One thing I love about the warm weather is walking around barefoot, I love feeling grass below my soles, sand between my toes and dipping those digits into water. Just allowing my feet to breath and be free makes me happy.
Feet are created over thousands of years to walk barefoot, so when we wear shoes, no matter how comfortable are well constructed, you are encasing your feet and restricting them. Muscles that were designed specifically for walking aren’t being used properly and our toes are completely ignored. Shoes may support the bridge of our feet and our ankles, but in the process our muscles don’t develop the way the were meant to and because most shoes have heals (no matter how high) it effects the way we roll our feet when walking. And of course shoes can’t bend and shape themselves around the surfaces we step on, making us trip and stumble.
However when we allow our feet to ,literally, run free we are doing exactly what nature intended, our toes become an important piece of equipment, curling around and digging into surfaces, allowing us to keep our balance and use neglected muscles.
But we live in a society in which walking around barefoot all day isn’t the done thing and with our streets filled with gum, glass and regular dirt it probably isn’t very healthy either. And of course another downside to walking barefoot is the build up of callouses and thick skin, not always a pretty sight no matter how much nail varnish you pile on.
But at home, in the garden, parks and on the beach the joy of going barefoot is not only a wonderfully freeing experience but a healthy option and I can only recommend it. And if you who love the sensation and freedom of going shoeless summer is the time to indulge.
jensinewall 