Walking barefoot

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

In those days, children received the right to wear shoes only from the age of 18. And Socrates, Seneca and other philosophers considered walking barefoot to be an excellent means of sharpening mental abilities.

Physiologists have proven that the sole is one of the most powerful reflexogenic zones. There are 1.5 times more mechano- and thermoreceptors on 1 square centimeter of the sole than on 1 square centimeter of other areas of the skin. This is confirmed by the studies of Professor I. I. Tikhomirov and the English scientist D. R. Kenshalo, who, using cold and hot needles, determined the number of heat and cold spots on human skin.

Shoes, which we wear all our lives, create a constant comfortable microclimate for the feet, and the function of the sole receptors gradually decreases, cooling of the feet causes a cold.

Indeed, there is a close reflex connection between the sole and the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract: with local cooling of the legs, the temperature of the nasopharyngeal mucosa decreases, after which an unhardened person may experience a runny nose and cough.

An interesting experiment was carried out by physiologists M. E. Marshak and N. K. Vereshchagin. A group of men, who had not been hardened before, stood barefoot on the cold cement floor for 10 minutes every day. This went on for 10 days. As expected, in. the first days everyone began to sneeze and cough, but gradually by the end of the experiment, the manifestations of the common cold disappeared. The body has adapted to local cooling.

The fact is that walking barefoot increases the activity of thermo- and mechanoreceptors of the sole. This was proved by the experiments carried out in Voronezh by specialists under the general supervision of Professor I. D. Boenko. The subjects, in particular, dipped one leg into the water, the temperature of which was +4 degrees. At the same time, the temperature of the skin of the other foot was measured with a special semiconductor electrothermometer. It turned out that in those who had been tempered by bare feet for more than a year, the cooling of one leg was accompanied by a persistent increase in the temperature of the other, while in the group of non-hardened people the same indicator increased for a short time and then fell sharply below the initial level. These studies clearly prove the improvement of thermoregulatory mechanisms in people who have undergone a course of local hardening of the legs.

Similar results were obtained from other comprehensive studies of 250 participants in health groups who systematically include walking barefoot in their activities. There is reason to believe that walking barefoot helped to increase the mobility of their neuromuscular processes, normalize and stabilize blood pressure, improve oxidative processes in the body, in particular, oxygenation of tissues.

And besides, all the participants in the health group noted that it was pleasant for them to walk barefoot. To the question of the questionnaire: “What do you feel while doing this?” - we received mostly the same type of answers: “The mood is rising. It gets more fun. There is a desire to sing”.

Spontaneous awakening of positive emotions is of great importance for the prevention of many "diseases of the century", in particular hypertension, angina pectoris, etc., provoked by all kinds of stresses. It is no coincidence that sanatoriums are popular in various countries in which dosed walking with bare feet on various soil (asphalt path with alternating hot and cold surfaces, artificial ice, stubble, sand, stones, grass) is successfully used as a means of treating cardiovascular, nervous and even mental illness.

We must not forget that walking barefoot allows you to prevent and treat all kinds of foot deformities, in particular flat feet and subluxation of the big toe. It is known that in countries where residents go barefoot a lot (in India, Vietnam, Indonesia), doctors hardly encounter such orthopedic pathology.

We often hear that when walking barefoot, you can become infected with epidermophytosis. However, experts in skin diseases argue that the causative agents of this disease are more dangerous just for the pampered legs.

As with all types of physical training, hardening by walking barefoot should be gradual and systematic. It is best to start with walking in a warm room on a carpet or rug, then on a wooden floor, later on a tiled floor, and with the onset of warm days, go outside without fear of weather changes. In the early days, it is enough to limit the hardening time to 15-30 minutes, gradually increasing the duration of the workout. It is not bad to spank barefoot and in warm puddles, as the onset of winter after sufficient preparation to run for 1-2 minutes in the snow. It is useful to combine this type of hardening with daily foot baths, consistently lowering the temperature of the water, and then doing baths with cold and hot water. Baths with a contrasting temperature enhance the hardening effect.

As shown by electroencephalographic studies, different types of soil cause different reactions of the nerve centers.

Snow, ice, hot sand and asphalt, sharp stones and slag, bumps or pine needles act as strong irritants. On the contrary, warm sand, soft grass, road dust, and indoor carpet have a calming effect.

With this in mind, it is recommended, if possible, to go to the grass after warm sand, then suffer the tingling of freshly cut stubble and finish the workout on an earthen path and in soft road dust. In the city, you can combine barefoot climbing on indoor floors, stone stairs, snow and ice (return home in reverse order), ending your workout to warm up with a few physical exercises. Everyone, if desired, can make up various combinations for themselves.

