You know that feeling you get when you walk barefoot on your lawn or on the beach?  For me, the rich texture of the earth, the grass, or the sand massaging my soles has a way of making me feel connected to nature around me and brings a comforting “sixth sense” to my perception of being.  When was the last time you walked barefoot?  Take a moment today, and follow these six steps:

1. Take off your shoes

That’s right.  Take ‘em off, even though they’re seen as essential by our culture (read: no shirt, no shoes … you know the rest).  Your brain will enjoy just taking a break from the usual.

2. Walk!

Walk on grass, walk on leaves, walk on sand.  Choose anything comfortable with a really interesting texture.  It could be a road, a sidewalk, the bottom of a stream, a track, or even a shag carpet!  Enjoy the textures as they change beneath your feet.

3. Roll your feet the way they were meant to.

When barefoot, you can take big steps, rolling smoothly from heel to toe and bending your whole foot as you push off for the next step.  Try making this movement with your shoes, and you’ll find it’s impossible!  Love it.  Love the natural walk.

4. Stand still.

Stop… close your eyes.  Concentrate on the barely perceptible movements beneath your feet.  Try to visualize each texture – each blade of grass – each temperature against the soles of your feet.  These are rarely experienced sensations, and your heart and soul should open up very quickly to enjoy them.  What a rejuvenating experience!

5. Wiggle your toes.

This is another way of really enjoying the freedom you have outside of the shoe.  Spread your toes as wide as you can.  You’ll feel air currents and textures even between them, right down to the super-sensitive webbing between your toes.  This sort of sensation is what your toes were meant to give you; it’s a feedback from the way you walk as critical to our experience as that from our fingers when we type or hold hands.

6. Share!

Find a friend!  Bring them into the calm, open experience you are having, wherever you are having it.  Talk about how it feels.  Doing so will connect your system of sensations and perceptions with your system of intellect and understanding – leading both of you to a deeper and more fully felt experience.

So get out there and start nurturing yourself from the toes up.  Then don’t forget to come back and share your experience here!

(Photo credit: zen)

Related posts:

Day 5

Would you want somebody to walk a mile in your shoes knowing how bad they smell?

8 Amazing Big Toe Facts

How to Connect With Your Core

Qualify Yourself