Going Barefoot in Nature is Fun and Improves Health

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Successful for millions of years:

Going Barefoot in Nature

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Establish a sensory connection to nature!

Evolution has not fitted us with hooves, but with soft-skinned feet with thousands of sense organelles. With each step, our soles get in touch with a sizeable area of the ground. As compared to our ancestors from Old Stone Age, the interface of man and earth has not only persisted but even expanded. Our evolutionary success is directly linked with our sensitive feet.

The highly developped sense of touch of the soles
provides us with all information we need for a symbiotic connection to nature. Together with animals and plants we can feel warmth and chill as well as the roughness of a dried-out ground or the freshness of reviving moisture. The continuous perception of chemical and mechanical properties of the soil has certainly helped our hunter-gatherer ancestors to become farmers and thus to take one decisive step in our cultural evolution.

Going barefoot protects the environment:
It preserves vegetation and ground, does not make noise -- and activates our environmental instincts:

	The eyes of a barefoot person keep good contact with the ground, therefore their feet do not crush plants and animals.
	The inconvenience of thorny paths or of the sharp tips and edges of reed grasses teaches the barefooters to respect sensitive biotopes.
	Barefoot hikers want to see what they step on; therefore they avoid cross-country marches, which might damage the environment. They prefer to stick to low grass and pleasant ways through fields, forests and meadows.
	On gravel or in swampy areas barefooters tend to move very carefully, therefore they are no danger for hidden animals like birds breeding on the ground.
	Worn-out shoes are a waste product that cannot be recycled. So it is much better to avoid their use whenever possible!
	For barefoot walking over longer distances, natural ground (i.e. lawn, earth or sand) feels much more pleasant than asphalt and concrete. When shoe soles were invented as barriers between mankind and nature, there was no more obstacle to building up desert-like towns from aggressive and dead materials. Those who like to go barefoot, should stand up for the unsealing of the earth, at least around their homes, schools, playgrounds etc.

On bare feet you relax and improve your body awareness:
Training of body awareness is central to every relaxation technique. This compensates for the common dominance of the brain, which is due to civilization. Going barefoot is simple and easily done, and therefore will not be ranked among the relaxation doctrines, but it has exactly this effect! What you feel with the feet is far away from the brain. This is the counterbalance required for getting in touch with the middle of the body and helps to overcome internal strains and to diminish stress.

The essence is: give liberty back to your feet!
The feet can perceive liberty very intensely. No doubt, in special situations the feet are to be protected, but this should not result in lifelong constraint! Being barefoot may well be part of an active lifestile open to new experiences. You invest some courage in this liberty and regain a lot of well-being and self-confidence.

How going barefoot improves health
ensuring healthy development of the feet during childhood:

The flat feet of little children have to form the proper arches on growing up. This is greatly assisted by going barefoot, which helps to avoid flat feet an other deformities with all their life-long consequences: mainly damage of the back, the knees and the hips. It is well-known, that barefooting ethnic groups have very healthy feet.

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Regeneration of foot damage due to unsuited footwear:

Unnatural ideals of beauty seduce many people into cramming their feet into narrow shoes, inducing various deformities. But part of this damage caused by fashion can be reversed regardless of age (the webmaster's own experience!). Even at an advanced age going barefoot strengthens dozens of muscles, tendons and joints and restores the natural beauty of healthy feet:

	well-shaped and suntanned feet with smooth skin and straight toes, without corns, hammer toes, nodes, calluses at the wrong places,
	well-shaped legs due to a gentle and natural training of all muscles,
	the elegance of a natural motion without excess weight on the feet.
	Above all, blisters are unlikely to develop on bare feet, and you are spared inflammations of ingrown nails.

Prevention of trouble with the intervertebral discs:

Going barefoot has the potential to protect the intervertebral discs from deformation and slipping. As no shoes block the reflexes of the soles, going barefoot restores the natural mode of motion. Thus impacts are reduced, the unevenness of the ground is automatically compensated for and damage of the intervertabral discs becomes unlikely. You can easily avoid deterioration of the discs due to hard heel impacts in shoes!

