Inspirations with Emily J. Weitz

Dancing Barefoot

The best way to stay young and healthy is to stay active. But contrary to popular Hamptons belief, this doesn't necessarily mean taking three intense core fusion classes in a row and then sitting in a sauna. What it means is finding joy in active endeavors. The other night I went to a wedding that took place in a big red barn in the middle of the Berkshires. An Irish band jammed on fiddles and mandolins. And everyone, from the two-year-old redheaded children to the 88-year-old silver-haired grandfather, kicked off their shoes and danced.

The music kept our limbs swinging from side to side. The energy of the others kept us bouncing. And the laughter kept us young. It was the best workout I've had in, well, since the last time I saw live music. Because when the music is filling your ears, it's difficult to keep it out of your limbs and heart. And then it's near impossible to remain still.

However, something I have learned along the way, something that seemingly everyone in that oversized red barn had learned, was that dancing shoes are best left at the door. Honestly, there is no better way to get down than in bare feet. While dancing is one of the best ways to lift your spirits and to get a great cardiovascular workout, you can seriously injure yourself if you are not in the proper attire. And weddings seem to foster these situations.

I've never heard of a wedding invitation that read "Active Attire." We may be planning for a wild night on the dance floor, but still we come in strapless dresses and heels. In this situation, the best thing you can do for the health of your back and feet is to leave those shoes at the door. They may look pretty and give you a few inches, but they cause serious misalignment when you're dancing around in them. In fact, many dance forms, such as Nia, are conducted barefoot for the heath of your feet. And when little kids enroll in ballet classes they are given soft ballet slippers so as not to harm their growing feet. Of course, once you reach puberty in ballet you are given painfully rigid toe shoes and you may end up with black-and-blue toenails for a few weeks, but that's another article.

Barefoot dancing allows you to bounce and jump freely, without the perpetual fear of twisting an ankle. Your foundation is much wider when you have your whole foot to balance on, which means you are more likely to swing around freely and less likely to stumble. And when you're on the crowded dance floor at a wedding, the last thing you want to be is the big foot who's stomping all over all the barefoot boogiers' tootsies.

There are a few things you can do to care for your feet, which take a beating during an evening of barefoot dancing. While the muscles and joints in your feet won't be contorted by the restrictions of a high-heeled shoe, the bottoms of your feet will be more exposed. This can cause blisters on the bottoms of the feet, of which I currently have two. They hurt a little bit, because every time I walk they are touching the ground. But because they touch the ground with the weight distributed throughout the foot, they are nowhere near as painful as a blister from a shoe. Still, they need to be cared for. People who dance barefoot often have thick calluses on their feet, which protect the feet from blistering. But to keep these calluses from tearing, you should moisturize your feet twice a day with a lanolin-based cream. This keeps this otherwise tough skin supple, which prevents tearing.

Another common problem that barefoot dancers experience is called stone bruises. This is a soreness that feels like a bruise on the bottom of the foot, but there is no discoloration. To protect stone bruises as you walk or dance, you can apply "pontoons" on both sides of the bruised area. Pontoons can be made of either adhesive felt or moleskin and this 1/8-inch elevation on either side of the bruise will protect it from contact with the ground.

Dancing barefoot, all in all, is one of the most fun ways to stay active. With a few simple measures to keep your feet happy, you'll find yourself rejuvenated and uplifted when you kick off your shoes and dance.

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