Where did you go barefoot today?

It's typical for the region I live in (central Western Germany), that a mild spell in winter is initiated by precipitation - mostly rain, but in this case snow, as well. A few snowflakes, falling on frozen ground, left a thin layer of about 1 centimeter - less than half an inch - of soft and fluffy snow on some sidewalks.
That was enough to provide a nice snowfooting experience underfoot without getting any snow on top of my bare feet. The early morning temperature was just at freezing level (0°C/32F), and the falling snow was already turning first to sleet and then to rain, as I stepped outdoors, making my way to the tram stop on bare soles. On a short part of the sidewalk, an over-zealous tenant had strewn salt to melt away the slight covering of snow - which provided the only unpleasant sensation, since I had to walk through small puddles of sub-freezing cold water. Nevertheless, the sensation of a short barefoot walk in snow was special and outweighed that small displeasure by far.

Of course, I left a trail of my trademark bare footprints at the tram stop, and since the snow was about to melt away fast, I took a picture of those:



Wiggling bare toes, looking forward to mild temperatures this coming weekend,

~*Ganesha*~

 

Today I went barefoot to a booksale sponsored by the library at a nearby town. Got a couple of glances in the hour or so I was in there and thats all. Got some nice bargains on books too.
Yesterday I got my taxes done barefoot in Walmart. Sat in the chair at the booth up front with my feet sticking out. Again just a couple of glances, no big deal.

 

Last Sunday, I went to the park to do my usual barefoot weekend stroll there - although with a slightly unusual twist: I had an appointment with two people wearing shoes, one being a local newspaper editor/reporter (who said, that she had come prepared to walk barefoot with me, but then decided against it, in only 5°C/40F rainy weather) and a photographer. And this happened because one week ago I met that reporter by chance, and she was curious as to why I walk barefoot, how long I've been doing this, etc., and then asked, whether I was interested in an interview. I casually replied "why not?" - and later on last week, an appointment for that was made.

The result is not that bad - I put up an English translation on my barefoot diary page, along with links to a PDF scan of the printed version, as well as the online version of the article... the scanned version has the better picture, though, IMO.


Other than that slightly noteworthy barefoot event, I went to and from work barefoot, as usual, and am going to do a little grocery shopping after work, barefoot, of course.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Ganesha*~

 

I am barefoot right now

 

Me too! :sunny:

 

With sunny days and temperatures rising near 10°C/50F, I took the opportunity to get outdoors during my breaks at the office, stepped out of my shoes (darn dress code necessity at work... ) and enjoyed the sunlit and noticably sun-warmed pavement underfoot.

The pre-spring sun already has enough power to warm up paved surfaces a little... and according to the forecasts, there are more sunny days underway - and a clear sky at nights, which means slight frost in the morning... two nice barefooting extremes in one package.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Ganesha*~

 

to the bathroom

 

Around my house, out on the porch, that's about it.
It's been ranging in the 30s/40s here, and there's still snow on the ground, I'm hoping for warmth soon!

 

car wash...grocery store...video store...bakery...bread store...liquor store...gas station...long walk.......(hey, it's 60 degrees; not since last YEAR!)...hoagie shop...mechanic...produce store....

 

Due to pain reasons, I went barefoot yesterday only for a short walk across the road...

Full story (from my barefoot diary):

March 4 - 6, 2011 - Fame can be painful...

Yes, indeed, sometimes it feels this way. When I posed for that picture in the printed version of that interview about me, I had to perch on the backrest of a park bench, and lean back, pull up my feet for a sole shot and hold that position for a while. I already felt that this was a strain for my back, and a few days later, I felt slight pain, just like from muscle tension.

That changed, however, when on Friday, at the office, I got up from my desk, and suddenly felt a pain like someone had taken a dagger and stabbed me... hello lumbago, not nice to meet you.

What I've noticed though is that walking barefoot lessened the back pain next to zero, when it was still in the slight phase. And before that stab set it, I spent one of the breaks at the office outdoors, on the sunlit parking lot, slipped out of my shoes and enjoyed the feeling of the sun-warmed pavement underfoot.

