Happyfoot Reflexology

Our Feet

Posted by on 10 December 2009 | 3 Comments

THE VOICE OF THE BODY- THE FEET

Who Am I: I am your feet. My job is to provide you with a foundation.

Voice of The Feet: I am the voice of your feet. Like hands, I touch the earth. By design, there are two of me.
One of me supports your left side and one, supports right side. Each of me has 26 bones and 25 joints.
I let you know where you are through sensations coming from over 7,000 nerve endings in each of me.

My function is to provide you with foundation- a trampoline-like base with arches that run horizontally and longitudinally. I function best when your ankle joint is free and involved.
What keeps me healthy is being allowed to be naked and free to naturally settle into a relaxed, more elongated and expanded design. If I am confined, I get cranky and lock up.

I never work alone, but with my partner, the ankle joint. I provide stability and support from inner arch, made up of the big toe and the next two toes.
My arches give you a springboard. My toes, designed to lengthen and spread, need space and freedom.
At the back of me is my largest bone, the talus, and the smaller bones, the navicular, cuneiform, metatarsals, and my inner arches. I provide flexibility, power, and stability.

My Gift To You: I make it possible for you to receive energy from the earth, and to be touched as you walk, run, skip, hop, play sports, dance and live in your world.

Imagine Me: Visualize as a magic carpet, one you can ride on and are elegantly supported by from underneath.

When Dancing Through Life: Live in your feet and lovingly walk with them every step throughout your day.
Sense your ankle joints and feet as working together as one system. Wear shoes that fit and feel good, shoes that give your feet room to move and breathe.

Care for your feet. Massage them and pumice calluses off.
Give your feet the gift of a manicure. Keep them soft by applying lotion. Keep your skin sensory-alive by taking your feet out for a walk. Care for them most of all by visiting a Reflexologist on a regular basis.

FOCUS ON FEET

Foot- Fitness Routine

Give them a little down-to-earth care and attention and you’ll walk on air this summer.

A winter’s worth of neglect can leave your feet callused, rough and painful. Before you slip into pretty summer sandals, fine-tune your feet with our soothing and smoothing foot-fitness routine.

- Look after your feet

Every day give them a good soapy wash, using a soft nail-brush over the toenails, and an abrasive such as pumice or one of the “synthetic” versions to avoid a build-up of hard skin on your soles and heels.

Then dry them thoroughly (especially between the toes) and finish with dusting powder. Once a week (or twice if you can spare the time ): Treat your feet to a massage-cum-moisturising treatment – massage helps to boost circulation which can be fairly sluggish in the feet.

Simply spend about five minutes on each foot, rubbing in a rich hand cream or massage oil. Press and “knead” the whole foot- tops, soles, heels and each individual toe. It’s worth the effort.

Every 10- 14 days: you should treat your feet and spend half an hour on a pampering pedicure, following our simple step-by-step guide. (See box)

- Exercise your feet

Whenever you have a spare moment, do these exercises to build up strength and flexibility. These can be done while you’re sitting down or working on your computer:

- Roll a golf ball or an orange under the arch of each foot:

- Sitting upright (or slumped)”tap” feet gently on the floor, first toe, then heel;

- Place feet about 15cm apart on the floor. Raise heels, pointing toes but keeping the toes on the floor, then lower and relax.

Foot Freedom

There’s no truth in the idea: “New shoes are supposed to hurt”. Shoes that hurt are shoes that lead to foot complaints which develop as a protection against constant friction and pressure.
In fact, it’s estimated 95 per cent of foot problems can be traced to poorly designed shoes, incorrect foot care and neglect.

Ideally, say the experts, we should spend the first six or seven years of your lives barefoot – going barefoot whenever you can is the best way to maintain strong healthy feet.
Holidays are the ideal time to kick off your shoes and walk in the sand. The sand also helps clean nails and smooth skin.
Shoes must be flexible and not constricting: well-ventilated trainers are good, so low-heeled sandals.
Save high heels for occasional ear, since they throw the body out of balance; and make sure foot-wear for walking has a thick sole, a broad heel, and sufficient flexibility underneath the ball of the foot.

The Perfect Pedicure

Get your “tool-kit “together.

You will need:

- Nail scissors or clippers
- Emery board
- Orange stick
- Pumice stone or other rough skin remover
- Epsom salts, lemon slices or camomile tea bags
- Cider vinegar/ witch-hazel
- Cuticle cream (or petroleum jelly)
- Hand cream
- Cotton-wool balls
- Nail varnish and remover
- Top coat, if using

1. Remove old nail varnish, and soak your feet in warm water for five to ten minutes. Add to the water Epsom salts( a good soother for tired feet) lemon slices or camomile tea bags (both are good for corns and calluses, and camomile is also reputed to reduce perspiration).After soaking, dip feet into cold water for half a minute to stimulate circulation- this is also excellent for chilblains.

2. Using scissors or clippers, cut nails straight across so that the outer edge is almost parallel to the top of the toe. Smooth the edges with an emery board without rounding off the corners. Carefully clip away any dead skin around the nail.

3. Apply cuticle cream or a little petroleum jelly and massage it into the skin at the sides of the nail as well as the cuticle back very gently with an orange stick.

4. Use a hard-skin remover on areas that need treating. If using pumice or other hard stone, dip the feet in the bowl of warm water again. It may take several treatments to remove hard skin.

5. Massage feet with hand cream or other good, rich moisturiser. Allow it to soak into skin for a few minutes. Then refresh with an astringent rub such as cider vinegar or witch-hazel.

6. Separate toes with tissues or cotton wool. Wipe nails with varnish remover to get rid of any stray cream. Apply two coats of varnish, finishing with a clear top coat to protect against chipping. When the varnish is completely dry, remove the toe separators.

(c) 2009 Happyfoot Reflexology www.happyfootreflexology.co.nz