The Benefits of Bare Feet
(A Small Case for Going Barefoot)
Originally published in the Sun Times magazine, Jan/Feb 2013
“The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground.”—Buddha There is no surer sign of being off island than having to reacquaint yourself with your shoes. Oh, sure, you may wear them (them being flip-flops, sandals, really, barely shoes at all) on St. John or St. Thomas—but it’s not like you have to. That whole No Shoes, No Service thing doesn’t exactly apply. Head north of the palm tree zone, however, and it’s a different story. If the bad city streets don’t force you back into the saddle (shoes), the cold will eventually send your toes into the abyss of your boots. That’s when, as if to rub salt in the wounds of your newly blistered heels, your so-called friends start sending photos. You know the ones. Bare toes in the sand! Carefree toes with droplets of water peeking out of blue Caribbean sea! Toes on the gleaming deck of the boat! Colorful toes, freshly pedicured, lounging by the pool! These happy feet usually pop up in the inbox or on the mobile phone screen right about the time your own tired dogs are panting from hours of compulsory confinement. (Full disclosure: Columnist has been known to send said photos when she is St. John shoeless.)
I recently read that some significant percentage of the world’s population never, ever wears shoes and while I couldn’t verify this appealing factoid, there is evidence to suggest that we’re on the right track here in the Virgin Islands with our shoe-shunning sensibilities. Having sand between our toes feels good, of course, but it might also be good for us.
“When we used to walk around barefoot on uneven terrain—you know, to hunt and gather—we used so many more muscles in our feet than we do now,” says self-described “pedi-nerd” (and founder of Philadelphia’s Yoga on the Ridge) Theresa Conroy. “With carpeted floors and padded Nikes, it’s like wearing ear muffs on our feet. I heard one yoga teacher compare it to not being able to “hear” the ground. Consequently, we use fewer muscles and rely mostly upon the plantar fasciae.”
Conroy says many people experience cramps or foot pain when they first start practicing yoga because they’re using muscles that have been lying dormant. If you want to spur those lazy muscles into action—and improve your balance—walk barefoot.
“Trying to improve balance with shoes on is just ridiculous. It won’t work,” says Conroy. “You need to strengthen the communication among your big toe (which acts to counterbalance you), the pressure on the base of the foot and the ankle (which both send messages about where you are in space—proprioception) and your brain.”
There are studies supporting the theory that our feet were healthier in the pre-shoe era. At least one Harvard researcher believes runners are better off without shoes. Other experts, including the American Podiatric Medical Association, says more research is necessary. Here in the non-expert Sun Times Balance Column, we offer Abebe Bikila as Exhibit A. The Ethiopian athlete won the Olympic marathon in 1960 running through the streets of Rome—cobblestones and all—barefoot. If that sounds daunting (and it does), try baby steps. Rocky beaches around the islands offer an ideal setting to perfect your barefoot gait while also benefiting from a little natural reflexology—the practice of applying pressure to certain parts of the foot to alleviate pain or address other physical issues throughout the body. If you don’t believe alternative medicine can change your energy flow, at least you’ll toughen up enough to get into the ocean with dignity. Really, who wants to be the grimacing tourist Ow!-Ow!-Ow!-ing all the way to the waterline while the local kids around you calmly traverse the jagged stones like fire walkers.
Finally, there is the spiritual side of being barefoot. Anne Marie Porter, St. John’s “Barefoot Minister,” has performed thousands of weddings on St. John—all of them shoeless. “They’re always barefoot because they’re always on our beautiful, silky, pristine beaches,” says Porter. “Being barefoot helps connect me to the earth,” she says, describing St. John—its beaches, ocean, and the National Park—as “a very sacred place—a very divine place.” She calls it “God’s cathedral.” The intention, Porter says, is to have a relaxed, stress-free wedding that not only “feels delicious between your toes,” but is also meaningful and lets couples focus on what the wedding is about, i.e., the vows. Oh, and grooms love it, too. Porter says grooms will often ask if it’s okay to take off their shoes. “I tell them, ‘It’s not legal if you don’t!’”
“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet,” wrote Khalil Gibran. To that we say, Amen. And annoying as those barefoot photos are? No one wants to see a picture of your crummy fuzzy socks.
