Kate, Happy Little Soles (UK)
We received a lovely blue Elephant Rooty Rug to try out earlier this summer to the great excitement of my little girl. As a committed barefoot family and a yoga practitioner I am always keen to try anything that helps with our foot health.
The Rooty aims to keep feet active and to bring the positive aspects of walking on natural, uneven surfaces into the home. Walking across the rug forces the feet to exercise in a subtle and random way and is a fun way to build muscle strength. It is particularly helpful where children suffer from weakened foot muscles and need to exercise without being aware that is what they are doing!
Walking on uneven surfaces like this is so important for children’s (and adults!) feet to build sensitivity, engage different muscles and develop coordination, muscle tone and balance.
With this is mind I was very excited to unpack the rug when it arrived and my daughter was delighted with the fun design. The rug is of lovely durable quality and has proved very hard wearing in my messy daughter’s bedroom. It takes a little bit of care to hoover around the bumps but shakes out fine. The rug has been very well used and has been a base for gymnastics, a Lego town and a skipping mat!
My favourite use is to stand on it when I am reading my daughter her bedtime story – she has a cabin bed so standing is the perfect height and I love the massage I get on my feet as I am standing there, rolling my feet around on the mat, adjusting position. I sit a lot during the day so it is very refreshing on my tired legs!
It has led me to explore using the mat in combination with a standing desk, something I am currently experimenting with, and I will definitely be looking at a smaller size that would fit by my desk.
Another great use would be a long thin one for in the hall for everyone to walk along as they come in the door having taken their shoes off to get that lovely refreshing massage to the feet at the end of the day.
Kate Harrington, UK Stockist of the best barefoot children’s shoes from around the world