How to Transition from Regular Shoes to Barefoot Shoes

As physiotherapist Marii Meinberg mentioned in our interview, barefoot shoes are suitable for everyone. All you need is some preparation before purchasing and wearing them daily.

Start with Simple Adjustments and Foot Exercises

Walking in barefoot shoes differs from walking in regular shoes due to the distinct characteristics of each. Your body’s alignment and walking pattern, which have adapted to regular shoes, need to adjust before you even put on barefoot shoes.

Walk Barefoot as Much as Possible

The easiest way to prepare your body for barefoot shoes is by taking off your regular shoes. Ditch slippers indoors and, if possible, socks too. Walk barefoot on grass and moss, but also give your feet the chance to experience surfaces like asphalt, gravel, mulch, sand, pinecones, and roots. Even snow and ice!

If you’re not used to walking barefoot outdoors or on different textures, your feet might feel very sensitive at first, and you may even experience some pain. Try to enjoy these first experiences by massaging your soles on rough asphalt and using your toes to push through the sand.

Incorporate Foot Exercises into Daily Tasks

You can do foot exercises while brushing your teeth, watching TV, cleaning, reading a book, eating at the table, or walking on the street, even while playing with your child at the playground. The following exercises are suitable for all ages, including expectant mothers and small children!

• Stand on one foot at a time (this works well while brushing your teeth – switch hands too 😉).
• Stand with your feet hip-width apart so that all your toes are pointing straight ahead (this may mean your big toes are slightly inward), and rise onto the balls of your feet. Pay attention to ensure your ankles don’t roll outward or inward, and keep them in line with your knees! Lift onto your toes and lower back down. Can you feel your calf, thigh, and glute muscles activating?
• Crumple a towel on the floor with your toes. It’s easier to do while sitting.
• Stand barefoot or in barefoot shoes on a step, doorframe, or curb with your toes on the edge, so your heels hang off. Lift and lower your heels alternately. This will help stretch your calf muscles, which may have shortened due to regular shoe heel height.
• Sit on a chair or sofa with your feet flat on the floor. Lift your toes up while keeping your heels down, then lower them back down. Repeat this until it feels comfortable.
• If the previous exercise is easy, try lifting only your big toes while keeping the small toes on the ground. Then, reverse it: lift the small toes and keep the big toes on the ground.
• If this is still easy, try lifting each toe off the ground, one at a time, starting with the big toe. Similarly, try lowering each toe individually.
• Pick up small items from the floor with your toes—pencils, toys, balls, glue sticks, anything you find around the house! You can also do this outside, picking up pinecones, grains of sand, or small stones and piling them together.

Massage Your Feet

Massaging the soles of your feet helps open up joints and bones, creating space for the foot muscles that may have been dormant due to wearing regular shoes, and improves circulation in your feet.

Use surfaces with different textures for your massage—crumpled towels, sand, gravel, asphalt, or branches. Indoors, a small ball (like a golf or tennis ball) is very convenient for massaging, rolling it under your foot while seated or standing.

You can also use your hands for massaging! Sit on the floor or a chair/sofa, and place one foot on your lap. Rub your foot from heel to big toe, then from heel to each toe, continuing until you’ve massaged the whole sole. If your left foot is in your lap, use your right hand to interlace your fingers between the toes (and vice versa). If it’s painful, focus on massaging the arch and toes separately, and try again later. Try to interlace your toes with your fingers daily until it becomes comfortable.

Once you’ve become familiar with interlacing your toes, move them up and down, making figure-eight motions, while massaging your foot with your other hand from the heel along the joints to the toes.

When you’ve finished massaging one foot, place both feet side by side and compare them. One foot will look alive and vibrant, while the other may appear dull! 🙂

Your First Walk in Barefoot Shoes

If you can’t wait to go outside and walk in barefoot shoes, follow these steps:

• Start with a short walk. 10-30 minutes may be enough.
• Try walking at both a slow and fast pace.
• Remember: push off with your back foot and land softly with your front foot.
• When walking, touch the ground first with your heel, then the middle of the foot, and finally the ball of the foot, from which you push off.
• Look far ahead as you walk, not at the shoes.
• Take it easy for the first week or two, gradually increasing the amount of time spent in barefoot shoes.

Note! Don’t attempt long shopping trips or city tours on your first walk!