Barefoot in training and daily life ... or shoes ?

[waterdrop]

Should we train barefoot in qigong ?   or we must wear shoes  or on some mat ? 

should we walk barefoot in daily life ? should we wear shoes ?    when walking nature ?  or wear shoes there ?   cause would be a shame to lose energy in daily life too ...

what are the materials that are needed to isolate ?  are socks ok ?   shoes ?  a regular cotton synthetic mat ? 

[Earl Grey]

This is the third or fourth time you've hidden this thread and created a new thread asking the exact question again because you didn't like what other people like me have said, even when on topic. 

Edited May 16, 2020 by Earl Grey

[doc benway]

18 minutes ago, waterdrop said:

Should we train barefoot in qigong ?

If it feels right to you

 

18 minutes ago, waterdrop said:

   or we must wear shoes  or on some mat ? 

If that feels better

 

18 minutes ago, waterdrop said:

should we walk barefoot in daily life ?

If that feels right to you...

There are many health benefits to a barefoot lifestyle, particularly related to the feet, ankles, knees, hips, and back.

 

18 minutes ago, waterdrop said:

should we wear shoes ?

When you must

 

18 minutes ago, waterdrop said:

 when walking nature ?  or wear shoes there ?

Depends on where you are walking and the condition of your feet.

Sandals are a good thing, I wear Lunas a lot - hiking, running, walking...

 

18 minutes ago, waterdrop said:

   cause would be a shame to lose energy in daily life too ...

It's OK, the very nature of energy is movement and flow.

Don't get hung up on "storing" it or "building" it.

Just maintain a healthy lifestyle - unprocessed foods, lots of clean water, vitamins as needed, adequate rest and exercise, and good breathing habits. Also, some meditation.

Energy takes care of itself.

 

18 minutes ago, waterdrop said:

what are the materials that are needed to isolate ?  are socks ok ?   shoes ?  a regular cotton synthetic mat ? 

It's all good...

If you think wearing socks, shoes, or a mat make a difference when you are an eating, shitting, breathing, mobile appendage of our Mother Earth, knock yourself out! 

The objective of Daoism is a deeper and closer connection to the Dao, the source...

Closer... not insulated from.

Where people got the notion they need to insulate themselves from the Earth is beyond me.

I think it's mind games.

 

 

[Cleansox]

51 minutes ago, waterdrop said:

Should we train barefoot in qigong ?   or we must wear shoes  or on some mat ? 

If you want to progress in qigong the socks are of outmost importance. Don't listen to @steve, buy your socks at cleansox.se. We also have a special offer on qigong training mats™. We do not believe in shoes though, so avoid shoes at al costs. 

[Zork]

2 hours ago, waterdrop said:

Should we train barefoot in qigong ?   or we must wear shoes  or on some mat ? 

should we walk barefoot in daily life ? should we wear shoes ?    when walking nature ?  or wear shoes there ?   cause would be a shame to lose energy in daily life too ...

what are the materials that are needed to isolate ?  are socks ok ?   shoes ?  a regular cotton synthetic mat ? 

13th time is the charm right?

[awaken]

If you can find a beautiful grass, it's better to be barefoot.

When we practice qigong, being barefoot can make our bad qi flow into the ground more than wearing shoes.

[Toni]

I remember Damo Mitchell recommending to train barefoot because that way it is easier to connect with the energies of the earth, through an acupuncture point located in the feet. It is bullshit of course, but maybe training barefoot strengthen your feet and it is good for your posture. Anyway train as you prefer...

Edited May 16, 2020 by Toni

[awaken]

Why don't you just try to be barefoot?

I train qi in barefoot for many years. It is very good. And I can feel my qi is more clear when I am barefoot.

[Toni]

yes, he should try both barefoot and in shoes, then choose what he prefers...

[Nungali]

7 hours ago, Cleansox said:

If you want to progress in qigong the socks are of outmost importance. Don't listen to @steve, buy your socks at cleansox.se. We also have a special offer on qigong training mats™. We do not believe in shoes though, so avoid shoes at al costs. 

 

 

 

[Nungali]

I suggest barefoot  .... but on astro turf .

