Having a barefoot lifestyle might be complicated. However, and sadly, the complications don't come from the ground, they come from the people. Some people don't understand this concept of barefoot living, and we as humans tend to criticize what we don't understand. I used to be a big time criticizer of people being barefoot in public places other than the pool and the beach. I'm guilty of it, and that's why I wanted to put together this post about it, so that maybe, if people understand why, they will respect and even maybe embrace this concept.
There are basically two reasons why being barefoot is better than wearing shoes:
1.- The way we plant our feet: When we walk and specially when we run, the way we step down, the way we plant our feet in the ground varies depending on if we are barefoot or if we wear shoes. The way we step down when barefoot is the best, healthiest way to do it, and research has proven this in many occasions. When barefoot, because of the feeling we receive through bearskin, we tend to plant the toes first and release the pressure slowly as we plant the rest of the foot. When wearing shoes, we don't have that connection with our brains, and we step with our heels first, provoking great pressure on the joints of our knees and ankles. This produces long term damage to both our tendons and joints. And this is the first reason why being barefoot is healthier.
2.- Connection to the Earth: This might sound a little mystical to some of you, as it did to me not long ago. However, this one, might even be the most important reason to be a barefootist. I'm glad I have a background in physics so that I could understand this concept and maybe help people understand it too, in a simple manner. Throughout history, because of our contact with the ground, and because of the conducting materials we have used for housing and other activities, we have been in touch with the Earth's charge and have always been neutral with it/her. Nowadays, we have created a shield with the Earth: the materials used for construction, the rubber in our shoes, driving versus walking, etc. This shield has made it so that the difference in potential of our bodies becomes unnatural. What is this mean? We are electrical bodies, and we function through and by electricity. We are conductors, and at the same time we are surrounded by electromagnetic fields from electric devices like the TV, dishwasher, cell phone, washer machine, etc. These electromagnetic fields disrupt our natural difference potential and we are not neutral with the Earth anymore. Why is this bad? Well, physiologically speaking, somehow this interferes with our natural production of hormones, at different times a day. This produces stress in our bodies, and stress produces disease. It might be familiar to some of you the fact that we "ground" some of our electrical devices, specially the big ones. That's what the third hole in the plugs on our homes is for: The two on top are the connection to the electrical grid, and the one that is rounded and below those two is the connection to the Earth, the connection to the ground. We do this so that these devices work better without any big peaks of electricity that might damage them. The flow of electricity is then smother and the devices don't suffer as much. In the same way, although we are surrounded by these electromagnetic fields from the electrical devices around us, when we connect ourselves to the ground, by being barefoot or by using special devices that connect you to the ground (check out this website: http://shop.earthing.net), we neutralize those charges, get in tune with the Earth charge, and become healthier. These were just a few concepts to summarize what this is all about, however there is more to the story than that. I encourage you to research on the internet, and also to read books about this subject. I like "Earthing":
There are basically two reasons why being barefoot is better than wearing shoes:
1.- The way we plant our feet: When we walk and specially when we run, the way we step down, the way we plant our feet in the ground varies depending on if we are barefoot or if we wear shoes. The way we step down when barefoot is the best, healthiest way to do it, and research has proven this in many occasions. When barefoot, because of the feeling we receive through bearskin, we tend to plant the toes first and release the pressure slowly as we plant the rest of the foot. When wearing shoes, we don't have that connection with our brains, and we step with our heels first, provoking great pressure on the joints of our knees and ankles. This produces long term damage to both our tendons and joints. And this is the first reason why being barefoot is healthier.
2.- Connection to the Earth: This might sound a little mystical to some of you, as it did to me not long ago. However, this one, might even be the most important reason to be a barefootist. I'm glad I have a background in physics so that I could understand this concept and maybe help people understand it too, in a simple manner. Throughout history, because of our contact with the ground, and because of the conducting materials we have used for housing and other activities, we have been in touch with the Earth's charge and have always been neutral with it/her. Nowadays, we have created a shield with the Earth: the materials used for construction, the rubber in our shoes, driving versus walking, etc. This shield has made it so that the difference in potential of our bodies becomes unnatural. What is this mean? We are electrical bodies, and we function through and by electricity. We are conductors, and at the same time we are surrounded by electromagnetic fields from electric devices like the TV, dishwasher, cell phone, washer machine, etc. These electromagnetic fields disrupt our natural difference potential and we are not neutral with the Earth anymore. Why is this bad? Well, physiologically speaking, somehow this interferes with our natural production of hormones, at different times a day. This produces stress in our bodies, and stress produces disease. It might be familiar to some of you the fact that we "ground" some of our electrical devices, specially the big ones. That's what the third hole in the plugs on our homes is for: The two on top are the connection to the electrical grid, and the one that is rounded and below those two is the connection to the Earth, the connection to the ground. We do this so that these devices work better without any big peaks of electricity that might damage them. The flow of electricity is then smother and the devices don't suffer as much. In the same way, although we are surrounded by these electromagnetic fields from the electrical devices around us, when we connect ourselves to the ground, by being barefoot or by using special devices that connect you to the ground (check out this website: http://shop.earthing.net), we neutralize those charges, get in tune with the Earth charge, and become healthier. These were just a few concepts to summarize what this is all about, however there is more to the story than that. I encourage you to research on the internet, and also to read books about this subject. I like "Earthing":
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