“An old witch from Ranchos told me the La Que Sabe knew everything about women, that La Que Sabe had created women from a wrinkle on the sole of her divine foot: This is why women are knowing creatures; they are made, in essence, of the skin of the sole, which feels everything. This idea that the skin of the foot is sentient had the ring of truth, for an acculturated Kiché tribeswoman once told me that she’d worn her first pair of shoes when she was twenty years old and was still not used to walking con los ojos vendados, with blindfolds on her feet.”

Clarissa Pinkola Estés ‘Women Who Run With The Wolves’

I’ve always felt drawn towards being barefoot, I grew up with my feet rooted in the soil and I still love the feeling it brings, squelching between your toes. It’s only been in more recent times that I have started to learn, through reading and experience, the importance of this act on the whole human physiology. I have bunions, mainly my left foot but the right has early signs, my mum has bunions too and my grandmother, I never really thought that much about the cause or the possible treatments, after all they run in the family (or so they say). For a long time I felt no real discomfort from them and so they received little attention from me.

However around two years ago, near the beginning of our wandering, I made a decision to be barefoot for the majority of my time. I can’t say that I recall an exact turning point or a single impetus that tipped the scales, but there are many strands in my journey that steered me towards this place. We travel on bicycles and aim to make, reuse or recycle wherever possible, so I made myself a pair of pedals using some wooden offcuts from a bed frame, to make the barefoot cycling more comfortable.

When I started to think about it, it was obvious that feet are directly connected to so many leg, back and neck problems. They literally hold you up and support you, the smallest change in the way they connect with the ground can have a great impact on the bones, muscles and tendons in your legs and all the way up your spine. Starting to discover that you have the tools to really affect these issues is very empowering, the human body is strong, resilient and adaptable, as much as we have worked against it in certain areas, we can start to work with it and heal. I never considered that so much of the footwear I’ve worn over the years has had such a detrimental impact on my feet, in particular footwear that is supposedly there to “protect” and “support” your feet. The human feet are incredibly powerful organs, containing a quarter of the bodies bones, thousands of nerve endings, not to mention more than a hundred muscles, they are finely tuned and expertly engineered, and most certainly do not need the “protection” or “support” offered by most modern shoes. They can support themselves and indeed your whole body, that is after all a major part of what they are there for.

The terms ‘grounding’ or ‘earthing’, describe the act of connecting yourself with the energy field of this great earth on which we depend. The earth emits an electrical current, connecting yourself to this frequency has a great healing ability, and there are many scientific studies now being done around these healing benefits. A lot of this has to do with free radicals in the body, excess electrons, and the ability this current has to discharge these. Wearing shoes insulates us from this energy field, and shields us from the potential benefits. As I am not a scientist or an expert in this area I can’t really comment more than just what I have read, however for me the facts are not so important, this connection with the earth is profound, I think it would do us all good to feel the actual ground beneath our feet more often.

This is another topic that seems to draw connections between the spiritual and scientific realms and this is one of the reasons I find it so enthralling. Ancient wisdoms which now begin to find support from science. This is rocky ground for me however, as I’m not sure how I feel about our constant desire to prove everything, peel back the curtain, no room for mystery. But on the other hand, I also like to read the writings on these subjects, I get wrapped up in my desire to know how. I keep reminding myself to try and just feel sometimes, observe, sit still and listen. Let’s embrace the mystery, celebrate the unknown, unproved, uncertainty of our vibrant biosphere.

I can say without a shadow of doubt that since making the decision to be barefoot I have far less issues in my legs and back, and I live a fairly physical lifestyle; building, gardening, cycling. Obviously I’m no doctor and have no formal training in any of this stuff but I am definitely becoming more aware of the effects and more capable of noticing the changes, both physically and mentally, that my lifestyle and diet can have. The proof is in the pudding so they say, after all this time barefoot I have to say my feet feel great! I now have no issues with my bunions, which although weren’t painful all the time, certainly did give me some trouble, for instance after a long day working in boots, or a day or two hiking. Now I hike barefoot mainly, or with minimalist footwear if its too cold. There’s nothing quite like walking over a mossy mountain moorland with your naked sole embracing every texture, the soft moss, the oozing mud, the smooth and rough stones. Just soaking it in.

This winter I have dipped my toe into the world of winter barefooting and I have enjoyed it, my feet have been too cold on occasion but mainly its been exhilarating, the feel of snow and ice against the skin of your feet makes you feel alive. I do have to advise that no one jumps into this experience without a little build up, it’s not something to be taken lightly. I have been strengthening my feet and acclimatising them over a period of years and even then I have only been doing short stints out in the cold with no shoes. Right now my feet feel strong, nimble, my toes dexterous and my stance solid. I feel my foot to earth connection more than ever before and I feel enriched physically and mentally by this.

For me being barefoot is about much more than simply not wearing shoes. It’s a connection with the earth and other beings that share it with us. When I walk barefoot I am much more aware of where I place my feet, what else exists in that space, be it broken glass or a fragile butterfly. It brings awareness to my footprint on the land, and this is deeper than merely the physical tread left by the sole of your shoe (or my foot). Many people frown upon the idea of walking barefoot in urban settings, I can understand this, however for me it’s an important part of my experience, a part of this deeper feeling, if the urban situation feels revolting or uneasy on your feet remember we created that, perhaps we need to reconsider the state in which we are happy to live in our environments.

I want to feel connected with all parts of my body. I want to feel strong. Like I can support myself. But also like I am more in control of my own wellbeing, like I understand my body and can feel what heals and what harms. It feels like we are now discovering that a lot of innovations thought to be serving us are actually weakening our bodies and our minds. In these uncertain times it’s of great importance that we start to reclaim our health and wellbeing in whatever way we can. Reconnect with our food, our bodies, our communities and the more-than-human world* in which we are a part.

I am made of soil, borne from mud, to which one day I will return.

*This turn of phrase is borrowed from David Abram, I have adopted it

as I feel it to be a great way to describe the place we share. We are

not the centre of this world, merely a part of it, it does us good to

remember this I think.

Some barefoot resources:

ReWild Yourself podcast #140 The Barefoot Podiatrist – Dr. Ray McClanahan

Also there are plenty of other ReWild Yourself episodes covering

barefoot, Daniel Vitalis, the host, is very into the topic.

Instagram @thebarefootpodiatrist – this guy post lots of great exercise you can try. @two_barefoot_podiatrists

@ebfa_barefooteducation

Vivobarefoot – Great barefoot shoes but also write some really

interesting things on their blog.

Want to support us?

If you feel inspired by our journey we would love if you could share our blog or a particular post on social media, follow us on Instagram @spoken.oak and @rewildrose. Or you can support us by donating via GoFundMe here.

We would also be happy to hear from you, so get in touch with ideas, communities, places, people or even in solidarity with the small change we are trying to make in an uncertain world.