When talking about the minimalist shoes, the first thing that comes into our minds is often the connection with runners. Oh yeah, we remember what the local barefoot running guru had told us in that meeting, if you run you need to be sure your feet feel the ground properly so that there is that feedback loop from your feedback to the brain and so that the brain knows how to lead you to the correct running form and avoid injuries. Yes, that is all true, but we shouldn’t also forget about our everyday lives. In fact, how much of our day do we spend running, in those special shoes or otherwise? Are we even runners? Most of you, my readers, who are currently reading this text, are probably not professional athletes. Perhaps you run a couple of times per week, maybe even not so much. Most probably you just came here by chance, because you got interested in this strange term of the “minimalist footwear”.

Anyways, even if you are an avid runner who runs, let’s say, an hour every single day, that’s only one hour out of 24 hours that the day gives us. What about the other 23 hours? OK, OK, some of them you’re sleeping, but the rest 15-16 hours? Chances are that you spend most of those hours just walking around or working, or going shopping, or doing some errands at home, or being in your everyday shoes in some other situations. So what is that one hour spent running and thinking about your feet in comparison with these 15-16 hours spent in shoes that don’t do any good for your feet and your body in general?

Here are some casual minimalist shoes for your everyday life.

Yeah, you heard me right – you could be damaging your body in ways that you’re not even aware of! How’s so, you may ask. Good question, I must admit! So, the thing with the modern footwear is that it is not designed to promote the feet health, but it mostly takes into account other parameters, such as the looks, ease of manufacture, cost of produce and stuff like that. I won’t go into details here about all the built-in functionality that is typically present in modern shoes and that can damage our feet. That is not the purpose of this article. However, if you are interested in those particulars, just let me know in the comments section below, and I will find the time and the will to post an article about that.

So, really, did you, in fact, believe that only runners need to be aware of their shoes just because there are much more impact forces working on our extremities when running? Although the impact force can indeed be 2-3 times greater when running in comparison with walking, the time spent walking is 10-15 times greater than the times spent running… You do your math!

All in all, this was just a little reminder to keep track of your walking time. Walking is indeed a great activity for a human body, and it promotes our health in many different ways. The more you walk, the better. But the more you walk in the wrong shoes, the worst. So just be aware of it and don’t let anybody tell you that “You, madame, really need these fancy thick shoes if you don’t wanna get into trouble”! The reality is usually the opposite – you need minimalist shoes, and not only for running! And also in case you’re a sir, not a madame.