After the intense pain had set in, I was just able to move like an 80-year-old (or so it must've appeared), with pain stabbing at me on every step. I broke out in cold sweat (typical pain and shock reaction) at the slightest move. Even with painkillers taken, it still was excruciating. And when it was time to get out of the office, I did not think about taking off my shoes (yeah, right, bending down to take them off? No way!) to make my way home on bare feet. So, I walked very slowly to the bus stop, got on the bus and used one of those seats designated for the old and disabled (since the latter was true, I felt I had the right to do so...), and cherished the fact that it was a newer bus, with still OK shock absorbers. I also found me one of those seats when changing to the tram. On arriving at home, I felt the pain subsiding a little (very little, but still), so I could walk a little faster from the tram stop to my place and laid down in bed, finding a position where I could lie without too much pain.

On Saturday, I spent half of the day in bed, trying out different positions, but felt, that I had to get up at some point to get some things done - plus: nature's call was also to be answered. So, I carefully got up, and found that the pain had subsided to an occasional feeling of pressure, rather than the stabbing sort. So, as it is said in that proverb "hard work pays off" (in German it's more movement-oriented, saying "sich regen bringt Segen"), I tried out walking - barefoot, of course - in my apartment, then went down to the gas station just across the road to get some soda and other stuff (a full shopping trip was out of the question as yet), and felt to my relief, that indeed moving around and especially walking barefoot again worked as to lessen the back pain considerably.

Now, on Sunday, the pain has diminished a bit more (and I haven't taken any more painkillers since it set in on Friday). I have already put my laundry into the machine, enjoyed a little breakfast, and to heed that advice from the old proverbs quoted above, I will later on set out for a barefoot walk in the park - certainly without doing acrobatics on park benches!

And, as I posted this, I already had done the laundry, finished breakfast, walking barefoot around the house with only occasional minimal pain in my back... so, I will most certainly go on my usual Sunday walk in the park - even more so, since sun and blue skies are beckoning me to get out and feel sun-warmed surfaces with my bare soles - even though it's only about 5°C (40F) in the shade.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Ganesha*~

 

been looking seriously at the merits of barefoot running recently as Im training for a marathon. Im wondering whether it would be detrimental to do a mixture of shod and barefoot running or whether its better to stick to one type. anyone have thoughts on this? I did go for an unshod run on some local playing fields last week, it felt liberating as always and im definitely overcoming my shyness about being seen in public barefoot.

 

Paulo, I would either pick one or the other, or if you're really worried about going completely bare, there are a range of "minimalist" shoes out there now that have light amounts of sole so that you feel a bit more like you're running bare. If you do go back and forth, your muscles will just get all kinds of confused unless you use exactly the same form bare as you do shod, which is tricky because when you're bare you pick up a lot more sensation that helps you adjust your stride, and works your muscles differently as a result.

Don't worry as much about the shyness aspect. Barefoot running is becoming quite the trend, and people will be more curious than they will be judgmental. At least, that's been my experience. Good luck with your training.

 

If you're serious about barefoot running and training for a marathon, then I think it's better to go for it and start barefoot. (Running in minimalist shoes is NOT the same as truly running barefoot.) I don't know if I've given the website link for The Running Barefoot, but just in case I haven't, here it is:

http://therunningbarefoot.com/

Lots of good information there. Best of luck to you! :2thumbsup:

 

Spent The Whole Morning Walking All Over The C.B.D Paying Bills, And It Rained

Steadly All The Time...:2thumbsup:.

Although I Have Been A Fulltime Barefooter For Years, I Never Tire Of This Simple

Pleasure In Life, And Judging By Some Of The Smiles I Got I Guess Quite A Few People

Remembered Being Barefoot In The Rain When They Were Children....

I Am At A Loss To Understand Why When A Simple Little Thing Feels So Good,

More Peeps Don't Join Us.



Cheers Glen.

 

Most days it is sunny (somewhat of a rarity in winter where I am) I venture outside from the basement floor and then make way around the house, up a deck staircase to the top floor, and lay out my gemstone necklaces to the sun. Traipsing through the snow for a few seconds was fun.

