Reconsider Healthy
Many people believe it's bad for our bodies to go barefoot. They believe that feet are weak and need support. In reality, it is often shoes that make feet need the support of shoes in the first place. When we regularly wear shoes, our feet rarely get any opportunity to flex or build up strength. If our feet are never strong, that can have a negative effect on our joints and muscles up through our legs and back. Going barefoot allows our feet to build up and maintain flexibility and strength.
Common foot infections like toe fungus and athletes' foot require warm, moist environments to grow. Shoes provide the optimal conditions for this by acting like incubators! Going barefoot simply doesn't allow for these infections to flourish.
Our feet also have thousands of nerve receptors in their soles. Going barefoot opens us up to experience all of the sensations from the ground below. This acts as a way to help us stabilize and make minute adjustments as needed. On uneven ground, the feet help the body make split-second changes in our posture and movement that cannot be made with shoes on. What's more, feeling the ground below us can have therapeutic effects similar to reflexology. As our feet are massaged by the ground below, we feel more relaxed and are able to stay healthier of mind and body.
