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I can explain it very quickly. Going barefoot keeps your mind busy and that whole mindfulness thing they talk about. Say I am struggling somewhat with what ever is in my head and going to walk to the store, if I go those several blocks with shoes on my head is still full of that but if I do that walk barefoot my mind is busy with the texture of the ground, watching my step and it feels good walking barefoot.
There are so many web pages explaining the mental and physical benefits of barefooting but I want to try and explain it freesytle. In my own words.
I just read the post on the Fisher-Wallace Stimulator and was very skeptical and still am but before I started bare-footing I was skeptical as heck but earthing works.
Said I would say how it works so here goes, you cant just take your shoes off and expect the benefits immediately. At least with me at first it felt awkward like I was missing something oh my gosh what if I step on the smallest little pebble cant go more then 50 feet from the safety of the carpeting.
It started with those ads for vibram "barefoot shoes" and reading how shoes mess up your feet and a few clicks later a page about barefoot running. A click or two later the earthing stuff.
Long story short I said give this a try, lets see can I adapt and get strong feet?
I did very quickly, being barefoot became just as natural as being bare handed. I even worked a construction site barefoot no problem. Watching my step became automatic and again all that awkwardness of not having shoes disappeared completely. Not just on the jobs but just out and about people would sometimes ask where are your shoes? They noticed I didn't, the awareness of being barefoot was gone, that missing something feeling.
For about 10 years I never much wore shoes unless social pressure really dictated it.
Then the diabetes diagnosis, what a bummer. All these web pages telling me never go barefoot again... they never ever mention it takes decades of high blood sugar before your feet go bad.
My feet are perfectly healthy now, and if they are going to have problems later now is the time not to have them stuffed in shoes and feel nothing just like the numbness of neuropathy that could be my future.
I swear by barefooting. If I never tried it all those webpages about earthing and mindfulness would look like nonsense to me too. I am proud of it, overcame foot shyness and feel like I got more of the human experience on this earth, the reflexes I was born with came right back. I never really needed shoes. None of do.
Guess I am making a sales pitch but earthing and mindfulness work, look it up. Its not easy but just get past whats often that first week or two of feeling awkward - missing something without shoes and you will never look back.
Last edited by elnina; 12-09-2022 at 09:35 PM..
Reason: Changing "eating" to earthing.
Going barefoot in public places introduces your feet to bacteria and fungi. These organisms can enter the foot through tiny cracks or cuts in your skin, and can negatively impact your podiatric health. Fungus of the foot, also known as athlete's foot, is an uncomfortable condition and can lead to infection.
My mind would be busy thinking about the spits, urine, vomits, animal poops, birds and rats droppings, trash residues, etc. I would be stepping on.
Yuck!!
It surely would distract my mind from distressing feelings, though.
Are you sure your condition it's not Papoutsiphobia?
I was bragging about going 10 years barefoot 98% of the time and forgot to mention the most important thing.
What happens is once you relearn your natural ability to be barefoot and it becomes as natural being bare handed it sucks and is uncomfortable to wear shoes. I haven't been barefoot for 10 years cause its that so great, it just stinks to put shoes on. Thats what happened. I don't like shoes.
On the mental heath part all those techniques they taught us in rehab to get centered be mindful the barefooting works. Again like I said above my mind doesn't run negative loops so much with that little bit of mindfulness feeling the ground and watching my step.
I read a whole lot of web pages earthing the health benefits of ditching shoes and barefooting.
In my opinion they have it all completely backwards, the subject should be the health detriments of wearing shoes.
Going barefoot in public places introduces your feet to bacteria and fungi. These organisms can enter the foot through tiny cracks or cuts in your skin, and can negatively impact your podiatric health. Fungus of the foot, also known as athlete's foot, is an uncomfortable condition and can lead to infection.
My mind would be busy thinking about the spits, urine, vomits, animal poops, birds and rats droppings, trash residues, etc. I would be stepping on.
Yuck!!
It surely would distract my mind from distressing feelings, though.
Are you sure your condition it's not Papoutsiphobia?
I guess so.
If public places were as bacteria and fungal infected as shoes the whole world would smell like dirty socks.
Feet and hands are the same thing just different shapes.
People put their hands all over everything, doorknobs, enter your rewards number public touch screens... rub their eyes nose mouth touch everything.
Why doesn't everyone have "athletes hand" take a look at yours, your feet and hands they are exact same thing besides the shape. Should not everyone have athletes hand ? How does a fungus know the shape of an appendage ?
