A friend of mine is determined to become a full time barefooter starting May this year. She will quit wearing shoes at all. From your experience, what would be your advice for her to success in this challenge? Any tips you could share? She knows it will be hard to live a barefoot life, but she's well determined too, and she's a brave girl. Thanks!
She will have to start slowly, a little bit each day. I know people who are full-time barefooters and they all began, literally, "a step at a time." Skin (no, we're not made of steel) and muscle need conditioning---the skin as it comes in contact with the ground, and muscles as they adjust to the "barefoot gait." She will certainly require nerves of steel---depending on where she lives and the cultural climate there, she will need to forge ahead in spite of people's glances and remarks. For every barefooter, there are (roughly, approximately, on average) 14 headscratchers. Results will vary in YOUR neighborhood.....
Thanks a lot for your valuable advice. She's already a barefooter, she doesn't wear shoes in the Summer, but she's taking the next step forward and she'll quit shoes at all, even in Winter. So she's already taken the first steps, advice on how to live a barefoot life, all the time, would be appreciated. She's very determined and I am sure she'll succeed, but some help and experience of the friends of this forum would be much appreciated. Thanks!
If she's on her feet a lot walking and especially running then switch slowly, but if she -like many people nowadays - spends most of the time sitting in school/office/etc buildings and most of the time traveling is spent in vehicles, well just take off the shoes and go. I started from one day to the next and didn't get any blisters or sore feet, and I do walk some (no car, but I bike much more than I walk). The hardest part is dealing with all the comments, if she has gone barefoot some already then she will have some experience there too. Still it's more in winter, some people may be concerned and ask her if she lost her shoes and even offer to buy her some. And when it gets cold, dress up a bit warmer from the ankle up than she'd have done if she'd worn socks and shoes. See the snowfooting threads on that.
