I’m the first to admit to a certain amount of craziness. I was reminded recently of the time when I lived in Northern New York (their winters put our Southern winters to shame) and how we would walk outside barefoot for a few minutes every morning as part of the yoga practice a group of us shared.
No, we didn’t dance around or shake and shiver. We’d just walk gently and slowly, reminding each other to relax the bottoms of our feet, relax all our muscles and simply enjoy the bitter sting of snow on feet.
It was invigorating and fun. Plus it stimulates circulation like crazy and pushes oxygen and nutrients throughout your body.
Walking barefoot has physical benefits as well as emotional and spiritual ones. Most of us wear terrible shoes that pinch our feet and prevent our feet from spreading out and make a strong connection to the earth below. Most so-called “athletic shoes” or running shoes actually contain excessive cushioning that can throw off your balance and even the entire skeletal structure.
Here are just a few good things that happen when you walk barefoot on a regular basis:
improvements in balance, proprioception, and body awareness, which can help with pain relief
better foot mechanics, which can lead to improved mechanics of the hips, knees, and core
maintaining appropriate range of motion in your foot and ankle joints as well as adequate strength and stability within your muscles and ligaments
relief from improperly fitting shoes, which may cause bunions, hammertoes, or other foot deformities
stronger leg muscles, which support the lower back region.
Studies show that barefoot walking also reduces inflammation, reduces stress, improves sleep and reduces the formation of disease-causing free radical oxygen molecules
In general, it’s probably best to avoid running barefoot unless you are absolutely sure of the safety of the surface you’re running on. I admit to running barefoot on many beaches in my earlier years. I’ll also confess to cutting my foot on a shell on more than one occasion.
Bare feet on Earth or water give you a host of other health benefits by re-connecting you with the Earth energies. Our feet are the most nerve-rich parts of our body, so they contribute to healthy neurological pathways to the brain. Encasing our feet in shoes all the time, especially rubber soled shoes, which are almost universal these days, separates us from our origins.
Walking barefoot gives new meaning to the concept of grounding, quite literally sinking your energies into the Earth and creating a cycle of energetic flow between feet and Earth and back again.
Try this: Stand in your living room, feet shoulder width apart. Imagine that your bare feet are growing roots into the ground beneath you, whether not your house sits directly on the ground or you’re on the 99th flow of a high rise. Take some deep breaths and synchronize your breath with the roots as they delve more and more deeply into the Earth. After a short time. perhaps only a minute or two, you’ll feel that connection and the calm that comes from being solidly connected to Earth. It feels great, doesn’t it?
Yes, you can surely ground inside. Now repeat this exercise outside on the earth. Is it different? Is it easier?
I highly recommend that you make this a regular practice. All it takes is five minutes a couple of times a week.
Never tried walking in the snow. Now that I’m in GA we probably won’t have any snow this winter. I always am barefoot in the house. Growing roots when I sit.
Take care Cuz! Blessings to you
New York (their winters put our Southern winters to shame) and how we would walk outside barefoot for a few minutes every morning as part of the yoga practice a group of us shared.
Never tried walking in the snow. Now that I’m in GA we probably won’t have any snow this winter. I always am barefoot in the house. Growing roots when I sit.
Take care Cuz! Blessings to you