If you’ve ever watched a yoga Youtube video or been at a yoga class yourself, you’ve probably noticed that many people tend to take off their socks and do yoga barefoot. Why is this? And is it an all time rule? Let’s look into the pros and cons of wearing sock vs doing yoga barefoot.
Advantages for practicing yoga barefoot
- Helps you using all the feet muscles and bones more consciously and with awareness
- Works on your foot balancing and stability
- Allows your feet and toes to spread
- Strengthens and stretches your feet muscles
- Provides a better grip on your mat
- Sense your own feet and their relation and connection to the ground
- Practice your posture and weight distribution on your feet
- Allows the teachers to see your foot alignment better
Advantages for using yoga or toe socks
- Keep you warm
- Protect you from cold, heat and other disturbances, such as stones, branches, leaves, insects
- In some cases, allow a better hold on the mat, especially if they have grips
- In case of medical issues or reasons for embarrassment or respect for others, it might make sense to cover your feet.
- If you have sweaty feet that easily slip on the mat
Whether you practice yoga barefoot or use yoga socks, the first and foremost importance is that you feel comfortable in your practice. Just because everyone else in the studio is practicing yoga barefoot, it does not mean that you should feel awkward or ashamed wearing socks.
Doing Yoga Barefoot
When you enter a yoga class, whether it is inside a studio or outdoors, the generally accepted standard is practicing yoga barefoot. There are many reasons for that: one advantage is that the teacher can see what you’re doing with your feet. The position of feet is very important in standing poses. They can see if you are lifting from the inner ankle in some poses, for example. Or if you are pushing down the inner sole too much which is often the case for those with flat feet.
The other advantage is that you don’t have an obstacle between your feet and your mat, or the ground. You get to connect with the ground beneath you, physically and energetically speaking, if you are barefoot. And for other ways to ground and center yourself, check this article on 22 ways to center emotionally and spiritually. Also, doing yoga barefoot brings you greater strength and better balance. Another big reason is that socks can be slippery. So, you might injure yourself during practice.
The thing about human feet is that they used to be more agile because people didn’t wear shoes and socks as much. When you don’t wear socks, you can feel the surface of the ground better, and it gives a little massage to your feet. Much has been written about the benefits of walking and running barefoot. Your feet develop a natural gait, learn how to use your feet muscles and bones again, increase your awareness of your body in space, improve blood pressure and balance without support. The foot is an organ of touch, movement and support and often overlooked or underappreciated when it comes to all the work it does for us on a daily basis.
Connection to the Ground
It is almost logical and natural to practice yoga barefoot, as you want to connect to the ground and your body as much as possible during your yoga practice. Let us look at the famous Mountain Pose, also called Tadasana or Samasthiti. It is a standing pose and usually the first one to start your yoga practice. Did you know that your posture depends on how you distribute your weight on your feet? Your whole body needs to be engaged and aware while your mind stays relaxed and focused. Some teachers prefer to have the feet close together, while others tell their students to have them hip-width or shoulder-width apart. The weight should be evenly distributed on your big toe, little toe and heel.
One important part that is often overlooked are the arches of the feet. They function like a spring, absorbing force and shock and a lever during movement. The metatarsus of the foot consist of five long bones and help form the arches. The first metatarsal bears about 30-50% of weight during walking.
Other earth-connecting poses in Yoga where the placement and awareness of the feet bear a lot of importance are Warrior I Pose (Virabhadrasana 1), Tree Pose (Vriksasana) and Eagle Pose (Garudasana). Some poses such as Baddha Padmasana (Locked Lotus) or Padangusasana require you to hold onto your big toe with your fingers, so it makes sense to do your yoga practice barefoot.
Energetic Connection
Energetically speaking, our feet connect us to the earth, whereas the head rises up to the sky. Energy flows through our bodies, and your body is a conduit of energy, whether it is physical, emotional or mental. These energy channels are called nadis or meridians and are widely used in Acupressure, Acupuncture, Ayurveda, Reiki, and Chinese and Tibetan medicine. Along these Eastern philosophies and practices, Yoga is such a wonderful practice, because compared to fitness gyms and many other common sport activities, Yoga is usually practiced barefoot. And to look into which type of yoga might be your thing, take a look at this post.
It is also important to bear in mind that many in the Western World of us spend most of our time with our feet covered in socks, sandals or shoes. A yoga practice without feet allows your feet to breathe, stretch and expand. For many, it is liberating and energizing but at the same time, also humbling. You are vulnerable and accept your body as it is.
So now that we have most of the advantages of practicing yoga barefoot, are there any disadvantages that we should be aware of?
Doing Yoga With Socks
For some people, their feet are an intimate part of their bodies. It is, after all, an organ that we often hide in shoes and socks, so exposing them in front of others or a teacher, who might give adjustments, might give them a feeling of embarrassment and insecurity. Some people might also be worried about contracting diseases or fungi while walking barefoot in a studio, which might be unhygienic. It also goes the other way round. If you don’t take good care of your feet, or tend to have smelly feet or some foot disease, practicing yoga barefoot might be a challenge.
Or, when practicing outdoors, there are elements in nature which might hurt the feet unaccustomed to being exposed, such as branches, sharp leaves or stones, insects or animals. There is also the factor of temperature to take into consideration. If you are cold or your feet especially tend to get cold quite easily, or you are on a ground that is hot, you want to protect your feet. In any of these cases, it is sensible to wear socks.
Types of Yoga Socks
What type of socks should you consider? I would recommend toe socks, which are not only available for yoga practice but also for people walking or hiking and trying to maintain the feeling of ‘walking barefoot’ as much as possible. Wearing socks in class can also have an advantage of preventing slipping and sliding, which often happens when the mat is not grippy enough/anymore or your feet are so sweaty that they cannot get a good hold on the mat anymore. Wearing socks help you getting a good grip on the mat.
Toe socks are also useful in different asanas where you have to get hold of your toes. Wearing yoga socks also protect you from eventual germs, if you use a communal yoga mat. Bear in mind, though, that there are several other body parts that touch the mat so it is good practice to clean the mat before and after use with wipes. Many yoga studios offer anti-bacterial spray or a vinegar-solution with essential oils that people can use for the yoga mats. There are many other advantages that, depending on your own situation and circumstances, might make more sense to you than practicing yoga barefoot.
Conclusion
From my personal experience, it took some time to get used to practicing yoga barefoot. When I started some years ago, I never took great care of my feet because they were always in socks or shoes anyway, especially since I lived in a colder climate. It was my first practice or interest that involved meditation and movement, compared to other sports or hobbies where you don’t focus on your body and your mind. Practicing yoga in class with other people around me and exposing my feet, I became aware of how much I had neglected them. I did not bother moisturizing them or exfoliating the soles, so my feet always looked rough and dry.
Yoga is not only about doing a sequence of asanas and trying to have a perfect alignment with maximum flexibility, but it is a lifestyle and consciousness that extends to self-care and self-loving. Yoga continues outside the mat, when you don’t judge yourself according to your asanas but on your mindfulness and awareness. I am grateful that yoga is practiced barefoot, but I would not hesitate using socks if the circumstances call for them. What about you? Has your yoga practice, whether barefoot or in socks, changed the way you view your body? Have you noticed a difference in your awareness when practicing barefoot?
To see what types of yoga are there, and which one might be best for you, head over here.
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Tatjana Glogovac, Senior Contributor At L’Aquila Active
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