why i walk barefoot in the woods in winter

and why everyone else should too

The weather app said it was above freezing, but the lack of friction holding my shoes to the hard white ground said it was lying. I slipped and struggled my way up to the top of the trails behind my dorm building where the snow had melted and the leaves were fairly dry. Then I took off my shoes, socks, and headphones. This afternoon I had decided to escape the beginning semester crush of my to-do list and the cloud of sickness that seems to have settled over the entire first year class. So I found myself barefoot in the middle of the woods as the sun went down.

I wouldn’t say the workload of college hit me like a brick, but maybe more like the thick stack of papers I was suddenly required to read every night. It was certainly an adjustment, and that’s not even mentioning the 2 am nights out Thursday through Saturday. This new college lifestyle was always moving, always doing something to then start doing something else. I need a way to slow myself down and reconnect to the things in life that may not fall on my agenda but are important all the same.

Forest bathing is a practice that originated in Japan. It involves more than just spending time in the woods, but being quiet and truly present in the natural world surrounding you. I have always used hiking and nature walks as a sort of meditation practice, but often I’ll be listening to music or even with another person. Furthermore, I have never taken my shoes off. I wanted to try a new experience, one where I can have a deeper awareness of my consciousness. On the suggestion of one of my professors, I decided to try a barefoot forest walk.

Music off, shoes off, I started walking, careful to avoid the snow on the ground. As there was suddenly nothing between my skin and the forest floor, I began to feel a strong connectedness to the woods around me. But that’s not all. I truly felt like my senses and thoughts were clearer, easier for me to understand. Physically, walking barefoot can help with body awareness, reducing pain, and other walking-related mechanical improvements, such as movement of the hip and knee. Mentally, barefoot walking, also known as earthing or grounding, can improve sleep and decrease stress. It can also increase mindfulness–exactly what I need to work on. It forces you to be in the present with a deeper awareness, more in tune with what is happening around you.

Experiences like this are important to me as a reminder that I am actually part of the natural world, not separate like many aspects of modern human society may lead one to believe. When I am walking through the woods, I am just as connected to the earth as the trees towering over me. As a hopeful Environmental Thought and Practice major, I also view the experience as a clear example of why the wild parts of our planet need protecting, and why staying in tune with our own naturalness can be extremely beneficial to staying both physically and mentally well.

Since this shoeless venture on the trails, I have been back a few more times, whenever I need a way to slow things down. I know this specific activity won’t have the same effect for everyone, but I would encourage everyone to try it out. There is always room for us to strengthen our relationship with the natural world. In my experience, through grounding myself literally and figuratively, I have discovered a strategy to handle the hectic stress of college life and societal pressures. I have found that the path to centering myself in the present is walked slowly, quietly, observantly, and without shoes.

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so i wrote this originally as an application piece for my school’s newspaper (i got it!), so that’s why it sounds a little formulaic, but i thought it might be something interesting to share here

please share with me your thoughts about grounding and walking barefoot, it’s one of my new favorite things