Post
S’inscrire
laurentcornelis100
- 19 janv.
- 3 Min
Some ways to explain the benefits of walking barefoot…
As I indicated earlier, on a personal level, I cannot give a reliable explanation of what can explain the benefits that barefoot brings me.
Nevertheless, following exchanges with other pratiquants and various readings on the net or books (which I will reference on a future post), there are avenues of explanation for which everyone will adhere more or less.
I am not a professional of the subjects I am going to discuss, so my remarks are approximate. Do not hesitate to contact me if you are an expert to clarify these notions.
And it is possible that the explanation comes from a mix of these different reasons.
The esoteric, spiritual or energetic track.
In the world of Japanese martial arts, for example, we are often told that there are energies that come from the sky, from the universe, and others that come from the ground, from the earth. It would be beneficial for our body if these two energies could come together in us.
And our shoes, often with plastic soles, therefore « insulating », would prevent this junction.
In the same logic, the ground on which one walks barefoot would also play an important role. A natural soil (earth, sand…) would bring more than a soil modified by humans (bitumen).
Moreover, in recent years, barefoot is sometimes called « Earthing », contact with the earth.
This is the reason that seems to me, personal title, the most plausible.
Firstly because I have long practiced martial arts (mainly Aikido and Ju-Jitsu) which have brought me a lot both physically and spiritually, and the fact of practicing barefoot is also perhaps for something.
Then, through the practice of barefoot, I could see that walking in nature brought me more than walking in the city.
Even if walking in the city where the soils are very varied brings more in terms of different sensations.
The track « natural medicine » / Reflexology.
Walking barefoot would allow you to be offered by Nature a massage of the foot and especially the sole of the foot which could be similar to a foot reflexology session.
Foot reflexology consists of massaging areas of the foot that would be related to other parts of the body as shown in the diagram below:
This explanation seems coherent to me because it is in line with my experience, that I benefit from more benefits on natural soils, often soft (wet earth, mud, sand) which would therefore massage the entire soles of the feet unlike city walks on sidewalks that do not stimulate the areas under the arch.
De plus, les sols naturels étant souvent les plus escarpés, même sans être mous, peuvent atteindre plus de zones qu’un sol plat.
La piste « médicale »
Certains médecins affirment que la marche pieds nus serait meilleure que la marche chaussée car elle est un retour à la marche naturelle pour laquelle est prévu notre corps.
Wearing shoes, we have taken the bad habit of putting first the heel, then the metatarsus, the fleshy part at the base of the toes that I prefer to call « pad », then the toes.
Walking barefoot, it will be necessary to relearn to put first the pad, then to anchor with the toes and only after finding these supports, put the heel.
Slamming the heel, which generates a shock that is bad on the rest of the skeleton, is thus avoided.
It’s a bit like the so-called « wolf » or « felted » step walk that you use when you want to walk gently without making any noise.
The pad, much more fleshy than the heel absorbs a lot of the shock of the first contact with the ground, and the toes continue this work before in the end the heel is laid.
The problem with this theory is that other doctors claim that this is false and that on the contrary a small heel would be preferable for a good body hold.
In addition, it is almost impossible for us to walk permanently barefoot, which makes it difficult to validate this pattern.
Nevertheless, I am lucky to be able to practice
Post
S’inscrire
laurentcornelis100
- 19 janv.
- 3 Min
Some ways to explain the benefits of walking barefoot…
As I indicated earlier, on a personal level, I cannot give a reliable explanation of what can explain the benefits that barefoot brings me.
Nevertheless, following exchanges with other pratiquants and various readings on the net or books (which I will reference on a future post), there are avenues of explanation for which everyone will adhere more or less.
I am not a professional of the subjects I am going to discuss, so my remarks are approximate. Do not hesitate to contact me if you are an expert to clarify these notions.
And it is possible that the explanation comes from a mix of these different reasons.
The esoteric, spiritual or energetic track.
In the world of Japanese martial arts, for example, we are often told that there are energies that come from the sky, from the universe, and others that come from the ground, from the earth. It would be beneficial for our body if these two energies could come together in us.
And our shoes, often with plastic soles, therefore « insulating », would prevent this junction.
In the same logic, the ground on which one walks barefoot would also play an important role. A natural soil (earth, sand…) would bring more than a soil modified by humans (bitumen).
Moreover, in recent years, barefoot is sometimes called « Earthing », contact with the earth.
This is the reason that seems to me, personal title, the most plausible.
Firstly because I have long practiced martial arts (mainly Aikido and Ju-Jitsu) which have brought me a lot both physically and spiritually, and the fact of practicing barefoot is also perhaps for something.
Then, through the practice of barefoot, I could see that walking in nature brought me more than walking in the city.
Even if walking in the city where the soils are very varied brings more in terms of different sensations.
The track « natural medicine » / Reflexology.
Walking barefoot would allow you to be offered by Nature a massage of the foot and especially the sole of the foot which could be similar to a foot reflexology session.
Foot reflexology consists of massaging areas of the foot that would be related to other parts of the body as shown in the diagram below:
This explanation seems coherent to me because it is in line with my experience, that I benefit from more benefits on natural soils, often soft (wet earth, mud, sand) which would therefore massage the entire soles of the feet unlike city walks on sidewalks that do not stimulate the areas under the arch.
De plus, les sols naturels étant souvent les plus escarpés, même sans être mous, peuvent atteindre plus de zones qu’un sol plat.
La piste « médicale »
Certains médecins affirment que la marche pieds nus serait meilleure que la marche chaussée car elle est un retour à la marche naturelle pour laquelle est prévu notre corps.
Wearing shoes, we have taken the bad habit of putting first the heel, then the metatarsus, the fleshy part at the base of the toes that I prefer to call « pad », then the toes.
Walking barefoot, it will be necessary to relearn to put first the pad, then to anchor with the toes and only after finding these supports, put the heel.
Slamming the heel, which generates a shock that is bad on the rest of the skeleton, is thus avoided.
It’s a bit like the so-called « wolf » or « felted » step walk that you use when you want to walk gently without making any noise.
The pad, much more fleshy than the heel absorbs a lot of the shock of the first contact with the ground, and the toes continue this work before in the end the heel is laid.
The problem with this theory is that other doctors claim that this is false and that on the contrary a small heel would be preferable for a good body hold.
In addition, it is almost impossible for us to walk permanently barefoot, which makes it difficult to validate this pattern.
Nevertheless, I am lucky to be able to practice permanently when I live in the Netherlands (about 3 weeks a month) and I find that some of my « old age » pain (53 years) such as back or shoulder pain that has become chronic, disappear when I practice barefoot in the « long term ».
However, other reasons can contribute to it (much less stress, fatigue, better diet …).
In summary, I have no proof of the reasons for the benefits that barefoot brings me, all I can say is that it brings me a lot of well-being.
So it’s up to you to try, find other tracks or confirm them, or just enjoy without asking yourself any questions!