”

Enter Blissfeel 2. For Hannah, this was a chance to jump back in head first. “I was immediately a bit nervous, I am not exactly the person you’d pick out to try a running trainer, but when I thought about it, that kind of became my biggest motivation to do so.”

Explaining that often the reason for not running anymore was out of “embarrassment” or being “out of practice”. Though, it was this in mind, she put the shoes to the test – “how does a performance shoe work for someone who hasn’t really gone for a run in 12 months – basically that’s exactly what I wanted to find out.”

“I’ll be honest the first time I headed out for a run it wasn’t for long, I needed to begin easing back in. It wasn’t a slick high ponytail, composed run… this was more you can hear my breathing before you see me, red in the face kind of run.”

Adding that, whilst out for a run, music blasting, she was able to find a sense of stillness despite being on the move and is testament to why running has swiftly leaped to the top of her self-care practice ever since.

So how about Blissfeel 2? “It was quite amazing for me to find a trainer that didn’t hurt. I have really high arches and most trainers I have worn have made the bridges of my feet hurt, or at the very least, feel uncomfortable – this was just the complete opposite.” Testament to the rigorous design process each lululemon style has undergone.

“You can feel that and you can feel the care and the intent to aid, rather than just be a shoe that you wear. For me, they really made me feel I could go that bit further or that bit longer. The sole is a wonder – it felt buoyant and responsive. Every step I took I really felt the trainer was right there with me.”

Since that first run, Hannah has begun to slowly reconnect and reconcile with her own idea of fitness “every time I put my Blissfeel 2’s on I feel excited to go for a run. You know, sometimes it isn’t even a run, it’s just a really long walk, and I don’t have a strict routine, I go with how I am feeling.”

Going on to say: “For me what running in this particular pair of trainers has shown me is that there is design out there that enhances your performance and there are those that restrict."

"When a shoe is enhancing then you can switch off, be present and focus on yourself, not what’s going on with your feet – I’ll say this for sure, I fully understand why they call them the Blissfeel…”

Check out the lululemon footwear range, including Blissfeel 2 here, and keep your eyes peeled for the rest of the Feeling It Series where our Stack World Members will be trying out lululemon’s Chargefeel, Strongfeel and Restfeel shoes.

Images for The Feeling It Series were taken by JKG PHOTOGRAPH, makeup and hair by Maya Czarnecka.