Frozen Moments/Snow-Walkers

I've been sitting here at my keyboard petting the pooches, watching John get mauled by our cat and wondering what exactly it is that I feel the need to share today?    What is the inspiration that is important in this moment?
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At the moment I'm just in love with the free predicure I gave myself by walking around barefooted in the snow.  Ok maybe it's not exactly a pedicure but my feet are so very soft and happy right now.  Maybe I should explore the why.

Walking in the snow in your barefeet  stimulates circulation like crazy and pushes oxygen and nutrients throughout your body.    Now some people are already thinking I'm crazy, and some parts of me really are.  Not even John will do this no matter how much I share the benefits with him.  He keeps telling me that he'll take my word for it!  Silly John's missing out!

Some morning's the snow is really too much.  Too cold, too crisp, too icy.  I'll step out onto it for a few seconds and hop right back into the house.  This morning though, it was very mild and the snow, as I stepped out onto it, was like a satin-like sponge and my feet felt like they were being hugged with each step.  It really was so wonderful that I just kept walking to take the pictures of the elder trees, cedars and the rest.  It was wonderful, invigorating and not uncomfortable in the slightest.  Some mornings it really is a little bit much, but once I'm back in the house, on warm grounds, rubbing my feet with a thick warm towel, life is good and my feet feel like newborn skin, soft and supple.  


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Taking pictures of the Elder Tree as I walk about the grounds covered in white satin sponge. Mmmmhhmmm it was just brilliant

Trust me when I say that I am on my feel so much that my feet are anything but soft and supple, until I walk in the snows.  It's like the best presoak before you give yourself a  good pedicure as well.  Then I rub some of the 'Heal Me' Skin Salve onto my feet and  that is the definition of a heavenly foot spa day.  Snow, pumice, salve, rest.  Brilliant!

Actual Benefits Of Barefoot Snow Walks

Those who know me, know well that shoes are not my favorite thing in the world, at all.  When I travelled to Australia I was taken aback when I went into the mall and saw people barefooted.  I was so happy!  Can I do this too?!  Of course when I came back  to Canada this was not acceptable but this year I came about some really good information about barefoot walking in public and the 'law'  (ppppfffffttttt)  

So there is no law against walking anywhere in public barefooted.  Nor is there a law against driving without shoes or flip flops on.  The idea of the law in itself is absolutely ridiculous.  I mean, your shoes would inhibit you from feeling things properly, don't you think?  Ehn...I don't need to argue points anymore.  I've been driving without shoes for several years now and I make no apology about it. I would rather go barefooted that have my poor feet suffocating in shoes any day and the Winter months are no different. I don't even like socks to be honest.

But are there benefits to walking barefooted?  On snow?

1. It promotes  greater oxygenation   throughout the body because it stimulates blood flow.
   
   
2. Promotes fat and toxin elimination, or the elimination of bad moods from the body.
   
   
3. Softens stress,  depressive  and neurotic states  because it strengthens the nervous system.
   
   
4. Activates good nutrition distribution throughout the body, helps the feet be stronger and to have greater vein resistance, along with preventing varicose veins.
   
   
5. Each time you press these points in your feet, the organs connected with these endings become energized and stimulated, helping better kidney, liver, intestines, stomach, spleen, etc. It also helps heal illnesses related to low energy or energy obstruction, making it circulate through energy channels called meridians
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6. Reflexology is one of the most effective alternative practices in regards to diseases.  This therapy consists of pressing the feet at certain points to decongest energy that is stuck and no longer flowing, which causes illnesses and an altered nervous system.  Walking is a natural way to exercise the feet, while at the same time helping energy to vitalize and heal the body.

Reflexology foot chart

The feet contain important nerve endings, which are used in alternative therapies like reflexology, acupuncture, foot acupressure, bioenergetics, etc., for healing and re-establishing energy flow throughout the body.  This removes repressed emotions that were blocked or unrecognized, that the body externalizes as illness, anxiety, anger, etc.

(​http://www.thejoyofwellness.net/walking-barefoot-benefits-in-health-and-beauty/)

25 Barefoot Benefits-All Year

1. By walking barefoot over open countryside, early man was inadvertently enjoying the benefits of reflexology, a therapeutic form of foot massage. (Self-Healing Techniques: Reflexology, The Complete Guide to Natural Healing)
2. Both ancient Chinese and Egyptian cultures extolled the healing effects of reflexology on the entire body. (Same source)
3. Benefits of Barefoot Walking − The best treatment for feet encased in shoes all day is to go barefoot. One-fifth of the world's population never wears shoes -- ever! But when people who usually go barefoot usually wear shoes, their feet begin to suffer. As often as possible, walk barefoot on the beach, in your yard, or at least around the house. Walking in the grass or sand massages your feet, strengthens your muscles and feels very relaxing...If you can cut back on wearing shoes by 30 percent, you will save wear and tear on your feet and extend the life of your shoes. (Natural Foot Care, Stephanie Tourles)
4. Observations from countries where barefoot activity is the norm indicates that planter skin eventually becomes robust and permits extremely long duration of barefoot locomotion at high average velocities, without sign of damage to plantar skin, or for that matter other lower extremity injuries. (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, Steven Robbins & Adel Hanna)
5. Modern athletic footwear provides...comfort when walking, running, or jumping. However, when injurious plantar loads elicit negligible perceived plantar discomfort, a perceptual illusion is created whereby perceived impact is lower than actual impact, which results in inadequate impact-moderating behavior and consequent injury. (Robbins, Hanna)
6. The foot is inherently durable, and, when (barefoot) it can endure running without signs of chronic overloading, because a vigilant system restrains shock. The use of modern athletic footwear....renders the lower extremity susceptible to injury because of the design flaws introduced by the preoccupation with the optimization of plantar comfort. (Robbins, Hanna)
7. The obvious solution to the problem of chronic overloading in shod runners is to promote barefoot running. (Robbins, Hanna)
8. When Sir Edmund Hillary made the first conquest of Mt. Everest in 1953, his Sherpa bearers were almost all barefooted, even well above the snow line. (The Barefoot Hiker, Richard Frazine)
9. Feet should be free and unfettered for at least 10 hours a day. (Tourles)
10. If possible, feet should be free and barefoot for at least 12 hours a day or more every day and most days should be barefoot at least 14 hours. The optimum range for barefoot living is 21 to 24 barefoot hours per day, weather permitting. (Tom Kutscher, barefoot walker, hiker and practitioner)
11. Practice walking barefoot on grass (to cure insomnia). (Disorders -- Cure for Insomnia, Corry Stuart's Herbal Healing website)
12. Ill-fitting shoes are the source of most foot problems. (Tourles, and many other sources)
13. The average temperature inside your shoes is 106 degrees (F). (Tourles, and other sources)
14. Your feet, just like the rest of your body, need to be toned and stretched in their natural state: barefoot. You don't wear your work clothes to run, walk, or go to the gym in do you? You wear something loose and comfortable. So why would your wear shoes when you exercise your feet? (Tourles)
15. Bare feet get the beneficial fungicidal effects of the sun's ultra-violet rays (when walking outdoors barefoot). (The Journal of the National Association of Chiropodists, Samuel Shulman)
16. Most foot fungi require dark, warm and damp interdigital spaces for growth such as that provided by shoes and stockings on a foot. (Shulman)
17. No instances among the barefoot (i.e. in India and China and countries with large numbers of people who never wore shoes) were found of Onchyrochryptosis, Hyperidrosis, Bromidrosis, Hallux Varus, or Bursitis. (Shulman; note these are all problems of the feet common in nations whose populations are usually shod)
18. Shoes are NOT necessary for healthy feet and are the cause of most foot troubles. (Shulman)
19. People who have NEVER worn shoes acquire very few foot defects, most of which are painless an non-debilitating. (Shulman)
20. A number of reports indicate the extremely low-related injury frequency in barefoot population in contrast to reports about shod populations. (Robbins, Hanna)
21. Footgear is the greatest enemy of the human foot. (Shulman and several others)
22. The reports that the authors received report a low frequency of plantar fasciitis in barefoot populations. (Robbins, Hanna)
23. The modern running shoe and footwear in general have successfully diminished sensory feedback without diminishing the injury impact, a dangerous situation. (Robbins, Hanna)
24. Barefoot-adapted (locomotion) differs from...shod subjects in that those barefoot adapted "grasp" with their digits when they walk. (Robbins, Hanna)
25. The ideal situation to the running related injury problem in shod populations lies in barefoot locomotion, since protective adaptations seem to be optimized for this state. ...Once adapted, the foot is extremely durable. (Robbins, Hanna)
    
    
    Want more?  125 benefits, just click the link! 
    
    http://www.barefootkc.com/benefits.html
    

You Can't Walk in Snow When You're Sick!

Actually, yes, yes I can and if anything it's helpful.  If my head is covered and the rest of my body is warm then there is absolutely no issue with me walking in the snow in bare feet.  Again, it's improving my circulation,  oxegenting my blood and making things work a bit better than normal.  I'm connecting to the Earth  and all of her majesty and she's feeding back to me, through my feet exactly what I need.   

I'm not telling anyone to go out for hours in the snow.  I'm suggesting a few minutes in the morning to get your day going.  A few minutes of taking some time to appreciate the world around you, invigorate you and  connect you to your surroundings.  

It doesn't matter what time of year it is.  I'm jumping in puddles, walking through my gardens, mucking about in mud puddles or walking 'round the yard, in the snow, in bare feet.  I wouldn't ever stop these small rituals.  They're a part of me and they're part of what makes me whole.


Have a great day and maybe dip your toe into some snow, I promise it won't hurt.