Health Benefits of Barefeet
I think everyone’s goal in life is to be as healthy as they can be. We try to eat the right foods in the right amounts. We try to exercise. We try to feed our minds and better our perspective. People will do all sorts of crazy things in the name of health, from drinking apple cider vinegar or taking cold showers to having a special squatty stool when to help make stool and buying extravagantly priced copper pads from Gwyneth Paltrow.
Yet one of the simplest ways to get improve health is often
overlooked. It’s simply taking off one’s shoes. Going barefoot helps reduce
strain on specific muscles and begins to work under active muscles. Going
barefoot can also improve our healthy through pressure points and the pores on
the feet. But the benefits don’t stop with the physical, bare feet can also
help our mental state and mood. Instead of paying for products, bare footers
actually save on shoes and works health benefits naturally into life.
People often fear ankle injuries without the support of
traditional shoes. I find this odd. Without the “support” of shoe, the feet
would be free to move and would get stronger. A stronger, more flexible and
limber body wouldn’t need to worry about weak ankles. For years I have been
going barefoot and run up and down mountains literally in bare feet or flip
flops and have never sustained an injury.
Modern shoes, especially “hikers” basically have a built-in
ankle brace. But braces are not meant to be worn everyday. They are designed to
help one overcome an injury while they work to strengthen their body. But if
one wears ankle braces on their feet all day, they feet will be so weak and the
ligaments so tight that even taking the garbage out in your slippers wrong
could injury that weak ankle. But if one begins to slowly and carefully work
their ankles in low stress environments, they will get stronger to reduce injury.
Injuries will also be reduced because of better
responsiveness. Have you ever noticed how an athlete in one sport often seems
able to effortlessly pick-up other sports? Because of their practice in one
sport, they have a very strong mind body connection and are better able to
adapt to new situations. When we go barefoot, it works many different muscles
and revives those brain connections. And with a strong, intuitive connection,
we are able to respond better when we do step on a stone or slip off the curb.
Most peoples foot pain is less specific though. So many
people suffer from poor circulation and cold feet. They fear that their feet
would freeze if they took their shoes and socks off, even indoors. This is
backwards logic. Feet are cold with poor circulation because of the
socks restrictive nature and how shoes prevent feet from actually working. Wearing
shoes stop the feet from really moving so the legs take up a larger load in
walking. When the foot muscles don’t need to work, there’s really no reason to
circulate blood down there. But when walking barefoot and work all those
muscles, the body is forced to send blood down for all the muscles. Over
time, the body gets used to circulating blood everywhere and this improves
circulation, and cold feet.
When people’s feet are warm and healthy, they realize how
sensitive their feet actually are; their senses come alive. When the feet are
freed from socks, they can actually begin to explore the world; the nerves get
used to feeling and get more sensitive. The increased sensations just enhance
the connection to the mind because the neural pathways get used more often.
Walking over natural ground, filled with sensory pleasures
like grass, twigs, leaves or pebbles helps train the brain to pick up more. It
will also strengthen the feet in a low risk way and even massage them, kind of
like a foam roller can massage your limbs.
Walking on uneven ground also helps work the pressure points
on the feet. The foot is full of pressure points and receptors. When the foot
is massaged, it can improve the function of several body operations including
the liver, heart and digestion.
Many people get worried about pain when waking barefoot.
“But what about rocks? I can’t take my shoes off; my feet are too tender.” If
people used that logic everywhere, they would also say “I not going to eat
diner tonight, I’m too hungry”.
The only reason someone’s feet are tender is because of
shoes! Shoes make feet weak, soft and tender. Going barefoot may be painful at
first, just like building muscle is painful. Over time, that pain will lessen.
Because of shoes, most people have gotten used to a very
heavy, heel first gait. This sends shock waves up through the body, which is
damaging, but doesn’t hurt right away. However, when you’re barefoot, we get
immediate, painful feedback. Our brains will do anything to avoid pain. So the
brain analyses the gait and adjusts to a more natural mid-foot or toe first
gait. This is better for the mechanics
of your walking, strengthens your body and lessens pain. Less pain and stress
in our bodies means we can lead active, healthy, unhindered lives.
One of my favorite benefits of barefoot walking is seeing
how responsive and agile I have become. Because we are motivated by pain,
walking barefoot heightens our awareness. Heightened awareness, coupled with
strong feet and a good mind body connection means a great response. If I step
on a stone, instead of landing full force-very painfully- I can adjust mid step
to shift the weight to other parts of the foot.
