This day and age, it is easy to lose our connection with nature. With the growing focus on corporate life. urbankation, and technology, many people siew nature as separate from ux However, this is not the cave we are nature.
Barefoot walking also known as ‘earing’ or grounding; i the practice of connecting your body to the Earth. Bly doing this we bond with the Earth’s natural energy and Mother Nature’s healing electric current
Many people are both mentally and physically eshausted trom the erstimulation of their stressful day-to-day lives: Walking barefoot on a beach or grassy area is a great way to naturally recharge using Earth’s wonderful bealing properties, and to start reconnecting with nature.
Banfoot walking has grown from a playtal trend to a well-researched practice with recognised health benefite. Walking barefoot nestores our natural gait, and the padding and structure of shoes can prevent us from developing certain muscle groups which help strengthen the body. Walking without shoes can also improve balance, help with pain rebef, and even improve the mechanics of our hips, knees, and core.
Our ancestors harboured a close connection with the Fanths energy. We walked barefoot slept on the ground, and benefited from Earth’s natural energy. Today, so much of our time is spent separated from this grounding energy – in our shoes, in our cars. and indoor
THE SCIENCE OF BAREFOOT WALKING
There is a simple science behind barefoot walking. We are bloelectric beings, and the human body carries a sight positive charge. All of our celle are specialised and made to contuct electrical impulses, Electricity is enquired for the nervoussystem to send signals throughour the body and to the brain in onder for us to think pracefully, move our bodies, and fed merged.
The Earth, however carries a negative charge. Whim we make a physical connection with the Earh through barefoot walking. we decharge that escess energy. This is sald to have an incredible healing effect at a cellular level.
WHY BAREFOOT WALKING?
Barefoot walking is incredible. There’s something very special about taking your shoes and socks off, closing yout eyes, and taking a moment to listen to the sounds around you. Perhaps you’re at the beach, the sun shining as pentle, loamy waves lap againt the soft sand – or in a park, with dewy blades of grass between your toes, and the melody of bindsong surrounding you.
Either way, it allows your body to soak up all of the goodness and charge yourself positively, connecting with Mother Nature.
You can feel the positive energy on the soles of your feet. inviting you to let go of any pain you store mentally and physically. It islike the Earth is communicating with your body. offering you positivity and healing in that very moment, It is a euphoric feeling of instant peacefulness.
The benefits of barefoot walking are endless. Many people have said they experience much deeper and restorative sleep, and upon waking they feel more energised and rejuvenated within both their physical body and mental health.
I have done a lot of barefoot walking with my five-yeat-old daughter. My gorgeous hale one has Sensory Processing Disonder also known as SPD. I have researched a lot about thit, as any parent would, and discovered a lot of sensory issues come from not being able to ground yourself So, for example, when labels in clothing provoke irritation and irrational responses within the body, barefoot walking calms our nervous system and murtures our sensory side. My daughter walks around our home barefoot. and she also wears ankle weights to help ground her body. Not only does it help increave awareness of her own body, but brings her back to balance with a feeling of tranquillty: tt abso beips with kinsesthetic kaming which involves touching moving and tacole, hands on learning
Though it is fantastic that moder science has allowed for medication to be so accessble, I feel we shouldn’t be so quick to medicate every small thing or try and t something that is out of the ordinary. We should strike a healthy balance between bolistic therapies and modern medicine, rather than focusing entirely on medication.
Education and research are such powsful tools, anif when possible, we shout learn how we can sid our bodies with natural alternatives
While barefoot walking on the beach with my daughter 1 asked her how ber body felt. “Mumma,” she said, “it feels all cosy and fuzzy like a hugde. it makes me ode and feel super happy?
My heart could have exploded in that very moment. Something as simple as walking barefoot had such an innocent and positive Impact on a child. It’s beautiful to watch too; you can see the change in bee mood by how she moves her body. She slows down and you can physically see that overwhelmed, heightened and initated energy leave her body, replaced with snillness and love instead.
Sometimes, she doses her eyes and dances and it’s the she’s
dancing with the clements. I wonder if she beans whispers of lone from the world around bet. Ihe smile on her face is priceless.
BAREFOOT WALKING AT A GLANCE
The mental beath beneft of barefoot walking are wonderful.
It allows us to become self-aware, emotionally stable and well connected to the environment around us t abo brings with it a profound sense of inner peace and mental clarity, otlering a stillness that we sometimes struggle to find in our busy, hectic day-to-day life. tts alo great for the immune system. Studies have shown that it reduces white blood cells. This points to better immunity and less inflammation within the body.
Barefoot walking really takes us back to what our bodies need to thrive and allow us to stay in harmony with oursehes It keeps us grounded, allowing us to live from a place of stability, remaining present in reality rather than trapped in our heads
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SPRING 2024 FHTORGUK
Michela barefoot walking with her friends in Calpe. Spain
The effect barefoot walking has on the body is so positively intense and wonderfal. Like the sun giving us a glorious nutrient låe vitamin D, the Earth gives us healing.
So why don’t you give it a go? Take some time to remove your footwear. Feel the sand or grass beneath your feet and allow & change your health, mind, body, and soul. m
Michela Rand is a practising reflexologist and reiki healer, You can connect with her at randholistics.co.uk. @rand_holistics (Instagram) and Rand Holistics (Facebook).