Yoga considers the shoe a “sensory deprivation chamber” and a “massive bacterial factory.”
Here are ten ways that shoes negatively impact your physical health and why going barefoot much more often is the corrective:
1. Going barefoot strengthens the stabilizing muscles of the foot and ankle and makes them stronger. Shoes give a lot of stability and support and can make the foot and ankle lazy.
2. Going barefoot improves proprioception – this is the subconscious awareness of where and how the body's limbs should be most advantageously positioned.
3. Going barefoot strengthens the ankles and develops more support. Almost 30% of the joints in our body are in our feet. Our feet are the base of support for our whole body. Often knee and back pain stem from improper foot mechanics.
4. Going barefoot improves muscle alignment. Different muscle segments are used when we are barefoot than when we are in shoes (sensory deprivation chamber).
5. Going barefoot improves and strengthens the neuromuscular pathways of the foot and leg which, in turn affects and improves the way we move.
6. Going barefoot strengthens the arches while wearing shoes weakens them greatly. Weak arches are due to shoe wearing and weak arches lead to a lifetime of orthopedic issues.
7. Going barefoot increases flexibility and mobility of the foot providing a much wider range of motion.
8. Going barefoot creates better circulation. It not only wakes up long-dormant muscles of the feet and legs, but gets more blood flow to the feet and legs. This increased blood flow means less aches and pains, less varicose veins, and warmer feet, toes and legs in the winter.
9. Going barefoot decreases blood pressure. Studies show that stimulating the nerves in the bottom of the feet lowers blood pressure.
10. Going barefoot creates healthier feet overall. Shoes (sensory deprivation chambers) are the cause of most foot problems: bunions, corns, athlete’s foot, hammer toes, ingrown toe nails and fallen arches. People who spend lots of time barefoot do not experience any of these and generally do not even get any callouses. Research has shown that people before the invention of shoes had much healthier feet.
BONUS BENEFIT: Going barefoot eliminates, completely, foot odor. Bare feet do not naturally produce an odor. The sweat glands in the feet are just like the sweat glands in the hands. No one ever complains about smelly hands. Wearing shoes produces “athletes foot” issues. No one ever complains about having “athletes hands” Feet will only give off an odor and produce “athletes foot” after being cooped up in shoes for hours.
These are the reasons why yoga is always, always done barefoot. Yoga seeks to be a corrective for unhealthy feet suffocating inside shoes hour after hour.