{"id":495,"date":"2015-04-23T09:20:11","date_gmt":"2015-04-23T07:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/?p=495"},"modified":"2016-04-20T08:43:17","modified_gmt":"2016-04-20T06:43:17","slug":"take-off-your-shoes-and-walk-barefoot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/take-off-your-shoes-and-walk-barefoot\/","title":{"rendered":"Take off your shoes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I can still hear the voice of my mother and my dear grandmother imploring us to put on our shoes or slippers.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Girl, you&#8217;re going catch a cold!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Because of these ever-repeated messages engraved in my brain, it took quite a while after reading about the benefits\u00a0of walking barefoot before I felt comfortable taking off my shoes.<\/p>\n<p>One of your <strong>first rewilding steps<\/strong> should be to take off your shoes \u2026 <strong>now!<\/strong> Walking barefoot has become popular since the publication of the 2009 best-selling ethnography, <em>Born to Run, <\/em>written by American author, adventurist and journalist, Christopher McDougall.\u00a0He inspires his readers to get off of their treadmills, take off their shoes and get outside in nature for fitness.<\/p>\n<p>But even back in\u00a019<sup>th<\/sup> century, the Austrian physician, Sebastian Kneipp, believed that walking barefoot through wet grass or shallow water strengthened the immune system and helped the body to heal. He also advised his patients to walk barefoot to <strong>relieve fatigue<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ba1c1c; font-size: 18pt;\">What happens when you walk barefoot?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Many good things happen! For example, your <strong>feet get stronger<\/strong> by increasing the strength of the arch and its supporting muscles (the intrinsic foot muscles).\u00a0These muscles provide stability to the foot and ankle. Wearing shoes provides support for the arch, but those muscles can become lazy. Human feet are <strong>designed to walk barefoot<\/strong> on a natural surface, not something artificial like asphalt, concrete or some other surface man has invented.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But what we want to talk about today is another <strong>less-known benefit<\/strong> of walking barefoot.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We are all made up of energy. The Earth has a negative charge on its surface, and when you walk barefoot, electrons enter your body through the soles of the feet. <strong>These free electrons are powerful antioxidants\u00a0that neutralize free radicals<\/strong>. <a href=\"Http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3265077\/?tool=pubmed\">Studies <\/a>demonstrate how these electrons provide positive health changes, from <strong>improving the quality of sleep<\/strong> to <strong>relieving <\/strong>various types of <strong>pain<\/strong> with its <strong>anti-inflammatory properties<\/strong>, relieving conditions such as <strong>rheumatism or arthritis<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ba1c1c; font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>What are your shoe soles made of?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>For a million years, humans have walked barefoot or at least with \u201cshoes\u201d made from animal skins. Wearing shoes, especially ones with <strong>rubber<\/strong> and <strong>plastic<\/strong> soles, is a relatively new phenomenon. With the use of these <strong>non-conductive materials<\/strong>, the flow of electrons, beneficial for the body, has been considerably blocked, because contact with the Earth is reduced or non-existent.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ba1c1c; font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>\u00a0The benefits of earthing or grounding<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Grounding is a term that is derived from electrical jargon. But grounding (earthing) is now used to express the <strong>reconnection of the human body with the Earth<\/strong> \u2013 with its natural energy through contact with the <strong>ground<\/strong> (walking barefoot) or <strong>water<\/strong> (bathing or walking in sea water or a river).<\/p>\n<p>Walking barefoot has been shown to have therapeutic benefits that are demonstrated in studies such as <a href=\"http:%20\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4378297\/\">this one<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>Earthing has become a brand that offers different grounding devices for connecting to the Earth\u2019s natural energy from carpets, pillows and sheets to the mouse pad. Testimony on the use of earthing is as much positive as it is negative, and the products are quite expensive. <strong>Rewilding Drum<\/strong> suggests <strong>two very inexpensive and effective ways<\/strong> to benefit from this reconnection with the land:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Walking b<em>a<\/em>refoot<\/strong> on sand, dirt, grass (preferably wet)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Swimming in natural waters<\/strong> (beaches, lakes and rivers)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ba1c1c; font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>Our experience with grounding<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>Kiki<\/strong>: When I had a nine-to-five desk job, I paid a price for those days spent sitting in an office chair: pain and discomfort in my back, neck, arms, wrists and many other areas for years! Between sessions of physiotherapy and osteotherapy, I found that <strong>going barefoot was actually the best remedy<\/strong>. As soon as I got home, I would remove my shoes and walk barefoot in the garden, forest or whatever natural surface was available. In many cases the relief was almost immediate! I promise you that in a few hours, the improvement will be more than evident.