How to start with barefoot walking? The key is to have the willingness to learn how to walk in a healthy way. Barefoot shoes are suitable for anyone who wants to do something extra for their health. They allow you to walk in a healthy way. Thanks to healthy walking, you will relieve your joints, activate your pelvic floor, and even get rid of back and headache pain. However, it requires training and time to listen to your body. Are you ready to get started?
How to start with barefoot walking? The key is the willingness to learn how to walk healthily. Barefoot shoes are suitable for everyone who wants to do something extra for their health. They enable healthy walking, which relieves the joints, activates the pelvic floor, and can even alleviate back and headache pain. However, it takes practice and time to be in tune with your body. Are you ready to start?
Healthy walking starts with the push-off. The classic walking that you learn from childhood with traditional shoes relies on the hip joint, pelvic girdle, or lumbar region. You throw your whole leg forward and hit the ground hard. This movement is not healthy.
When training for a healthy push-off, focus on the contact of the sole of your foot with the ground and try to push off from your toes with each step. Let this force push you forward. Gently place your foot a little in front of or directly under your body. The step will be shorter, but healthier and correct.
After the push-off, the movement of the leg follows. The foot on which you stand must not be passive. That means it should not collapse under the weight and dynamic of walking. It must actively carry you. Active carrying has a significant impact on healthy posture and body stabilization.
How to exercise active carrying of the foot? First, stand on one foot and then the other. If your ankle collapses, your knee bends, your pelvis slumps, your lumbar region curves, or your hip joint rotates inward, this is passive carrying of the foot. With active carrying, your foot should be perfectly centered. Your torso will be stable and relaxed.
The footfall is the last and most important part of healthy walking. What should it be like? Gentle and sensitive. You are not hitting the sole of your foot but rather gently stepping on it. Ideally, you should step on the entire sole of your foot. However, it depends on the terrain and walking speed.
When walking, people often land on their heel, which is incorrect. However, be careful when you do not want to land on your heel but still land on your toes. This is also incorrect.
Why is stepping on the entire sole of the foot important? Only then can the foot read the terrain underneath it and react correctly to it. Information about the terrain is essential for the next push-off.
Once you step, smoothly release your foot from the ground or terrain. Use all your toes, not just your big toe, for the push-off to the next step.
Support healthy walking with appropriate footwear. Learning healthy walking in traditional shoes is pointless because they do not give your foot freedom. Therefore, opt for barefoot shoes, which allow for walking as close as possible to walking barefoot. How can you recognize such shoes?
● There is enough room for your toes in the shoe.
● It is flexible and supple, so it mimics the natural movement of the foot.
● It is lightweight.
● It has no heel and has a thin sole.