No walks out and beyond. The spring-like ankle muscles currently barely work due to overdid-it leg stretches a week ago so gimpy flat-foot walking is all that's possible; nimbling up and down stairs is bad, and can't run at all.

So, uh, don't overdo any leg stretching. Ever.

 

I take very long walks---barefoot---to combine the atrocity of the one and the utter pleasure of the other. Otherwise, I'd pass for Orson Welles!

 

My girlfriend and I went for a long barefoot walk at a local park. Then hung out with some friends also barefoot. I'm kind of new to this so every new thing I do barefoot seems like a huge step forward.

 

And doesn't it feel just great to take these steps? Especially when getting positive feedback for being barefoot... that makes every barefoot step, as small as it might feel at first, a victory.
:2thumbsup:

Keep at it and enjoy it! Incidentally, a walk in the park was among the barefoot things I did on Saturday , as well...

Even though it was not Sunday, I took the opportunity of nice spring weather to take an extra walk in the park... of course, with the nice conditions forecast to last well into next week, Sunday will be another barefoot walk in the park day - and next week will have me wear flip-flops at work again, too.

But first things first. I started the day boosting my Buddha appearance even more by means of a razor, shaving off the 2 millimeters of hair left on my head. Around mid-day I got ready to go to town for some shopping and to continue the outdoor café season, this time visiting my usual café at the end of the shopping ped zone, right opposite the entrance of the Forum mall. Since I was not alone having the idea to enjoy a cup of coffee or some ice cream while sitting in the sun, most of the tables on the sunny side of the outdoor seating area were taken. I was alone, however, in being barefoot while sitting there. Even though the weather was inviting enough, no one else dared to bare his or her feet. Bad luck for those people - they never knew what they were missing... feeling warm sunlight on top of my feet as well as the warmth of sunlit pavement underfoot. A true delight, indeed.

After spending about an hour there, I decided that it was time to do the shopping I planned to do, this time with a stop at the drugstore, since I had to replenish my supplies in candles and buy a new can of foot care cream, which is called Fuß-Butter in German. Browsing a little through the cosmetics shelves, I found myself five new colors of nail polish to put onto my toe nails. The next stop afterwards was the usual supermarket trip.
After finishing my shopping, I went down to the underground subway/tram stop, taking a look at my soles to see, that urban barefooting indeed leaves bare soles quite black, in contrast to the rich brown Earth-color I get from my barefoot walks in the park or elsewhere on natural surfaces.



After arriving at home with my shopping bags, I saw that it was not too late in the afternoon and that the sun was still feeling warm enough to change into something more comfortable - swapping my cut-off cargo pants for a sarong-style purple piece of cotton cloth slung around my waist - and head off for a walk in the park to feel something more natural after spending more than an hour in the urban world...

And on sitting down on one of the park benches, basking in the sunlight, I lifted my left foot to take a look at my sole after walking on sand, soil and grass for a while, spotting the beautiful difference of an Earth-colored to an urban-colored bare sole at once... just like mainstream people, I would call a bare sole stained by urban barefooting "dirty", as well - but the color of Earth on my soles is something I would never refer to that way...



After relaxing in the sun, I walked a bit more on Mother Nature's bare skin, enjoying the different textures underfoot, and then stood still in one spot on the grass, feeling coolness and slight moisture of the soft ground beneath my bare soles, closed my eyes and did my breathing meditation exercise to draw good and positive power from the Earth while pushing off negative thoughts and feelings on exhaling. I ended this session by sending some of my own positive energy and love back into the Earth for others to draw from, whenever they might need it.

After this energizing experience, I gazed around, taking in the special mood of the late-afternoon sun lighting up the park in hues of gold.

After arriving at home, I went to do some household chores - still barefoot, of course - such as the laundry... and since I was indoors, and it was a bit warmer in there, I decided to put the impression of a large and happy barefoot Buddha to the max, by just wearing the sarong while going to our apartment house's laundry room in the sub-basement.



Going down there skyclad might have been a bit too daring, since I am certainly not living alone in that house, and also met some people on the way down, as well as a couple of people passing by the laundry room from the underground car park to the elevator.