[doc benway]

I’m glad you’re here Nungali

[dwai]

11 hours ago, Cleansox said:

If you want to progress in qigong the socks are of outmost importance. Don't listen to @steve, buy your socks at cleansox.se. We also have a special offer on qigong training mats™. We do not believe in shoes though, so avoid shoes at al costs. 

Must the socks be clean as well? 

[dwai]

I like going barefoot from time to

time. Very nice and grounding if you’re amped up. 

[Cleansox]

2 hours ago, dwai said:

Must the socks be clean as well? 

Yes, you know where you stand with clean socks. 

[Cleansox]

6 hours ago, Nungali said:

I suggest barefoot  .... but on astro turf .

I should have warned about aussie peddlers, trying to shift their merchendise on unweary innocent bystanders. 

Back off, this is my sell😁

[Nungali]

34 minutes ago, Cleansox said:

I should have warned about aussie peddlers, trying to shift their merchendise on unweary innocent bystanders. 

Back off, this is my sell😁

 

Mhe. Its a free market  .

 

These just in today !   Kill two birds with one stone !

 

 

 

Nike Air Max Trainers.   Made Of Astro Turf .  £110

[Nungali]

Okay, I'll fess up .    I used to go feet commando a lot of the time .  One time even in Sydney  when I went to the park , but had to get there first  - yuk !  and when I did get there to train the ground under the fig trees was covered in half rotten figs and bat guano , to add another layer , then sealed it in with more street grime  and then caught a train , ugh!  Never again .

 

I do it a bit here, but  we got all sorts of things down there , stinging ants , bull joes, funnel webs .  I went out to the loo one night recently , was going to go bare foot but  slipped on the  shoes anyway , and trod on a bull joe ,  so after that, I wear them more nowadays .

 

In training , for some reason  I like to wear shoes when doing weapons , but like barefoot for kata, and forms .

 

Sometimes at the door of my cabin people hesitate  and " Should I take my shoes off to come in ? "

 

Me;  " Not unless you want to get filthy socks ! "

 

Sometimes I will go bare foot in the forest , in the real deep (old growth) understory forest, thats fine  as not much grows there and ground is soft .  Otherwise you just need to be careful where you tread . The Aboriginals said they liked walking with me in the forest ;  "You walk around all the new little plants and dont stomp on them and where there is a small faint animal trail, you follow that . "  I was , "Yeah .... what do you mean ? What do other people do ? "     " Just walk through the bush stomping on little plants and tree seedlings . "

I suppose,, as well as not being aware , with boots on they dont need to avoid things, just stomp along ,

 

Do shoes block off the energy flow, to an extent  between you and the ground ?   You betcha ! 

 

 

[waterdrop]

 
this is what i remember from a reply i got  (not sure if i remember 100% correct)   :

1 . that we lose  yang qi  (around 15% of it)   when we are training barefoot    -  but much more energy is lost in thoughts

2 .   so training is still useful barefoot but less effective

3 .   yang qi can be isolated by footwear ..........     unlike    yin qi that can flow to the ground no matter the shoe or mat

4 .  it doesnt matter if you are barefoot in daily life    - just when training qigong you need to wear shoes or practice on a mat   (if you care about the energy loss of yang qi)

Edited June 14, 2020 by waterdrop

[Taomeow]

Depends on the practice and on the surface.  I would suggest experimenting and comparing the feel of it.  I've tried it every which way and have preferences depending on that.  Chen style taiji -- there's things you can do better wearing shoes, either traditional for the art or close enough, with infinitely flexible soles, not too tacky, not too slippery.  I've a pair with ox tendon soles, my favorite.  You can "paint flowers in the mud" with those, a test of skill and its signature.  On grass, I can go either way.  On wooden floor, I get too much traction if I go barefoot.  On sand, barefoot is best.  On concrete, shoes.  Push-hands, fixed step -- doesn't matter.  Flexible step -- shoes.  Qigong, barefoot -- unless the surface is cold, in which case, socks.   