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bert<\/strong>, meanwhile, had to wear special orthotic insoles in his shoes for years because of knee problems and pain in his right Achilles tendon. When racing in the <strong>Atacama ultra-marathon<\/strong> in 2010, his shoes quickly filled with sand and his feet became swollen. He watched as some people cut up their shoes to give their feet more space, something that seemed a poor idea to him at the time. Nevertheless, he created a bit more room in his own shoes by just removing the insoles &#8212; something he had not done in years. <strong>The result?<\/strong> He made it to the finish line without suffering any physical problems. This experience made him realize that not only did he not need those insoles, but that <strong>barefoot running gave him back a powerful feeling of strength and freedom.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Therefore, our e-message is clear: take off your shoes now, and walk barefoot at least 30 minutes a day. Since not all of us have the privilege of living in the countryside, you can use parks and gardens to allow the beneficial electrons to enter your body and recharge your natural energy.<\/p>\n<p>We would love to hear about your experiences on this subject. Feel free to share your comments with us below.<\/p>\n<p>And in the meantime, take your shoes off, <strong>now<\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/firma1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-296\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/firma1.jpg\" alt=\"firma\" width=\"116\" height=\"43\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I can still hear the voice of my mother and my dear grandmother imploring us to put on our shoes or slippers. &#8220;Girl, you&#8217;re going catch a cold!\u201d Because of these ever-repeated messages engraved in my brain, it took quite a while after reading about the benefits\u00a0of walking barefoot before I felt comfortable taking off [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[18,19,13,16,15,14,17,12],"class_list":["post-495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movement","category-reconnection","tag-atacama","tag-atacama-crossing","tag-barefoot","tag-bert-poffe","tag-earthing","tag-grounding","tag-kiki-nardiz","tag-rewilding"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-e1429771477148.jpg",795,529,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-e1429771477148.jpg",768,511,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-1024x681.jpg",1024,681,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-e1429771477148.jpg",795,529,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-e1429771477148.jpg",795,529,false],"et-pb-post-main-image":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-400x250.jpg",400,250,true],"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-1080x675.jpg",1080,675,true],"et-pb-portfolio-image":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-400x284.jpg",400,284,true],"et-pb-portfolio-module-image":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-e1429771477148.jpg",510,339,false],"et-pb-portfolio-image-single":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-1080x719.jpg",1080,719,true],"et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-e1429771477148.jpg",400,266,false],"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth-large":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-e1429771477148.jpg",795,529,false],"et-pb-image--responsive--desktop":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-e1429771477148.jpg",795,529,false],"et-pb-image--responsive--tablet":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-e1429771477148.jpg",795,529,false],"et-pb-image--responsive--phone":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-e1429771477148.jpg",406,270,false],"wp_rp_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC_9873-150x150.jpg",150,150,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Kiki N\u00e1rdiz","author_link":"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/author\/kiki-nardiz\/"},"uagb_comment_info":14,"uagb_excerpt":"I can still hear the voice of my mother and my dear grandmother imploring us to put on our shoes or slippers. &#8220;Girl, you&#8217;re going catch a cold!\u201d Because of these ever-repeated messages engraved in my brain, it took quite a while after reading about the benefits\u00a0of walking barefoot before I felt comfortable taking off&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":835,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495\/revisions\/835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewildingdrum.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}