After finishing my laundry, I was able to take off the sarong and remined skyclad for the rest of a nice barefoot day (including while writing this very entry). Barefoot plans for Sunday include another walk in the park - of course, I won't miss my regular barefoot Sunday hour of power - preceded by a barefoot visit at the movies, since there is a German film I wanted to see since it came out a few weeks ago: Dschungelkind (Jungle child), a film made from the autobiography of Sabine Kuegler, who came to the jungle of Papua with her family (Christian missionaries, with the father wishing to study an indigenous tribe called the Fayu) at the age of eight... judging from the press reports as well as trailers and pictures, she lived a barefoot life among the natives there.

And while the movie was produced, she was there as a consultant, happily going barefoot through the jungle as an adult, too. It seems that she still is a barefooter at heart and wherever she feels at home. That can also be seen in the picture gallery of her travels, including a return to the Fayu, the tribe depicted in the movie. I think, this is yet another movie that calls for being watched barefoot. And, of course, I should include that into my own little list of "barefoot movies" - note to myself: that one needs an overhaul anyway! And considering the setting of the movie (south-east Asia), the sarong style I wore today will be my clothing of choice for that on Sunday, too.

I finished the barefoot day by having a smoke on my little balcony before going to bed - I was barefoot, nude and basking in the light of a full moon. However, I did not stay outside for too long, since the clear sky that had made the sun shine brightly during the day now let all the warmth evade into thin air, making temperatures drop to almost frosty cold levels... not the best conditions to be skyclad outdoors for more than a few minutes...

I'm hoping for warmer days to arrive soon to be nude in nature again - nothing beats being barefoot all over outdoors on a sunny day (well, except for being there with other barefoot and skyclad kindred spirits).

(This is also an entry in my barefoot diary - there's more pictures in there, including a picture of Sabine Kuegler as a kid, barefoot with her Fayu friends).

Wiggling bare toes, looking forward to more barefooting on this Sunday, as the morning sun is shining through my window, promising another mild spring day fit for being barefoot,

~*Ganesha*~

 

Today, as intended, I went to the movies to watch Dschungelkind (literally translated The Jungle Kid), an autobiographical movie about the childhood and youth of Sabine Kuegler who went to live with her parents - her father being a linguist, her mother a nurse and both Christian missionaries - in the jungles of Papua, studying a native tribe called Fayu.

As I had seen in pictures of Sabine on her web site and read about the movie, she was adopting some traits of the natives, such as ditching shoes very early, being almost as constantly barefoot as the tribe's children, as can be seen here:



That is an actual picture of young Sabine, not taken from the movie, BTW.

As planned, I was wearing a purple sarong, with my favourite Ganesha print t-shirt and my usual hooded jacket, while displaying my bare feet, fully adourned with six toe rings, several anklets and brightly colored toe nails, too... a barefoot hippie's Sunday best, again, so to speak. Of course, I received "The Look"® quite a few times, but no one hassled me - including the personnel at the movie theater... they were as professional as one might expect when treating a paying customer.

The movie was very intense to watch, especially thinking about yet another indigenous people being in danger of becoming extinct and the wondrous world they live in being in danger. In order to help the Fayu and to stop over-development in their habitat, Sabine Kuegler returned to them in 2005, still showing that she is a barefooter at heart, wishing to feel the jungle around her the natural way:





Again, those aren't pictures or stills from a work of fiction, but the real person and her bare feet in the jungle...

The movie starts with a scene of a young woman in winter, wading through calf-deep snow, wearing Wellingtons (rubber boots, for the non-British), then stopping, pulling the boots off her feet and continuing on her bare feet, while saying "I have a story to tell..."

Yes, this definitely is a movie that has to be watched barefoot, IMO.

Now, after returning home and having a coffee, I am getting ready to go out to the park, soak up some late afternoon sun and feel a bit of nature underfoot... not quite the jungle I would have loved to be in like she did, but at least something natural to evade the urban and artifical world a little bit.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Ganesha*~

 

To get my mail. It was 34 degrees and raining. Not a lot of fun.