Barefoot fitness
At the Studio in The Honeycomb Hub we have a barefoot philosophy. Though some found
the concept foreign at first, all our members have embraced the idea.
So, why
have we decided to adopt this barefoot philosophy and barefoot fitness? Apart
from the huge benefit of bare feet not naturally smelling, there are many pros
to releasing our feet from the confines of shoes.
To bust a
few myths about going barefoot:
-One of the
worries can be that you may contract germs, however the skin is naturally
designed to keep out pathogens. We are more likely to contract germs by what we
touch with our hands in our daily life and then inadvertently touching our
mouths however we do not go about our daily life with gloves protecting our
hands from all we touch.
-Injury can
be another concern about being barefoot, but losing the shoes actually
toughens the soles of the feet, preventing them from injury (not that I would personally
recommend walking through a construction site, or near acacia trees without
shoes).
Exercising
with bare feet can help strengthen the foot and increase mobility while also
teaching you to land and move more gracefully on your feet. Whereas forcing your feet to be confined to a
shoe can limit movement and have a negative impact on balance, stability and
proprioception (our unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation
arising from stimuli within the body - our awareness of our own body). When barefoot, your heel is on the floor unlike when wearing sports shoes where the heel is often slightly raised and
your arches supported. Having our feet flat on the floor can strengthen the
ankle, arches and leg muscles.
One of my
personal favourite benefits of going barefoot is that it improves your Qi
(Chi), your natural life force. The major energy pathways flowing through your
body either start or finish at the feet. Our feet are often the only part of us
that touch the ground and going barefoot allows us to connect with the ground
and release any stored energy.
While in
the Studio at The Honeycomb Hub we shall ask you lose the shoes. We hope you
embrace the philosophy and reap some of the benefits of being barefoot.
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