I Can’t Imagine Wearing Shoes

I’m lucky. I live in a barefoot friendly area of Florida. I go months at a time barefoot 24/7.

And then:

Shoes are put on, for whatever reason. It feels awful and I find they cause back and knee pain the next day.

Other than on a rare occasion, I can’t imagine ever wearing shoes in everyday life.

 

Lucky indeed, that you live in a place, where the weather doesn't put restrictions on you.

 

I know what you mean. There is a supermarket I go to always barefoot, I can’t imagine wearing shoes there - it would just feel weird to me!

Actually I did wear shoes there a couple of weeks ago, because it was on the cold side. And when I was in there, I saw two others barefoot - I was like damn it!! You didn’t need to put shoes on!

 

While I do not live in a barefoot friendly place, I can't imagine wearing shoes outdoors, around the city, or of course in my home.

You should've taken off your shoes and carried them to be barefoot too! Ah, good 'ol hindsight.

 

I'm still quite a beginner when it comes to going barefoot. I only enjoy barefooting since about February this year when I accidentally discovered how good it actually feels

I can still imagine wearing shoes and still do so frequently. But enjoy the barefoot time more and more also!

 

Welcome to the extraordinary world of barefooting, PeterSpa. Barefoot is the best way to be.

Give it time and you will grow to loathe having shoes or anything on your soles!

 

Barefoot land- surfer is right when you have to wear shoes you can’t wait to take them off and go barefoot. And going barefoot is the greatest feeling in the world . And going barefoot is the only way to go through life so peterspa you will find out how great it is to be barefoot.

 

On those rare occasions when I do wear shoes, I pay the price. Ankle, knee and back pain flare up the next day. A stark remember of why I decided to live barefoot.

 

I know how you feel when I use to wear shoes my feet would hurt and my back but now living a barefoot lifestyle no pain at all . And I have been going barefoot for over 29 years all year around . It’s great to be barefoot and great health benefits.

 

The mere thought of wearing shoes makes me cringe and resistant. It's gotten to the point where I'm hesitant to even don a pair of barefoot sandals because they still block my feeling of the ground.

Also, wearing any kind of soled footwear will alter the gait in some way or fashion. That's what I've both read from research and realized through my own observations. The research article titled, "Why Shoes Make Normal Gait Impossible" by Dr. William Rossi (link: https://www.learningmethods.com/downloads/pdf/rossi--why.shoes.make.normal.gait.impossible.pdf) explains it well.

It's easy to conclude then, that barefooting is the best to way to maintain one's natural gait, foot health and foot function. And, I think many of us here know full well that the benefits do not end there.

 

Totally. "Barefoot sandals?" WTF? Why? What's the point? I don't like ANYTHING touching my feet, or preventing my feet from touching the ground. And flip-flops? Worst footwear ever. My mom (who was Barefoot Woman, so I was puzzled) gave me a pair of flip-flops (they were called "zories" then, 1959) when I was six years old. I tried them out for about ten seconds and concluded that they were terrible.

 

Barefoot sandals, flip-flops and regular sandals are not in my wardrobe.

I roll one of two ways: barefoot or in minimalist shoes. 99% of the time I’m barefoot.

 

Yes, unfortunately "barefoot sandals" because no one goes barefoot here above the 41st latitude, not even in summer. It's ridiculous and very sad.

The sandals are literally just a flimsy piece of rubber (4mm) held beneath my feet by thin ties. (link: DIY FeelTrue Sandal Kit - Xero Shoes) Just barely enough to get into stores, restaurants, etc.

The straw thonged Japanese sandals called zories are comfortable. But no point in them when you could just go barefoot!

 

So, that means you don't go barefoot?

 

I am barefoot except when I go to the grocery store, or walk into a restaurant. Though once I'm seated in the restaurant, I just slip the sandals off and enjoy my meal barefoot.

 

I could imagine wearing shoes yesterday while hiking on rocky ground in the Peak District. It got so bad had to abandon a couple of paths - even though I’m used to going barefoot when you’ve got a heavy pack on rocky terrain hurts. It’s a reminder that shoes are tools and probably should be packed if it means helping you to see places. They put rocks down to protect a lot of walking routes in the UK and paths where you think will be barefoot friendly aren’t always - those paths can be ankle breakers in hiking boots too

 

I used to hike in the Rocky Mountains. There's a reason they're call the "Rocky" Mountains. Also the Iowa city I live in used to have a nice dirt trail around a little lake. Then the city "de-proved" it (opposite of "improved, get it?) by adding sharp gravel. I suppose it cuts down on erosion, but totally ruined the trail.

 

I avoid trails with crushed rocks. It makes me angry.

 

Had the hardest hike of my barefoot life last week - only 8 miles but there were prickly weeds all over the place, they seem to like sheep fields. My back also went from carrying a heavy pack (including shoes) but as I’d started barefoot I was going to finish barefoot. The end was nice as came across a muddy path which felt like a foot spa. I could imagine wearing shoes through a lot of that walk but couldn’t do it. Bare feet are still the best and had a great walk a couple of days ago - having a heatwave in the UK but the grass was dewy and felt lush. Couldn’t have imagined anything other than bare feet for that one!