One of the newest trends is shedding those shoes and socks, letting your feet go au naturel. And not just inside your home, let’s venture out in the yard or go a bit further and go out on a walk or run barefoot.
Being barefoot helps to restore our natural gait and strengthens those important muscles in our feet. And that can actually help us strengthen parts of our body.
So, let’s talk benefits…
1 – Healthier Feet, Healthier Body
When we wear shoes, our feet on essentially locked into a certain position for a majority of the day, hence we’re using just certain muscles. When we’re barefoot, our feet get a full range of motion, and more muscles are put to use. This improves the strength and health of our feet. It also awakens nerve endings in our feet and stimulates reflexology points.
2 – Improved Balance and Strength
It’s important for all of our muscles to shake a leg, per se. By engaging in new muscles, our balance will become better and not just from the use of muscles. It also wakes up the balance system of the brain, remapping our mind for greater balance.
3 – Better Circulation
As we begin to use new muscles in our feet and legs, the blood flow improves in these areas. This leads to less aches and pains, and maybe even warmer tootsies in the wintertime.
4 – Healing Foot Conditions
As our feet get stronger, there is more blood flow happening and our flexibility is improving. We begin to notice things that ailed us are slowly getting better. We might notice that bunions are disappearing and the plantar fasciitis doesn’t seem as bad.
5 – Reduce Inflammation
That pesky “i” word we are hearing more often these days, inflammation. We know it’s not good for our bodies and going barefoot can help reduce it. Walking around barefoot picks up electrons from the bare earth, also referred to as grounding, and is said to help reduce inflammation.
6 – It’s Good for Your Posture
When we’re barefoot, we can feel the ground through the nerve endings on the bottom of our feet. Our feet begin to tell us if say we’re leaning or tilting forward. We stand up straighter and look better, reducing the strain on our bodies.
Interested in going barefoot? Start slow and increase in moderation. Watch the terrain and avoid rough areas as you begin. Listen to your feet, they’ll tell you if you’re doing too much. If there’s pain or discomfort, go back to your shoes for a while.
Credit Runbare.com
Treat Your Feet
Now that we’ve all been running around barefoot, it’s time to give our tootsies a bit of love.
- Soak your feet in warm water then follow with an exfoliating scrub or pumice stone to remove dead skin build-up.
- Grab a manicure stick to clean under your toenails – there might be some dirt and other build-up that needs to go away.
- Use an emery board to smooth nail edges, keeping the toenail straight across the top as this helps prevent ingrown toenails. Going to the salon? Bring your own pedicure utensils as bacteria and fungus can move from one person to the next.
- Moisturize your feet by rubbing a thick moisturizing lotion on the top and bottom. Avoid between your toes where too much moisture is not a good thing.
- Your feet are calling for a bit of daily stretching, every morning and night is good. Do exercises that stretch the tops and bottoms of your feet, it will help treat and prevent foot pain.
- Dress them up with a fresh coat of polish. There are a myriad of colors these days so experiment with fun colors. Just wait 30 minutes to make sure your nails are completely dry; this helps prevent paint chipping. Do them in the early evening while you’re watching tv to allow for dry time before bed to prevent smears and smudges.
