Walking Barefoot? How can walking barefoot benefit you…

In this post you will find why should you be mindful about walking barefoot and what are the benefits of walking barefoot.

I had never imagined that I would be mindful and thinking conciously about walking barefoot.

Being born and brought up from village in south India, I always played, walked and ran barefoot with fellowmates for years atleast till my teens.
Those days, I never thought whether its beneficial for me or dangerous. Its just the way of life we lived.

We had occassionally got hurt with thorns of local plantations or stones in the ground. But never took it as a serious problem and we could overcome it always. In fact, we walk to temples 50km away from hometown and still safe.

You might be thinking now, “then why I am here writing about walking barefoot?”

How I lost the habit of walking barefoot?

All that I said above had become past. Times changed. I could not fully remember since when I stopped walking barefoot.
As long as I was in India, I grounded my feet on earth at least at home. Later when I started traveling to GCC, due to the chill weather in the winter, I started wearning slippers inside home too. Later that became a habit.

When did I realize it?

Suddenly, after years of having this habit, I was mindful one day about walking barefoot. The credit goes to Corona lockdowns. We live in Kuwait and lockdown started from early Mar 2020 and since then I have not stepped down to ground from my apartment till Sep’2020. Yes, 6 months completely inside apartment home.

This 6 months period is too long for the body to hold on any Vitamin D and other natural immunity builders. The realization came only after started gaining few kgs of weight and knee pains due to lack of walking. We remember, cherish and realise our healthy days only we miss them, right?

Finally made our mind ready to go for early morning walking in the nearby park. In september, the weather is too good in Kuwait, not so hot and not cold at all. This is the perfect weather for a person like me hailing from Tropical region.

We (me and my husband) went for walking with sports shoes on for couple of weeks. One fine day, I thought its been how long since I grounded my foot on earth. I really could not remember how long. I was always on slippers or shoes all the time when we are at home or get down from home.

When I realized it was more than a year ago I walked barefoot when I went to India. It flashed in memory that when I was in India for my 2nd baby delivery, I had to complain to my doctor that I was getting itching in both my foots and cracks too.

I remember that she had questioned me of wearning slippers then. I said “I was on slippers always” and just in my native I was walking barefoot.
She had advised that it is better if you ground your foot directly on earth at least at home. I had done it as long as I was in my native.

All these flashed in my memory when I thought “why not go for walking barefoot?”

How was the first experience of walking barefoot after long gap?

Finally, I went for walking barefoot. Only while walking barefoot I realized, how much we are used to slippers and shoes. I found really difficult as even the small stone that put pressure on foot hurt me. Very consciously I was walking and watching every step. I had the fear that I may land up on some small sharp stones or thorns over there.

On other days, I usually enjoy the nature around there with early morning breeze. But when I was walking barefoot after long days, I could not enjoy any of them than watching my every step. It is the point of realization for me on how much I was away from the mother earth.

After reaching home, I felt the pain in foot for 2 days due to the natural accupanture treatment I had got by walking barefoot.
Then I started studying about the benefits of walking barefoot.

Finally my learnings are that all natural life style are helpful for us including the natural food medicines such herbal kashayam, Amla honey mix, Nellikai legiyam, Chyawanprash and many herbal remedies.

Health benefits of walking barefoot

There are lots of health benefits just because of walking barefoot. Here is the summary of my findings from various sources.

1. The very basic and fundamental advise we get from our spiritual leaders is this. Walking barefoot boosts the natural positive energy that we derive from earth to our body.
2. Earthing the body, protects us from any possible dangerous electro-magnetic-fields, normalize the biological rhythms, increases the surface charge of red blood cells thus helps us for overall good health.
3. Walking barefoot boosts cognitive thinking and physical strength.
4. It can help loosen the muscles, improves flexibility of muscles and ligaments of foot.
5. Walking barefoot gives you the effect of natural acupuncture treatment to the foot. It can help you reduce pain and ache over time.
6. It can regulate the nervous system, reduce the anxiety and stress levels.
7. Walking barefoot will help you get good night sleep.
8. You have better control of your foot when walking barefoot.
9. It improves your body balance and consciousness.
10. Walking in beach sand is even more beneficial for more muscle strength as sand resists you while walking.

All these points are just the summary of what I learnt. There could be hundreds of other unknown or not mentioned benefits too.

Having said all these, it is wise to wear sports shoes or slippers where it can be beneficial too.

It would be better to walk barefoot at least at home and around home on earth.
So, all these awareness made me to decide that I walk at least few minutes on earth with barefoot.
I hope you are already walking barefoot for sometime in a day. If not, why not give it a try?