Don’t Take Your Feet for Granted!

Don’t Take Your Feet for Granted!

Feet are engineered to do their job of providing stability and mobility to the body. They contain over seven thousand nerve endings in each foot, giving us support throughout the day and hopefully our lives, and yet, most of us take our feet for granted.

Take a minute to think about how much time you spend on your feet each day and what they do for you. According to the American Podiatric Medical Association, the average person walks an average of 8,000 to 10,000 steps in a day.

That’s a lot of walking!

What Would You Do If You Lose the Ability to Walk?

The value of this mobility cannot be emphasized enough, especially if you lost your ability to walk. Your car probably gets more regular maintenance than your feet. Not only this month but every day, give your feet some much-deserved attention they need.

It’s important people of all ages take care of our feet! It is more criteria that women take better care of their feet more than men, women have four times as many foot problems due to the footwear. By learning to care for your feet, you can prevent many future health issues.

Here are some feet signs that may indicate poor foot health. If you have any of these symptoms, please see your health care provider or a podiatric specialist.

Discolored toenails: If your toenails have a green tint, or change from a healthy pink color to white – fungus or bacterial growth beneath the nail.

Swollen feet: This may be a sign of kidney or heart problems, pregnancy complications, ankle injury, lymphedema.

Swollen joints: This may be related to various arthritis such as rheumatoid, osteoarthritis, or gout

One foot swollen – This can indicate a blockage of a lymph node, or deep-vein thrombosis, or onset of Edema

Corns and blisters: Shoes too tight and causing friction or may be a sign of diabetes.

How about taking 30 minutes out of your busy schedule and give your feet a loving care foot spa treatment at home?

The Healing Place Energy School created a self-care video course to give yourself a 10 minute reflexology session that you can learn from your home at your pace. This is a 20 step foot reflexology protocol that you can give to yourself or to a loved one.

This simple six-step routine says “thank you” to your feet for supporting you! Anyone with decreased sensation or blood flow will especially appreciate this treatment.

Requirement: You will need to be able to bring your foot up and place it on the opposite knee for this routine. For people with hip replacements, please check with their doctor before doing this.

You can use any type massage oil or lotion (I use almond oil) for this spa treatment, but it is not necessary. I usually like include this spa routine before going to bed for complete relaxation. Follow by with some deep breathing and meditation to get a deeper and more restorative sleep.

Find a quiet spot with a comfort chair. Shut off all electronics.

1. Bring your right foot up and put on top of your left knee. Hold the foot with one or both hands and sit like this while you take five to ten deep breaths until you feel stress releases, and you can feel a gentle opening of the right hip.

2. With your left hand, firmly massage using your finger, thumb or knuckles, the top and bottom of your right foot! Now rub the bottom of your foot for two to four minutes using small circular motions.

3. With your left hand, grab all five toes and gently pull them up towards the ceiling and down 10-20 times.

4. Now rotate each toe clockwise and counterclockwise ten times in each direction.

5. To loosen those tiny toe muscles, weave your five fingers through your five toes and open your fingers to stretch out your toes and hold for 15-30 seconds.

6. Bring your hand to the center of the foot, while the other hand is supporting the foot, and rotate your ankle, clockwise and counterclockwise ten times each way.

7. Repeat on the other foot.

Note: If you are unable to place your feet on top of the opposite knee, try using a tennis or golf ball to massage your feet while sitting. Place the ball under your foot and push the ball down firmly with the ball of your foot; move your toes up and down 10-20 times. Roll the ball forward and back gently with your whole foot and in circles, clockwise and counterclockwise.

Within minutes, you will feel the tension releasing from your feet, and you can hear them say “thank you.”

About the Instructor, Writer, Reflexologist, Author and Filmmaker

Helen Chin Lui is a Certified Reflexologist, Certified Energy Medicine Practitioner, Reiki Master, and teacher. She is the owner of Healing Place LLC and Healing Place Energy School LLC.