Note that a rough path is the ideal training ground to correct for those dystrophies of the feet that damage the knees and cause dorsal pain! A barefoot person automatically shifts the body weight to the outer edges of the feet, where the skin is less sensitive to stones etc., and thus actively compensates for flat feet.

There is another, more indirect beneficial effect of barefooting to the intervertebral discs: they are only nourished by motion (like a sponge), for they do not contain blood vessels. Unshoed feet perfectly adapt to the unevenness of the ground and thus cause motions of the spine that compress and relax the discs -- and well-nourished discs will stay in shape longer without causing pain!

Note that dorsal pain costs billions of dollars per year, whereas bare feet are free!

against varicose veins:

Going barefoot is commonly recommended to prevent vein problems, for the proper motion of the unrestricted foot assists the leg muscles in pumping blood back to the heart.

preventing the common cold:

Moderate exposure to chill stimulates the production of body warmth and the power of resistance. Sometimes fifteen barefoot minutes on a pleasantly cool and moist lawn or even a one minute's joyful "snow dance" are sufficient to have wonderfully warm feet the whole night long! Do not be afraid of snow: for a short time it feels much better than cold water!

All who have had these good experiences, will recognize that any danger of kidney and bladder trouble due to barefoot walking is pure fiction!

preventing athletes foot:

Dermatophytes of the skin and nails can only establish themselves on the constantly moist skin inside shoes. Dry skin, however, is not susceptible to such attacks! Therefore, exposing the skin to the air and contact with a natural soil hamper the survival of these uninvited guests.

Going barefoot is so easy:

	You need not become a fakir. Keep your feet away from stubble-fields, sharp-edged reed grasses and stones as well as from extremes of temperature! With gradual conditioning, however, the feet can learn to adapt to various surface and weather conditions. Nevertheless, beware of insane ambition!
	Usually the ground is warmer than expected, for it collects solar warmth better than the air. Even on sunny March days it feels pleasantly warm! On the other hand, the ground can be quite frosty in the early morning hours after a clear night.
	To start off, short outings on pleasant ground are just the right activity. Within a few weeks, the soles become tougher, the motion more harmonious and the sensation becomes wonderful! Soon the soles will have developed sufficient stability to walk on field and forest paths, and even to resist flat pieces of broken glass.
	Thickened skin may become rough due to a lack of natural abrasion. Therefore lotion or lanolin should be applied regularly to prevent skin cracks.
	When the sun stands high, the feet may need some sun protectant!
	A well conditioned sole is unlikely to suffer injury, if you avoid stepping on thistles, reed grasses, thorny plants and flowers attracting bees (like clover). Broken glass does not exist in nature, but rather along streets and around sport facilities, barbecue places or bathing areas. Be more cautious if your soles are not yet hardened, if you are allergic to insect stings or if you have not had a tetanus vaccination!
	On running, stronger forces act on the soles -- therefore the ground should be free of sharp stones and splinters. Be cautious during jogging in unknown areas!
	Some strips of adhesive (Moleskin) should be in your pocket. Usually you will need them to treat the blisters of your shoed companions!
	If prescribed by safety instructions or in case of a substantial risk of injury, you better wear shoes. This is advisable for example when moving heavy loads, caring for horses, lawn-mowing, or in high mountain areas. But then shoes must be sturdy enough to assure the expected safety!
	Dirt is easily washed away, but it is difficult to reverse the damage due to unsuited footware!
	City barefooting makes the soles black. Depending on your attitude you may regard this as annoying, as unimportant or as a special style. Ideally, you can find playgrounds, parks and sport facilities where you can practise natural walking without exposing the skin to dirty streets.

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Surf on barefoot:

To Natural and Healthy Barefoot Activities informs about health aspects, foot gymnastics, barefoot hiking trails etc.

To the Society for Barefoot Living, an active international community of barefooters,

To the Parents for Barefoot Children site, which comprehensively informs the ideal way how children can develop healthy feet,

To "The Barefoot Hiker", a comprehensive online-book which gives excellent advice about barefoot walking and hiking,