Several things have come together to make this the perfect time for me to write a blog article about those “warriors of the floor” – our feet:
• I have a background in education, so I see myself as an educator…
• …because I am also a self-development coach whose specialty has always been about the importance of self-care and…
• …because I recently opened a massage therapy business that has, among its services, reflexology for the feet
So, first, a little education about the feet. (Don’t worry; there’s no test!)
According to the “How Many Are There?” website, “There are 26 bones in the human foot, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19 muscles and tendons. The 52 bones in your feet make up about 25 percent of all the bones in your body.”
Just think: Those two little flat parts of your body at the end of your ankles connect the whole you to “terra firma” and support you as you get where you’re going.
Reflexology is the science and art of applying pressure to the feet (and also hands) at certain points that can carry “qi” (pronounced “chee”) – energy – throughout your body.
Remember that old song, “Dem Bones”? The lyrics went something like this, “The toe bone’s connected to the foot bone. The foot bone’s connected to the ankle bone…” You get the idea. At Nature’s Whisper Healing Arts, we provide reflexology services to use touch to relieve your feet. (More about this later.)
Now, let me tell you about my own self-care routine for my feet. (“Physician”, heal thyself, right?) It all begins when I remember that my feet deserve an equal amount of time to what I spend on my hair and face. I devote dedicated time to the top of my body in the mornings, and my feet get pampered in the evenings. This has become a daily routine for me. .
My bedtime is usually around 10 p.m. and shut-eye by 10:30. So my routine typically begins at 9:30 and goes for a full hour.
Here’s what I do:
1. I clear the space around my bed and place a large towel on the floor.
2. I fill a special foot bucket with hot water, as hot as my feet can take it and enough to reach my ankles, and add magnesium salt crystals to the water for added relaxation.
3. Once I have this all set up, inch by inch, I ease my feet into the water.
4. Once my feet are fully immersed, I immediately begin to feel relaxation course throughout my whole body.
5. I sit and allow the sensations of relaxation to move throughout my body (about three minutes seems to do the trick).
6. Once I’ve allowed my feet to soak for a while, I massage them using a foot scrub paste that contains coconut jojoba / lavender essential oils, and sugar or sea salt, working through every toe, between the toes, and onto the plantar and dorsal aspects (in plain English, the sole of the foot), the heel, and the ankles.
I find that the foot scrub paste containing sea salt does “double duty” by providing my hands with the benefit of a massage as well.
You might wonder what has inspired me to do this nightly. In an acupuncture class I attended a while ago, one of my classmates said it was good to do this before bed to get a good night’s sleep. A teacher in one of the acupuncture classes I took confirmed that a solid night’s sleep is one of the chief benefits of this type of foot self-care. So, I began my foot-soaking routine to get a better night’s sleep and to feel more energized the following morning. And, it has worked for me!
At Nature’s Whisper Healing Arts, we offer 30- and 60-minute reflexology appointments. You can also add reflexology treatment to any massage of your choice.
When you go on the Nature’s Whisper website, you will notice our September promotion: I’m offering you a free, 10-minute sea-salt scrub massage (hands or feet) to add to any massage of your choice.
Sources for this article:
http://www.howmanyarethere.us/how-many-bones-in-the-foot/
Revisiting reflexology: Concept, evidence, current practice, and practitioner training (nih.gov) Plantar fascia - Wikipedia
Comentários