 

19 minutes ago, waterdrop said:

this is what i remember from a reply i got  (not sure if 100% correct)   :

1 . that we lose  yang qi  (around 15% of it)   when we are training barefoot    -  but much more energy is lost in thoughts

2 .   so training is still useful barefoot but less effective

3 .   yang qi can be isolated by footwear ..........     unlike    yin qi that can flow to the ground no matter the shoe or mat

4 .  it doesnt matter if you are barefoot in daily life    - just when training qigong you need to wear shoes or practice on a mat   (if you care about the energy loss of yang qi)

 

We don't lose any yang qi to going barefoot unless our feet get cold and stay cold for a while.  But in this case we lose it regardless of whether we go barefoot or wear shoes.  And there's no limitation on the percentage you can lose.  Some people might lose it all to frostbite.  If your feet are warm when you go barefoot, I wouldn't worry about losing yang qi.    

[Earl Grey]

2 hours ago, waterdrop said:

this is what i remember from a reply i got  (not sure if i remember 100% correct)   :

1 . that we lose  yang qi  (around 15% of it)   when we are training barefoot    -  but much more energy is lost in thoughts

2 .   so training is still useful barefoot but less effective

3 .   yang qi can be isolated by footwear ..........     unlike    yin qi that can flow to the ground no matter the shoe or mat

4 .  it doesnt matter if you are barefoot in daily life    - just when training qigong you need to wear shoes or practice on a mat   (if you care about the energy loss of yang qi)

 

You don't remember the replies because you've kept deleting threads and reposting the same question in a new thread since you don't like me or what others say about you doing this again and again.

[moment]

I don't have much imbalance anymore but, when I was younger, and imbalances were fairly common, several sets of Tai Ji barefoot in short grass  and a cold shower afterwards  helped every time.  Now-a-days I prefer to do Tai Chi in a variety of shoes or barefoot(opportunity, impulse, laziness, whatever), living my current relationship to the surface.  I also like to use inappropriate footwear on uneven surfaces, especially in the woods.  Most of the time now, I feel like oiled ballbearings, through-out my body and spirit, no matter what my shoes are or what the surface is.   As long as I feel that, I know my Tai Chi is good.

Admittedly though, I have never tried four inch women's heels on an uneven surface, Chen would make that very interesting but, I think I will pass.

Edited May 17, 2020 by moment

[Taomeow]

5 hours ago, moment said:

I don't have much imbalance anymore but, when I was younger, and imbalances were fairly common, several sets of Tai Ji barefoot in short grass  and a cold shower afterwards  helped every time.  Now-a-days I prefer to do Tai Chi in a variety of shoes or barefoot(opportunity, impulse, laziness, whatever), living my current relationship to the surface.  I also like to use inappropriate footwear on uneven surfaces, especially in the woods.  Most of the time now, I feel like oiled ballbearings, through-out my body and spirit, no matter what my shoes are or what the surface is.   As long as I feel that, I know my Tai Chi is good.

Admittedly though, I have never tried four inch women's heels on an uneven surface, Chen would make that very interesting but, I think I will pass.

 

In Chen I got zero instructions about that, but when I used to practice TKD, the teacher insisted that I learn to perceive every part of the body and whatever I'm wearing as a war machine and know how to use anything.  The foot in particular was explained as a whole arsenal, of which several different kinds of heel strike were part, and he specifically pointed out that any one of them can be a whole lot more efficient if I'm wearing stiletto shoes.  

 

I am also a fan of practice, on occasion, on uneven surfaces with inappropriate footwear, though there's definitely some caveats.  I am reminded of the story told by the great Hong Junsheng about Master Watermelon Rind who threw him on the ground by just lying there in his path in a dark alley, doing nothing, being slippery as hell.  I had a bit of that experience a number of years ago too, though not with a watermelon rind but with a large pile of seaweed on the beach.  I was running barefoot, jumping over those piles of kelp that were everywhere after a storm, and practicing Fair Lady Works the Shuttles on the go.  If you know Chen, you know that beautiful spinning jump forward that's part of it.  And at one point I miscalculated the distance and instead of jumping over a pile of kelp landed smack on it with considerable momentum.  Not recommended.  It's easily more slippery than ice, especially when you don't expect it.  I spent the next two hours soaking my foot in the ocean, and when the cold water did enough for my ankle to enable walking again, limped back mighty humbled by the great Master Giant Slippery-as-hell Kelp.                

[liminal_luke]

You should always wear socks but they must be dirty and with holes -- to be in touch with the energy of the earth.

[Nungali]

I found the shoes that Lord Josh trains in