One thing that always catches my attention when I travel to India is the number of times I take off my shoes in a day — when you enter someone’s house or a place of worship, you go in barefoot (No wonder so many people are in flip-flops or sandals, not only are they better for the warmer climate but so much easier to take off than lace-up shoes!)

Whether this practice is due to hygiene considerations or a sign of respect, one thing is for sure. Your feet make contact with the floor.  This is something I talk about with all my clients. Walking barefoot helps not only with foot or ankle problems but it can help address overall balance issues and even posture. Modern footwear often limits the natural movement of our feet, leading to issues like bunions, plantar fasciitis, and more.

Give your feet the freedom they deserve by incorporating barefoot walking into your daily routine. If being barefoot is new to you, start small. Walk for just a few minutes without your shoes.  If you find walking on bare floor too uncomfortable, try walking on a carpet — the idea is to get the feet to make contact with the floor and to get them to move freely, without the constriction of shoes.

The foot is a complex structure with 26 bones and 33 joints, and more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments. All of these work together and make small adjustments so that our feet can bear our weight and move at the same time — not an easy task! Help your feet, kick off your shoes for a bit!