Sensitivity and outdoor barefooting

natural terrain feels great on the feet. you get a little bit of decreased sensitivity. I embrace and enjoy the feeling of the earth beneath my feet.

 

I agree! Nothing better than feeling the wooded path beneath my feet. In my experience, your feet adapt.

 

Walking barefoot on natural terrain is a great begiining path (literally) to barefooting. You get the splendors of all kinds of soft sufaces---dirt, grass, moss, mud (MUD!!!!)---and the occasional challenge of (OOPS!) branches, pine cones, nuts, stones. If you're new to outdoor barefooting, it will FEEL FABULOUS and will make you want to have at it more and more. As with ANYTHING physical, JUST TAKE IT SLOW. Rome wasn't etc. Natural terrain is a natural high.

 

it's not sensitivity that wears out, only the discomfortful part of it decreases. when i poke the sole of my foot with a finger i can feel the lightest touch, and i've been barefoot around for years now. when an unsensitive spot builds usually it means that part needs pumicing to peel off dead skin.

 

My feet are rather immune to the Earth I walk on, but I only barefoot part of the year because I could never do it in the winter months...

But I take care of the bottoms of my feet really well...they are pretty sensitive after a good foot bath and scraping, but tend to harden back up when I walk outside for a few days.

So, I say the sensitivity all depends on what kind of callus buildup/care you provide for your feet...

 

I live in a fairly urban area and dont get to run barefoot that often so I struggle running on anything other than grass or smooth concrete, im in agony on roads and rough pavements. Sensitivity levels are still to high ;(

 

Well, I think some may be misunderstand the OP's concern. She doesn't seem to be worrying about how long it will take to get used to walking barefoot outdoors, but rather how sensitive her soles will be once she is used to walking barefoot outdoors. Once her soles are "tough enough" to handle outdoor walking with no problems, will they still be "sensitive enough" to be useful as tools in her trade of Shiatsu and Thai massage?

Unfortunately, while I can rephrase the question more (I hope) clearly, I can't really answer it, as I don't require that kind of sensitivity in my soles and therefore wouldn't really notice if it were absent. I have found that although, as jagerhans stated, the "discomfortful" (is that a made-up word?) parts have decreased greatly, my soles are still quite sensitive. I have not noticed any loss of sensitivity. But I never needed the kind of sensitivity you refer to OP, so I don't know how useful that info will be for you.

Of course, while you may not want to risk losing some ability in your occupation, I would think that if you did find your sole sensitivity going the way of the dodo, you could probably get it all back by putting your shoes back on. Whether you will want to at that point, after getting a taste of the good (unshod) life, is a question of willpower, dedication to your career, and of course, psychic ability (of which I have none).

I say give it a try, but there are extra risks for you that don't really apply to the rest of us, so you must make up your own mind.

 

nope, just the word uncomfortable wrecked by my memory...

 

Ah. :2thumbsup:

 

i can, definitely. i can tell on what carpet of my house im standing over without looking.

 

After being a barefooter in the mild seasons for about 25 years now (plus a winter barefooter for about 10 years, too) - and my soles being quite trained for urban as well as nature barefoot walking - I can attest from my experience, that my soles still are quite sensitive to touch and massage. The latter is especially true, when massage oils and lotions are applied onto them, which will soften up the soles, making them very susceptible to everything ranging from soft touch to thorough kneading (those muscles in your feet need to get a good workout, after all! ).

And yet, even though my soles have that leathery toughness in the places where they touch the ground, I still feel differences in textures, such as Drumminmama asked about the difference in the texture of different rocks... and that's one of my main reasons for walking barefoot, too: being able to be in touch (literally) with the world around me and feeling Mother Earth's energy flow up inside me via the bottoms of my bare feet.

Wiggling tough but sensitive bare toes,

~*Ganesha*~

 

I agree, sensitivity remains. The other day I was in a hardware store where the floors have probably never been cleaned. You could actually feel the grit you were walking on.

 

some surfaces feel very funny. your feet when bare represent a perpetual source of feelings. using it will likely make your feet smarter at sorting tactile inputs instead of the opposite.

 

My feet are tough enough to spend much of the day walking and working on gravel paths, but they are still quite ticklish...

 

I've hiked alot in forests and mountain trails and always like experiencing the different textures and terrain underfoot, and you definitely get will get used to it more and more. The only thing de-sensitizing is when the weather gets cold. Then the bottoms of your feet tend to be less sensitive to the ground and whatever is there, so you have to be careful, especially if you are out for a longer time in winter and feel any numbness.

 

I like walking barefoot, but it's so difficult to get my feet desensitized enough that I can walk outside without pain.

When I am able to, I prefer walking barefoot when totally naked in the woods. That's awesome!