Benefits of Minimalist Shoes
“The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.” Leonardo da Vinci
Freedom for your feet and joints
Blisters. Bunions. Plantar fasciitis. Painful arch. Pinched toes. Nerve damage. Sore knees, hips, ankles and lower back. Heel striking.
These are all symptoms of feet that lack freedom. We all know instinctively that humans did not evolve to wear stiff, tight fitting shoes, yet many of us have been doing so all of our lives. Feet were designed to be free, for the toes to splay, and to be become the strong foundation of an active healthy life full of movement.
We also all know that not wearing shoes is neither socially acceptable, nor comfortable and potentially rather painful.
The value of minimalist shoes/barefoot shoes is we get the best of both worlds. All of the advantages of walking barefoot while still conforming to social norms, and protecting our feet from hot pavement strew with sharp objects.
Arch support
The arch of the foot is supported by, muscles and ligaments.
When we wear shoes with arch support, it is like having a cast on our feet. It prevents the muscles getting the exercise they need to maintain a sturdy and flexible platform for our bodies, that allows for the correct distribution of weight.
It’s a mistake to think that an arch that is flexible is a problem, the arch’s ability to collapse is our natural shock absorption system when walking or running.
Earthing
Earthing means you can feel, sense, be connected to the ground in a physical and metaphysical way. This is achieved through natural biofeedback, sending detailed information from the nerves in the feet to the brain, monitoring and fine-tuning the body’s functions.
But our feet don't just connect us to the earth and give us the power to balance our bodies, they sense the vibrational frequencies to help connect us to our world. There are up to 200,000 information receptors in the foot that tell your brain how to adjust your body's position to protect bones and joints and maximize efficiency and experience the world.