***How To Cherish Your Feet—A Valentine’s Special

Like your treasured Valentines, feet are a gift to cherish…also, like those we love, many times we take them for granted…and the saga continues—sometimes sweethearts feel downright betrayed. As cherished Valentines need to connect and be sensitive to each other’s best good, so we need to show our feet the appreciation they deserve.

Enjoy these gifts to celebrate sweet feet…

REFRESHING CHANGE OF SCENE

As sweethearts need getaways, so our feet need special refresher breaks. If your feet could speak, most would say things like:

• ‘I’m feeling cramped--get me out of here!’
• ‘It’s dark in here—give me some light!’
• ‘No, I’d rather not win the Hall-of-Fume Award—let me breathe!’

A simple, yet potent treat to feet is Grounding (or Earthing). Begin your feet’s liberation by letting them be bare—the light, freedom, and air are vital. Barefoot walking on lawn, the beach, (or even unsealed cement) allows Earth’s natural frequencies to subtly penetrate healing energies into our body—the electrons from the Earth are transferred to our entire body through our feet. Connecting to the Earth shifts us from stress mode to calming the nervous system—the healing energies affect not only our feet, but our entire body systems. Remember, for sweethearts, connection is vital, and how true for feet too.

GO TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER

There is nothing like a loyal soul mate—a Valentine that is true all year through. Our feet serve us, no matter what we put them through. Yet there are times they feel jilted—outright betrayed. They may even go ‘on strike’ and refuse to be tread upon anymore! H.A.L.T. is a ‘red flag’ acronym in recovery groups. It means HUNGRY, ANGRY, LONELY, TIRED—and to STOP if you have any of those feelings. Special Valentines who truly care about each other will encourage healing rest times. As soul mates need to share their deepest, honest feelings, so we need to ‘listen to our feet’ and respond to hurting feet with TLC. This TLC could be anything from simply propping our feet up 15 minutes and taking a nap—or giving them an Epsom salt soak…or scheduling a Reflexology session to revitalize weary feet. If the feet are in deeper ‘crisis’, they may be pleading for a series of Reflexology/Structural Foot Balancing treatments.

In my own experience I have found hurry stress to be a significant trigger to acute foot cramps. On one such occasion, I was in super-rush mode. (When home, I often sport bare feet, or just wear comfortable socks.) In catapulting out to the garage—from the soft carpet to striking the hard cement—the ball of my foot immediately rebelled with pain so sharp I had no choice but to HALT…and hobble back in from the garage. I immediately self-applied Reflexology and Structural Foot Balancing until blessed relief came. TLC that brought me quick relief:

1) Massaging up and down the top and bottom of the foot between the 5 long bones (metatarsals).

2) Placing thumbs at the mid-ball of foot and fingers on top—then pulling hands in opposite directions—doing a fan like action on the metatarsals.

3) With a kind pincer grip, massaging webbings between toes, with slight ball of the foot flexion

4) While grasping each side of the ball of the foot, doing a slow, mini-bicycle type motion with hands and then reversing direction. (This stimulates the neck/shoulder reflex zones and has very releasing effects:) Sinking fingertips into the groove between the ball of the foot/toes and doing a rolling/drumming motion across them. Go from toes to heel with nice long strokes to spread the TLC.

5) Return to Grounding to help all the ‘good stuff’ sink in deeper

For more sage, rapid-relief tips see, ‘Feet—Vital Truths They Tell About You’ article.

There is no need for a crisis to arise before giving your feet special TLC. Like those we cherish, it’s best to meaningfully share day by day—this way you can be Valentines all year through.