Benefits of Barefoot Gardening

Do you know that each foot contains up to 200,000 nerve endings, and our feet are sensory organs that
are designed to touch the ground? Yes, that’s true! Patrick McKeon - Ithaca College’s School of Health Sciences
and Human Performance professor states that barefoot activities can improve balance and posture and prevent
injuries like shin splints, stress fractures, and bursitis.

The safest and enjoyable way to go barefoot often is barefoot gardening. You could create a
barefoot-friendly yard and enjoy benefits like:

Stretch and strengthen the feet muscles, ligaments and tendons.
Strengthen small muscles that in the feet that, in turn, communicate with large muscles in the feet and stabilize the body.
Improve sleep patterns.
Improve mental health, decrease anxiety and depression.
Enhance body’s unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation.
Load the joints less and prevent osteoarthritis.
Restore gait.
Improve balance.
Prevent foot and ankle injuries.
Help children develop healthy feet and arches.

Watch the video to know more Benefits of Barefoot Gardening.

Designing a Barefoot Garden

Barefoot gardens date back to thousands of years. Europeans through their barefoot gardens have been giving
people a chance to experience the perks of walking barefoot. At Barfußpfad in Germany, visitors walk barefoot
about two-miles across various textures, pinecones, grass, sand, stones, mud, loam, logs, and a river.

You can easily make your barefoot garden with landscaping materials of your choice. If you have a lawn,
you already have grass that is pretty soothing for walking bare feet. You could also opt for creeping perennials,
creeping groundcovers, and Irish moss; these can surround stepping stones and garden areas. You could also
use all time favourites - Sand, stones, and pea gravel. Also known as “stepables” or “walkable”, they require less
water and care than grass.

Avoid materials that will hurt your feet like sharp gravel and fir bark mulch.

You can get all the supplies for creating a Barefoot Garden at Ugaoo like: