Starting with barefoot shoes
Back to our roots, with barefoot shoes
Thanks to barefoot shoes, our feet can function in their naturally intended manner, even while wearing the shoe. Our feet were not meant to endure the hard soles that are commonly used in conventional footwear. They can cause stiff feet, which often leads to foot deformities or other health problems. Barefoot shoes respect the shape of your foot, allowing for the full intended functionality of walking. This means that, while wearing barefoot shoes, we can accurately evaluate our terrain in order to adjust our posture correctly and, more importantly - more naturally. Thanks to barefoot shoes, we are returning to the basic adjustments of our feet and entire body.
A more natural and healthier walk
Wearing barefoot shoes provides you with new ways to achieve a healthy body. The first step is to get back to a more natural walk. Try it now: stop walking, straighten your torso, open your chest, relax your shoulders, and slightly tighten your abdominal muscles. From your first steps, try to concentrate on your walk. Slow down a little, and gently step on to your whole foot. Make sure your feet are under your body, or just slightly in front of it.
Try to use your toes to push yourself forward when completing the step.
Repairing painful and deformed feet
You may be wondering how wearing new shoes and walking more softly will repair flat and sore feet. Conscious walking in barefoot shoes, by its very nature, awakens muscles in the soles of your feet. This strengthens your foot ligaments and returns your foot back to its natural and intended position.
It also repairs the shape of your arches.
A strong and flexible spring forward from your toes adds to your movement economy, which means that you will be more efficient when getting from one place to another. Someone with an efficient movement economy can walk faster and use less energy than a person with a less efficient movement economy. So, we save energy, not only in our feet, but in general, because we use less oxygen. With consistent training, you can get rid of the pain and deformities in your feet.
All you need is patience, endurance, and barefoot shoes!
Benefits for your whole body
You may already know that natural walking in barefoot shoes is not just good for your feet, it also engages the whole body. By straightening your body and tightening the muscles in the soles of your feet, you can alleviate or even eliminate pain in areas that may surprise you.
Soft footsteps dampen the impact of your footfall, so that the force of it does not reach your knees and hips. Walking in flat shoes is great for your thighs because it will make you straighten your body, which naturally activates your abdominal muscles, pelvic floor, and other areas of your body.
Healthy body, healthy breath
Straighten your torso, relax your shoulders, and open your chest. Natural and relaxed standing or walking allow us to inhale more deeply, so that we can use the full capacity of our lungs. This also activates our diaphragm, which is the main respiratory muscle.
By wearing barefoot shoes, we not only change the habits of our walking, but we also help our breathing.
Natural acupressure
The human foot is full of nerves, which makes it one of the most sensitive spots on our body. The thin sole in barefoot shoes ensures that your feet get the maximum feeling of the terrain, which stimulates the acupressure points there. All this, without even having to book an acupressure massage!
Sounds like a good deal, right?
Wearing barefoot shoes for sports
Has walking in barefoot shoes become part of your daily life and now you would like to take it to the next level? How about wearing them for a mountain bike ride, or a nice jog in a beautiful forest? You can wear your barefoot shoes for your favourite activities to further enhance the benefits that wearing them brings. It is a winning combination: good posture, healthy feet, proper breathing, and your favourite past-time!
Enjoy and have fun walking in barefoot shoes
In order for you to benefit from everything we have shared so far about healthy and natural walking in barefoot shoes, there's one, very important, basic condition:
it must be fun for you!
If you don not enjoy walking in barefoot shoes, your muscles may spasm and you will not be able to feel any relaxation in your legs or body. To get comfortable walking in barefoot shoes, look for surfaces that you can manage, and walk in your barefoot shoes as long as is reasonable for you. It will take time to get used to this new walking style. Gradually, walking in barefoot shoes will become near & dear to your heart, and will bring you joy wherever you go.