I have no issue with going barefoot inside or outside. I spent 12 years as a gymnastics coach and I was barefoot every minute I was coaching, which was 3-4 hours/day every day. If just going barefoot gives people fungal and bacterial infections, I should have had everything known to man instead of never having a problem.
I do think going barefoot is good for the feet. They keep their natural healthy shape, which is fairly broad, not tight and narrow. I know older people whose feet are horribly deformed from wearing tight shoes or high heels all their lives. They have hammertoes and bunions. Then they often get problems with knees, hips and back, because when the feet are forced into unnatural positions, it throws the body's entire alignment off.
I live in a mostly warm climate, so in places where shoes are required (stores and restaurants, etc.) I prefer flip-flops or Birkenstock sandals over actual shoes. But of course there are times and places for actual shoes, such as hiking or riding a bike. What I really have a problem with is dress shoes, on the rare occasions which call for dressing up. Women's dress pumps are almost always too tight in the toes, tight across the ball of the foot, and the thin heels are agony to walk on.
If public places were as bacteria and fungal infected as shoes the whole world would smell like dirty socks.
Feet and hands are the same thing just different shapes.
People put their hands all over everything, doorknobs, enter your rewards number public touch screens... rub their eyes nose mouth touch everything.
Why doesn't everyone have "athletes hand" take a look at yours, your feet and hands they are exact same thing besides the shape. Should not everyone have athletes hand ? How does a fungus know the shape of an appendage ?
People don’t develop “athlete’s hand” because most people was their hands several, if not many, times a day. Even if you’re barefoot all day, how often would you wash your feet thoroughly? Completely different scenario.
Btw, I love going barefoot. I hiked a mountain barefoot when I was a teenager.
I have no issue with going barefoot inside or outside. I spent 12 years as a gymnastics coach and I was barefoot every minute I was coaching, which was 3-4 hours/day every day. If just going barefoot gives people fungal and bacterial infections, I should have had everything known to man instead of never having a problem.
I do think going barefoot is good for the feet. They keep their natural healthy shape, which is fairly broad, not tight and narrow. I know older people whose feet are horribly deformed from wearing tight shoes or high heels all their lives. They have hammertoes and bunions. Then they often get problems with knees, hips and back, because when the feet are forced into unnatural positions, it throws the body's entire alignment off.
I live in a mostly warm climate, so in places where shoes are required (stores and restaurants, etc.) I prefer flip-flops or Birkenstock sandals over actual shoes. But of course there are times and places for actual shoes, such as hiking or riding a bike. What I really have a problem with is dress shoes, on the rare occasions which call for dressing up. Women's dress pumps are almost always too tight in the toes, tight across the ball of the foot, and the thin heels are agony to walk on.
I agree with all of this. I'm also barefoot almost all the time or I wear grounding sandals. Best way to start the morning is to go outside barefoot, stand in the grass or on the concrete, face the sun and do some stretches. You get your morning sunshine plus the grounding.
I do hate those few weeks out of the year where it's too cold for sandals.
Assuming you actually meant to write None of us do here's a piece of advice: stop with the sweeping assumptions/prognostications OP. So, walking barefoot makes you feel better? Great. You live in FL. The vast majority of people don't. Many of them are happy too. This planet is a big place and humans have colonized much of it even though a naked human's environmental temperature tolerance is quite narrow. They wouldn't have survived in many regions of the world if they dismissed the local environment. Tell me how successful colonization of cold regions would have been if they didn't devise protective coverings for feet, body, head, or hands. Bet you can't!!!!!! Frostbite and other cold injuries are realities. Pretty difficult and uncomfortable to walk if all you have left are gangrenous stumps.
Last edited by Parnassia; 12-10-2022 at 01:28 PM..
I personally find going barefoot outdoors and not brushing my teeth equally disgusting.
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Assuming you actually meant to write None of us do here's a piece of advice: stop with the sweeping assumptions/prognostications OP. So, walking barefoot makes you feel better? Great. You live in FL. The vast majority of people don't. Many of them are happy too. This planet is a big place and humans have colonized much of it even though a naked human's environmental temperature tolerance is quite narrow. They wouldn't have survived in many regions of the world if they dismissed the local environment. Tell me how successful colonization of cold regions would have been if they didn't devise protective coverings for feet, body, head, or hands. Bet you can't!!!!!! Frostbite and other cold injuries are realities. Pretty difficult and uncomfortable to walk if all you have left are gangrenous stumps.
