Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT)

The Power of Walking Barefoot Outside

When was the last time you walked outside barefoot?

 

In between our busy schedules, this might be something that some of us do occasionally. For most of our ancestors though, this was a practice embedded in their daily routine. They used to live in natural places and for them it was common to just walk barefoot outside all the time. It was part of their way of living.

 

But why we have distanced ourselves from natural places and why is this not a practice we do so often anymore?

(Participants on a Forest Therapy Walk — Photo from ANFT’s archives)

 

With the advent of the industrial revolution in the 19th century, what we call civilization increased at a fast pace. Humans started to cluster in places that eventually became cities and civilization, which brought the concept of progress also brought the idea that being wild and living in wild places was inferior, ignorant, backward, savage, uncontrolled, “bad”. Being “successful” meant living in a city, working in a factory – and later in an office – having a well-built house and earning money, so then we could have more stuff.

 

Our species, the Homo sapiens, has been around for more or less three hundred thousand years. So, if we really think about it, the most abrupt changes on shifting from living mainly in natural places to mainly living in cities have happened in only the last 180 years! In other words, in less than 0.09% of our story on Earth.

 

Don’t get me wrong, progress has brought us many advantages. After all, it wasn’t so interesting to be constantly living in fear of being swallowed by a lion. However, it also brought us separateness and conditionings that took us away from the way our species has always lived: connected to the land and nature.

 

“ […] the essence of the modern worldview was (and still is) the perception of “discontinuities” between subject or object, mind or body, people or nature, and other poles. In other words, the Western mind shifted from some sense of identity with “the Other” […] to a profound sense of, as well as intellectual belief in, separateness. This flaw was identified by Bateson (1972, p. 463) as an “epistemological error,” a perception of and belief in separateness that in turn manifests separateness and fragmentation in relationships.” (Sterling, Dawson and Warwick, 2018, p4)

 

 

Despite our predominant separateness from natural places, it is important to mention that there are still some cultures that were able to maintain this healthy habit of living in natural places and walking barefoot. The indigenous people from the Yawanawa tribe, that live in the north of Brazil, for example, live embedded in the forest, surrounded by rivers and have the habit of naturally walking barefoot. They also have a very close relationship with the more-than-human world, what David Abram, author of the “Spell of the Sensuous” refers to other beings that co-inhabit the Earth with us like plants, animals, rocks, rivers, and many others.

(The Yanawanas gathered — Photo from Yanawanas’ archives)

 

The Yanawanas are recognized for their sacred medicines, songs, rituals, dances, festivals, body paintings and adornments and, by women’s rights, being one of the first indigenous tribes in Brazil to encourage women to go through the rituals and preparations to become shamans. Their ancestors developed a deep wisdom about healing plants and acquired great spiritual knowledge and connection to the land.

 

Despite civilization and specifically, colonization having hugely impacted the Yawanawa’s culture and reduced the population to approximately 1,000 people, after much conflict and struggle the Yanawanas were able to win part of their lands back and, since 1984 have been trying to revitalize their culture with the help of elders passing on old traditions to the youth in order to keep alive the ancestral memories of the Yawanawa people and the deep connection to the land.

 

We have a lot to learn from those that have kept this close relationship to natural places because unlike the Yanawanas and our ancestors, now when we are outside, we usually mainly wear rubber-soled shoes and have lost the practice of walking barefoot and being in close relationship with the land.

       

 

But what is so important about walking barefoot?

 

In addition to making us feel good and in harmony with nature, what happens is that our bodies have electricity and when our way of living included the practice of being in contact with the ground all the time, our bodies were able to keep the electrical balance. Every time our bodies would get positively charged, when we touched the ground, since the earth is negatively charged (has more electrons), they were balanced again.

 

When we are positively charged, our bodies have more free radicals. Free radicals are atoms or molecules that contain an unpaired electron. They are more unstable and are highly chemically reactive. Because of this instability, they are in a constant search to bind with another electron to stabilize themselves—a process that can cause damage to the immune system, DNA and other parts of cells.

 

One way of neutralizing free radicals is by consuming antioxidants that can be found in foods such as fruits and vegetables. Another way of reducing free radicals is by being more in touch with the soil and walking outside barefoot. Since the earth is negatively charged, it acts like antioxidants, neutralizing free radicals and helping to bring balance to the body.

 

Recent scientific studies have shown that this practice of earthing or grounding can decrease inflammation, cardiac diseases, muscular damage, chronic pain and improve our mood. The studies are still very few though, and much more might still be discovered in the following years. James L. Oschman, PhD, author of “Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis and Energy Medicine in Therapeutics and Human Performance,” and a co-investigator on two of the Earthing studies, says that “The observation that Earthing or grounding the human body vastly diminishes inflammation may well be the most important discovery in the history of the phenomenon, which dates back to 30 BC and before.”

 

One study by Chevalier G. showed that after a few minutes of contact, there is an increase in the consumption of oxygen and respiratory rate. These metabolic changes correlates with the time it takes for acute inflammation and pain to improve, as can be seen in the images below:

(Thermal images from one of the Chevalier G. studies)

 

But that’s not all. Water may also be a way for grounding in the same way as the physical earth. You can simply emerge yourself in a clear lake, waterfall or, swimming in the ocean as a way to ground yourself. Also, after a storm, the air is negatively charged, so one can also go outside to maintain their electrical balance by being surrounded by fresh air.

(Participants on a Forest Therapy Walk — Photo from ANFT’s archives)

 

On a Forest Therapy walk there are many possibilities to be in touch with the soil for grounding. Often guides invite participants to take off their shoes and feel the ground in the way that feels right for them. For many participants, in addition to the health benefits of being electrically balanced, this simple invitation brings instant joy and relaxation. Other invitations in a walk may also include touching the soil in different ways or being in contact with water.

 

Either in a Forest Therapy walk or simply by taking your shoes off next time you decide to go outside, the earth is inviting us to remember the old ways, when we used to be deeply embedded in natural places, in close relationship with the Earth, in a beautiful healthy dance.

 

To read more:

 

Chevalier G. Changes in pulse rate, respiratory rate, blood oxygenation, perfusion index, skin conductance and their variability induced during and after grounding human subjects for forty minutes. J Altern Complement Med, 2010;16(1): 1-7.

 

Chevalier G, Mori K, Oschman JL. The effect of Earthing (grounding) on human physiology. Eur Biol Bioelectromagnetics,2006;2(1):600–621.

 

Chevalier G, Sinatra ST, Oschman JL, Delany RM. Grounding Improves Blood  Viscosity: A Major Factor in Cardiovascular Disease. J Altern Complement Med, 2011; submitted for publication.

 

Chevalier G, Oschman J. Understanding Earthing (Grounding). Can be downloaded from http://www.earthinginstitute.net/index.php/research

 

Ober C. Grounding the human body to neutralize bioelectrical stress from static electricity and EMFs.” ESD Journal. 2000. This article is available online at: http://www.esdjournal.com/articles/cober/ground.htm.

 

Oschman JL. Can Electrons Act as Antioxidants? A Review and Commentary. J Altern Complement Med, 2007;13(9):955-967.

 

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