No man needs an explanation, as to how exercises affect our body and mind. Now, the thing is not every exercise is that effective. Also, it depends on the kind of person, whether that particular exercise will affect you in a good way or not.
However, some prove to be fruitful for everyone. One such exercise is walking barefoot in the woods. This might sound weird, but walking barefoot can help you in a lot of things. We have tried to discuss the benefits of it in the sections below and the area that we have focused largely is its effects on our brains.
Effects on brain
It clears your mind
The very first thing that the barefoot walking in the woods do is a clearance of all the unwanted thought and everything from your mind. When you are walking barefoot in the woods, you will focus on the path you are walking on. You need to see whether stones or anything is not there on your path. If we have to describe it in meditational terms, then you are getting aware of what you are doing. This is what we call meditation and practicing it will help you in clearing your mind.
Relaxes your mind and decreases stress
Before we discuss this point in detail, let us first understand why our mind gets disturbed and why it gets stressed. Now, there may be a lot of reasons behind it. The factors behind the increase in stress lead in the decrement of endorphins in our body. Now, endorphins are a kind of hormones that are responsible for making us feel good. It has been proven in research that if a person walks barefoot, he or she can release their tension by 62%, which is great. By walking barefoot you are increasing the endorphins hormones in your body and making your mind more relaxed and stress-free.
The overall development of the brain
Since we are talking about the development of the brain, let us talk about the time when it takes place. We all know that most of our brain is developed during our childhood only. Almost every parent thinks that if they will leave their child barefoot, then it will hurt them or they will end up injuring their foot. However, the case is completely different. Not having your child barefooted is more dangerous.
Some of the brain nerves are connected with the foot and therefore when you walk barefoot these areas get energized. The most important thing one should note that if you are raising a child, you should give him or her the freedom to walk barefoot, at least for some time daily. Keeping a child’s feet always in shoes is keeping them away from the opportunity of proper brain development.
These were all the points that suggest how our mind is affected when we walk barefoot, but these are not the only benefits. Barefoot walking has some other good effects too on our body. We have tried to discuss that in the section below.
Other benefits
In making your leg muscles more powerful
Walking barefoot on the woods is a Yoga. When you are walking on the woods barefoot, your legs are stretching and so do their muscles. Not just this, this barefoot exercise for the feet makes your ligament which is the muscle joint stretchy too. Along with that, all the other parts of your leg are set to relax when you walk barefoot in the woods. When your feet bone and muscle are on point, it will make your posture correct too. So, apart from a healthy brain, you can get healthy feet if you walk barefoot in the woods.
This is a grounding activity
As we all know that the majority part of our bodies are made up of water and we also know that water is great for conducting electricity. Now, earth has negative ions. When we wear something on our foot, we are making a barrier between the ground and our feet. However, this barrier is not there if we are barefoot. Negative ions are known for their detoxifying properties. Along with that, they are responsible for managing our body clock and other things in the body. They can even reduce inflammation. Having said that, it is clear that moving barefoot could be a lot helpful and can manage a lot of things in the body.
Improvement in the eyesight
Another benefit of walking barefoot in the woods is that you get an improvement in your eyesight. Low vision or decreased eyesight is a problem which is very prevalent now a day. Every third person is facing this in some way or another.
Now, there are a lot of ways in which you can improve your eyesight, but the best way is a natural way. Walking barefoot in the woods in one of the natural ways of increasing your eyesight. Some of the eye nerves are attached to the feet nerves and when we walk barefoot, these points get energized and thus, the eyesight increases gradually. Apart from that, when you are moving in woods you see greenery all around. Looking at it will also make your eye muscles relaxed and ultimately will increase your eyesight.
A key to good sleep
The kind of life that we are leading now a day is responding to a lot of problems in our life. Out of all these problems, the one that which is very important to discuss is the problem of bad sleep. The whole world today is becoming insomniac. In the above section, in one of the points, we have mentioned already that this barefoot walking exercise can help you in releasing your tension and stress. Now, if you don’t have that stress and tension with you, you can have a good sleep, naturally.
Thus, directly or indirectly this practice can help you in getting a sound sleep and then ultimately in keeping a good record of your health.
Here are some steps in getting a better sleep.
An overall development
This is the last point that we are mentioning here. Till now we have mentioned a lot of things and have given valid points to prove them true. Now, if you have read them thoroughly, you will understand that this barefoot walking of yours is very helpful. So, in this last point, we just want to say that, it is a kind of retreat for your body. One should always remember that walking barefoot in the wood will always be beneficial and there could not be any side effects or harmful effects of it.
These were all the points to make you understand that how walking barefoot is so important and could be blissful to you. After understanding this, it is time to go understand what are the correct ways in which you can start this exercise.
How to start walking barefoot?
1.Start slowly
The first thing that you need to do is to have patience. You can not force your feet to walk long distances barefoot all of a sudden. You need to develop a habit of it by walking shorter distances in the beginning. You can start by having 10 – 20 minutes sessions of walking barefoot. Your feet are used to walking in footwear, so it needs to adapt to the new way of walking.
2.Start indoors
You should walk on safe grounds in the beginning before venturing out on unknown terrains. You should start by walking indoors barefoot. You will at least know that there isn’t anything inside which can hurt your feet accidentally.
3.In case of discomfort, just ease up
There’s always a chance that your feet do not adapt to the new walking conditions in a short period. So, there is always a chance of getting hurt or developing an injury in the foot. You need to ease up, relax and stop in case you feel any discomfort in your feet while walking barefoot.
4.Try mostly on safe surfaces
After being able to walk barefoot in your home the time comes for stepping outside, but you need to be very careful in this part. Don’t just start walking on roads or pavements. After your house starts by walking on surfaces that are a bit safer such as rubber tracks, grass lawns or beach sands.
5.Examine your feet every day
After every session of walking barefoot, make sure to check your feet. If you check it just after having a walking session you can know very easily of any injury or pain that you might have developed. In case an injury or a pain is encountered make sure to take proper treatment.
In the sections mentioned above, we have tried to point out all the important things related to walking barefoot. Not only we have mentioned its benefits for the brain, but have also listed its effects on the entire body.