|
Yoga Shoes- Added Comfort for your foot!!!
While yoga has traditionally been practiced with bare feet, yoga shoes are a recent trend, making it possible to practice outside, or to hide your feet. Most yoga shoes are a more flexible version of regular athletic shoes, and come in all sizes, styles, and colors.
All the major sport shoe manufactures Nike, Adidas, Reebok etc have released a shoe called a yoga shoe. The design of the shoe has been inspired by yoga, and has been designed to be worn during yoga practice.
Why Yoga Shoes?
Most fitness activities like running, tennis or aerobics have shoes that are made to specifically support and protect our feet during these activities, while allowing our feet the flexibility and range of motion needed to perform. However, Yoga is one of the few fitness activities that are usually done bare feet. Some believe that our bare feet directly connect us to the Earth's energy. But a more practical reason for practicing Yoga barefoot is the free range of motion and flexibility.
If you practice yoga, you may have found that sweating hands and feet can cause you to slip on the mat, making it more difficult to keep your balance or accurately hold your poses. You may have remedied this by using sticky mats or anti-slip yoga socks during practice. But if you love shoes like I do, you may be excited to know that yoga has shoes too! Like other fitness shoes, these are made to give you the extra stability and the range of motion you want and need during yoga practice.
Yoga shoes provide the comfort that you need. Yoga shoes are different from the usual exercises shoes in that it has slim soles to provide suppleness and the top part of the shoes is lighter so as to ensure air circulation.
In addition yoga shoes are vital as bacteria and germs will not form and also when you need to share yoga mat. On the other hand it can avert injuries like stepping on jagged pebbles or ants bite. With the yoga shoes, it will help ensure that you do not slip when you are carrying out certain postures.
Yoga Slip-Ons by Gaiam for example, have an outer sole tough enough for the road and a removable insole which includes a quick drying sock lining for easy air drying. It's 100% recycled rubber toe and heal bumpers make these shoes friends with the environment and friends with your feet. Last, but not least...they look good. They come in cool contrasting color combinations like black and lavender or tan and coral.
Adidas also make a beautiful pair of orange yoga/tai chi shoes called the Mei Mesh W. The Mei features a soft inner cushion for comfort, an airy perforated upper to help keep feet cool and gum rubber outsole pads in heel and forefoot for maximum flexibility, and traction on the mat.
Tips for buying a good Yoga Shoe:
- Yoga shoes are very important for a pain free existence. If Yoga shoes do not fit properly then you can have pain in your knees, back, ankles or hips. Comfortable Yoga shoes are more important then some people think. It is a good idea when you purchase Yoga shoes to try the Yoga shoes on and make sure they fit properly. It's very nice to have a good looking shoe but the fit is much more important. Buy Yoga shoes that fit your foot properly and you will feel better.
- Yoga shoes should be breathable to your feet. Yoga shoes made of natural materials are better for you then plastic or man made materials are. Leather or cotton lets your feet breath while nylon or other synthetic are more air tight. Pick out natural materials when ever possible when buying Yoga shoes.
- When you try a shoe on it should bend at the same spot your foot bends. When you walk it is important for your comfort that your Yoga shoes bend along with your foot. A shoe that does not bend with the foot can create blisters and sore spots.
Next time you buy some Yoga shoes take some time and make sure you get a shoe that fits your foot. The better your Yoga shoes fit the better you will feel and the more you can do.
Summary:
Thus nowadays practicing yoga with yoga shoes is quite trendy and also gives proper support and balance to the foot while practicing yoga. What else one need then!!! So from now before you begin your yoga classes just buy a comfortable pair of yoga shoes which are light weight and allow you to move freely.
|