Over time, your feet will develop a thin lay of fat on the
soles to create a natural cushion. And even better, the more you walk, the more
you wear down the skin on your feet. This makes the body work overtime to
develop thicker skin and you’ll soon develop thicker skin over the soles of
your feet. It always bothers me to see people using a pumice stone to rub that
skin off their feet. It might be pretty, but not healthy. Thankfully, going
barefoot also removes all unnatural rubbing in specific places on the feet so
bare foot walkers never need to worry about corns, blisters or callouses in
weird places.
Over time, the body will get stronger, more resistant to
injury and even improve circulation because of going barefoot. Each of those
benefits are pretty straightforward. You can see how working the ankle more
strengthens it. You can see how the brain avoiding pain makes their gait more
natural and healthier. But a few changes are not quite so obvious. It’s these
ones I find really interesting.
Everyone knows that stress is bad and can harm not only our
minds but our bodies also. Mental stress is when there’s too much to do and not
enough time. Physical stress comes from mental stress, but also just being worn
out. It makes our bodies tighten up, digestion gets ruined and even makes our cellular
function subpar. Going barefoot can actually help with stress levels and even
improve the function of our bodies, even down to a cellular level.
Most people know that our body runs on electricity, which is
why pacemakers or defibrillators work. Our bodies also have a radio or
vibrational frequency. The earth has a similar frequency, but it’s slightly
slower than our bodies’. If you remember from physics class about
thermodynamics, you’ll know that things always try to even out: temperatures
dissipate, momentum returns force and electricity passing through a barrier
will reduce.
Just like that, the radio waves in our body and the earth try
to match each other. But because the earth is so huge, it’s got the obvious
advantage. So our bodies’ frequency slows to match the earth’s. But if we’re
wearing shoes, the rubber prevents us from actually connecting with the earth’s
current.
When our frequency slows, we can begin healing. Chronic
stress makes our hearts race, our brains mull and our cells race to keep up.
But when the very frequency of our body slows, it slows all od that down and
helps us relax, rest and heal. It’s amazing to think about this crazy
connection and benefit.
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is famous for natural health products
and lifestyle. One of her inventions is a copper pad with a wire that travels
to a spike you would drive into the ground. Because copper is a great conductor
of electricity, it’s meant to bring the earth frequency right into the
convenience of you home, so you can stand on the pad and slow down in your
living room. I think this is brilliant. But why pay for a thousand dollar pad
when you can save that money (and save from buying shoes) by just walking
barefoot and getting all those benefits, plus several more?
Going barefoot also helps in another unseen way. Your feet
are filled with pores, receptors and nerves. It’s a little known fact that dirt
is actually good for you! Seriously, clay is filled with negative ions, which
are very healthy for the body. Clay also draws toxins from the body. So when
you walk over dirt in bare feet, it’s able to help you detox. Considering all
the fun things I share, people often find this the easiest to believe. But they
always flip it. Everyone is worried that it is dangerous to go barefoot, that
we;’ll pick up disease.
It is a little. But the chances of catching a disease in
everyday life are pretty slim. Just don’t go stepping in sewage or petroleum.
People often wonder about picking up disease like athlete’s foot. Athlete’s foot
is named that because it thrives in warm, mist, dark environments, like sweaty
shoes. If you don’t have shoes, it will have a hard time surviving.
Tossing our shoes can increase our physical strength, and the
intricate physical workings of our body. I think it’s so neat to learn how
something like the earth’s frequency can interact with ours. I wouldn’t
naturally think that walking barefoot helps our cellular function. They just
don’t seem related. It is also strange to think that walking can help our
mental state.
Studies have shown that just walking for 15 minutes can
improve mood. Walking in nature has the added bonus of allowing the mind to
wander freely to help one relax and align thoughts. Some scientists cite
evolutionary roots as the cause for why nature is soothing. Others attribute
soothing sounds in nature as the reason. And others say it’s the linier
movement that helps us arrange thoughts and focus on the thing in front of us
as the cause for reduced stress. Whatever the reason, walking, and walking in
nature especially, helps us calm down and improves our perspective on life. Walking
barefoot increases our connection to the ground and senses, which helps promote
mental awareness.
Just getting away from the constant distraction of devices
is helpful for reduced stress. But sitting in your living room with the TV
starting at you, with your phone on the armrest makes it hard to actually get
away. Going for a walk outside makes rest a bit more achievable. And as our
brains get used to different sensations on our body and gets better connections,
it begins to use more parts of the brain. The more parts of the brain that get
used regularly, the better.
Everyone wants to be healthy. There are benefits, physically
and mentally to walking out in nature, even with shoes on. But those benefits
just increase with the shoes off. Each sensation awakens the brain and helps us
focus on the moment. Dirt helps us detox and being in contact with the earth
helps us slow down on a cellular level. Even our limbs get stronger, more
limber and resistant to injury. If we want to be healthy, I recommend taking
those shoes off.
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