Walking barefoot regularly, even every day, both indoors and outdoors, to enjoy all the benefits that contact with the ground can give. Here is barefooting , which technically in Italian is called gimnopodismo .
It is a movement of people who choose not to wear footwear during their normal daily activities. Not wearing shoes and walking only barefoot is a real philosophy of life.
The basic idea is that wearing footwear can remove sensitivity to the feet and that this can cause negative effects on our way of walking and on our posture, with particular reference to the delicate musculoskeletal balance of our body.
Wearing shoes, even more if with heels, would shift the center of gravity of our body towards the toes. On the other hand, according to barefooting, walking barefoot is very important for our body to regain its natural balance .
According to the philosophy of barefooting, wearing shoes weakens the muscles of the feet , prevents their natural and correct movements and causes the weight of the body to move towards the forefoot rather than weighing mainly on the heel.
Walking barefoot, on the other hand, would have numerous benefits for our health , for our posture and to promote correct movement of our body: exercise the muscles of the feet, promote a correct distribution of body weight, regain the natural center of gravity, promote perspiration and blood circulation, to enjoy a real foot massage that is very beneficial due to contact with the ground.
We have already reminded you of the reasons why walking barefoot at home is good for your health: it improves balance and posture, strengthens the feet, helps reduce swelling of the legs and prevents swelling of the ankles due to circulation problems. To start, if you rarely walk barefoot, choose your home floor.
Those who are afraid of germs and bacteria should not fear anything in reality: you can walk on the freshly washed floor, not to mention that even our shoes, including shoes and slippers, can retain germs and bacteria or other substances, especially in the case in which it is of shoes we wear outdoors. So here are many more valid reasons to remember to take off your shoes before entering the house.
Not for everyone deciding to walk barefoot, even just from time to time within the walls of the house, is an easy choice. In fact, the feet are sometimes one of the parts of the body that we tend to take less care of, almost to the point of forgetting their extraordinary importance in supporting our body and allowing it to move during the day.
We can summarize the main benefits of walking barefoot as follows :
- Greater body balance.
- Stronger muscles of the feet.
- Recovery of greater stability.
- Improvement of circulation in the legs and reduction of swelling.
- Improved posture.
- Walking barefoot as a natural stress reliever.
- Beneficial stimulation of the soles of the feet as in foot reflexology.
Science is also investigating some further benefits of walking barefoot, which could mainly concern the reduction of the body ‘s inflammation state and the control of blood pressure , with particular reference to the reduction of hypertension.
Both the stimulation of certain nervous circuits thanks to contact with the ground, and the rediscovery of contact with Mother Earth in the form of stability and rootedness, not only from a physical point of view but also from a psychological point of view, would play an important role. From here would also derive the anti-stress benefits of walking barefoot, perhaps in a relaxing natural environment.
Furthermore, those who follow Yoga or Pilates are well aware of the importance of barefoot practice , which is always preferable to practice with socks, because it allows a complete support of the foot on the mat or on the floor and because it revives the awareness of importance of the role of all the toes, one by one, for our stability.
You can walk barefoot, obviously with due care to avoid getting injured or coming into contact with unwanted substances or objects. Walking barefoot in general is good for everyone and we can try it at any time we want, perhaps when we are at home or when we walk on a beautiful lawn, at least to start. The advice is to start walking barefoot from time to time to see the benefits for yourself .