Of course, systematic walking barefoot requires adherence to certain hygiene rules. Obviously, there is no need to explain why after each workout you need to wash your feet, preferably with water at room temperature, preferably with soap and a brush, especially carefully rubbing the skin between your toes.

It is best to get used to being barefoot from childhood. The well-known specialist in physiotherapy exercises Professor S. M. Ivanov believes that children of all ages are at home, and in the summer, if possible, outside the city, on a park, on a green lawn, it is better to walk without shoes. Children should be taught to walk barefoot consistently and gradually. It is not at all necessary to wear stockings and tights all day, and rubber sneakers, sneakers and slippers are permissible only during sports.

Of course, we are not for a complete rejection of shoes. And we didn't want the reader to think that we are advocating for people to forget about shoes altogether and go barefoot. No, we only urge to use every opportunity to temper the body with the help of such an effective means as walking barefoot. Don't miss this opportunity. Feel the pleasure and joy of the touch of the dewy grass or the cool on a hot day of loose sand, enveloping velvet earth dust!

The phenomenon of walking on fire (research by Koltsov I. E.)

For many, dances and people walking on fire and hot coals without getting burned legs remain an inexplicable mystery. At the same time, the temperature of the coal bed is within 300 ºC. Pieces of leather thrown on these coals are instantly charred. The Bulgarian dancers themselves (fire dancers) attribute their abilities to gradual training. With the sounds of music, before the dance begins, they have the feeling that blood is leaving their legs, their feet seem to be stiff, and they themselves, as in a dream, are flying over the red-hot earth.

Similar walking on the hot earth and stones is observed among other peoples of the planet. So, on the Fiji Islands in the Pacific Ocean, the local population conducts a special colorful ceremony of testing by fire, which has been cultivated here for centuries. In Fiji, ritual dances are performed by dancers (asthenarids) on hot pieces of basalt.

In order to clarify the mystery of this process, the German physicist F. Karger used a scientific approach in the study. Before the ceremony began, he applied a layer of temperature-sensitive indicator paint to the soles of one of the dancers. The surface of the pieces of basalt, on which the participants of the ceremony walked, was also covered with a similar paint. According to the color changes of the indicator (paint), it was established that the highest temperature of stones in the places of contact with the dancer's sole was about 330 ºC, and the color of the dancer's painted sole was not more than 83 ºC. There were no burn marks on the soles of my feet.

Human skin is at the forefront of the body's defense against external destructive influences. In fact, invisible subtle bodies and energy fields are involved in the protection of the physical body, which are hardly explored. In Russia, in the Urals, before the XX century. a more mysterious method of protecting smelters from molten metal was practiced. The metallurgist underwent special training. During the training, a person had to master the ability to create an energy mitten, felt boots, around an arm or leg. When initiated into the title of master, he had to lower his hand for a moment into a ladle of metal without getting burned. In case of failure, the burn was removed by the initiates who supervised the trial. Learning these abilities was passed down from generation to generation hereditarily.

It is known that a person consists of a physical body and invisible subtle structures that together provide our vital activity from birth to death. In extreme conditions, all of them are automatically and consistently mobilized to protect the body from external influences.

Before the fire-dancers (asthenarids) go on fire, they internally tune in to the extremeness of the dance, thereby at a subconscious level, the whole organism is restructured with the inclusion of protective mechanisms.

Our research shows that when dancing around the dancer, a protective field becomes denser, and an additional protective energy shell is formed around the aura, descending from the feet into the ground to 0.5 m and more. Subtle energy bodies (mental, casual, etc.) also condense around the physical body. Energy restructuring occurs in the legs, especially in the area of the feet and calves. In addition, a multi-layer (up to 7 layers) energy cushion ("felt boot") is formed under the feet, which ensures the safety of the legs from high temperatures. An important role is played by the grounded part of the aura under the feet, through which the flow of earthly energy flows to the feet. This is recorded by the instrument.

The defense system of the human body is observed in a somewhat different way when it runs on snow (ice). In this case, his aura becomes denser, decreasing in size around the physical body. The subtle energy systems also decrease, and the energy protection of the lower part of the legs is formed. A multi-layer energy cushion is formed under each foot, which protects the legs from hypothermia. The lower part of the aura is significantly lowered down to the ground, to the place of danger. Blood flows to the legs. The legs seem to be on fire. In this case, the main stream to a person from the outside comes from space to the head. The protective field is also compacted in height and horizontally, but not completely (see Fig.).