For some people, walking barefoot is a completely normal thing that they do. For others, the mere idea of going out without shoes of some kind is simply unimaginable.
While the person who does your pedicures might scold you for it, there are actually plenty of benefits to walking barefoot.
It is good for your body, your posture, and it lets you be a little more grounded.
Though shoes are important when you are walking downtown and there are potentially knives in the sewer, walking around barefoot can actually be really good for you.
More traction control
This might seem kind of strange, but walking around barefoot is actually a great way to gain a little more traction when you walk.
Since you will be completely aware of where your foot is coming down, you will have a much better response to shifting ground.
This can be a bit double sided since you might fear stubbing your toe, but since you will have total control over the surface of your foot touching the ground, you will have more grip and be less likely to end up “skating” across a surface.
Building skin endurance
An obvious perk to walking around barefoot is calluses. While this might not sound like a benefit to everyone, from a natural perspective it is seriously awesome.
Walking around barefoot can help you build a stronger base of your foot.
The skin will be less easily impacted, which can be beneficial in the event that you end up running through the woods and being chased by clowns.
For those who are worried about dry skin, walking barefoot on rough surfaces is also a great way to exfoliate your skin. Think of your neighborhood sidewalk as a giant pumice stone.
Learning how to balance
This might come as a surprise, but being able to actively use your foot muscles is a great way to work on your balance.
By strengthening the various muscles in your feet, you will gain the ability to have a more grounded connection with the world below you.
This means that you will naturally begin to balance better as you learn to control the muscles in your feet responsible for rooting you in place.
This can have all kinds of benefits, but mostly it just means that you’re probably going to fall less.
If you have ever known someone who does a ton of yoga, let their feet show you the power of foot exercise techniques.
Avoiding the awkward shapes of shoes
It might sound strange, but the reality is that humans were never meant to wear shoes.
Of course, we’re all very grateful for the innovation and we all love our sneakers, but it’s just not natural.
Even shoes that are designed to feel natural are still going to make your feet feel a little weird.
We all know the huge difference in how we walk with shoes as opposed to without them. Something just isn’t right when it comes to shoes and how our bodies naturally want to fall.
When you factor in the horrific shapes that we now make our shoes in, spending some time barefoot becomes even more important. The last thing that you want is shoe shaped feet.
Related: Shoes Too Small Symptoms
Letting your feet breathe
As a simple rule of nature, most living things require oxygen in some form or another.
Though you might not think twice about imprisoning your precious toes inside a sneaker, your feet really do need to breathe.
Airing your feet out is a great way to chase off potential infections or fungi, make sure that your skin isn’t suffocating from your sweaty socks, and airing out your toes is important for making sure that you don’t end up with permanently stinky feet.
We don’t mean stinky feet that NEVER go away, but that consistent stink that can require a serious battle with some soap.
Feeling closer to nature
One really cool thing about walking around barefoot is getting reacquainted with nature.
Now, when you do this you will want to avoid stepping on anything sharp or like, bugs or snakes, but the act itself is great for getting in touch with nature.
There is a special feeling that comes with walking barefoot through grass. As people, we often forget that our feet are basically more awkward hands.
You can experience the world in a new way and learn a lot about texture by walking around barefoot. It’s a great way to feel closer with nature. But again: no snakes, no spiders.
It helps with posture
A surprising perk of walking around barefoot is that it is actually pretty awesome for your posture.
Shirking your shoes can actually help you to use every muscle in your foot, and there is a belief that consistently doing this can help you walk more naturally.
This relieves your feet of the strain brought on by constantly walking on oddly shaped soles and can help the other parts of your body fall in line with it.
You might just find that your back and hips feel a whole lot better with a little barefoot walking everyday!
Conclusion
Walking around barefoot might feel a little weird given the fact that there’s an entire industry for shoes that you only wear inside, but it’s really not that strange.
If anything, the fact that we all strap oddly shaped devices to our feet and think that it tells the world about us is definitely more than a little weird.
The truth is that walking barefoot is a natural thing to do, and it’s actually crazy good for you.
If you want to work on your posture, learn about your natural walking rhythm, or just feel like you might actually survive running through a forest without shoes, walking around barefoot is an awesome way to go about it.
It might feel uncomfortable at first, but the more you do it, the more natural it will seem.
Just remember that you actually have to look where you step when you walk barefoot or you might end up with tetanus.