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The benefits of barefoot walking
There are so many you just have to try it for yourself.
While I was looking at my feet this morning I realised my arches had returned. As a kid I was told I had ‘fallen arches’ or ‘flat feet’. I remember doing this exercise where I had to pick up marbles with my toes and drop them into a tin. I was told they would strengthen my arches.
Once the novelty had worn off, doing this exercise every day became boring. Kids need stimulation and new things, don’t they? Otherwise they get bored quickly. So that didn’t last long. At school my feet ached when running long distances, because of my ‘flat feet’, so the PE teacher told me.
And my fallen arches have been with me ever since, up till now. So what’s changed? Just over a year ago I switched to barefoot walking shoes. In fact, they were so comfortable, I wore them all the time I was outside. Inside my home I never wear socks or footwear, summer or winter. And my feet never sweat or smell. But barefoot walking shoes have made a big difference. My feet have strengthened in response to not wearing regular shoes.
Over the summer, I went camping a lot, and I would only wear flip flops or walk around the campsite barefoot. In warmer, drier weather I have walked and jogged barefoot too. The rest of the time I wear barefoot shoes.
