Go on, dip your toes in the water!
Anyone that follows me on Facebook or Instagram will know I’ve been very excited lately to receive a delivery of Chinese herbal foot soaks for my Hope Health Healing business.
Years ago in China it was common practise to have daily foot soaks, and it is coming back into the mainstream now that more and more people around the world are paying attention to overall health and practising preventative care, and the more natural the better!
In Chinese medicine the feet are seen as a crucial part of our overall health maintenance system. They are looked at as the roots, our torsos being the trunk and arms being the branches. If the roots are not healthy or if they are ‘blocked’ in any way then the rest of the body will not be able to flourish and will not be as nourished as it should/could be.
The feet house over 60 acupuncture points alone and 6 of the main meridians (organ pathways) which flow through the body, either start or end at the feet. So it stands to reason (pun intended) that they play a pivotal role in our health, it’s why reflexology is so successful and even why having your feet rubbed or massaged can be really soothing and comforting.
When we soak our feet the blood that flows through them, and travels up and down the body via our feet, is instantly energised and stimulated. This is then furthermore effective when you use herbs specifically choosen for specific conditions or symptoms. For example, I have a very popular ‘pepper moxa’ foot soak which I use regularly myself, the pepper is invigorating and is great for releasing pain in the body as it helps eliminate damp and cold and gets movement back into places that may have become stagnant and tight from years of tension or lack of movement. The pepper saok is also great at treating psoriasis, recurring cystitis, fungal foot infections etc as it breaks up and dispels blockages and nourishes those areas with fresh, more nourished blood and oxygen. There are other specific prescriptions for calming the mind; insomnia, anxiety, depression. For warming the lungs with colds, fatigue, asthma. For fertility issues, for painful menstruation and endometriosis…. It really is a fantastic, natural, calming way to help treat/soothe so many conditions.
There is Traditional Chinese Saying, “Where there is no movement there is pain. Where there is movement there is no pain.”
I am often found quoting this to my clients and a lot of days to myself when I’m having a particularly bad day…. Movement is magic! And I really do believe the worst thing we can do is to lie down and stop all that movement and magic from happening. Unfortunately there are times when we don’t have an option, when the pain is just too bad, but when it is within our control, movement is the key. And that is the basis of these herbal foot-soaks, they move and dispel dampness, cold and tension which is then hindering the bodies natural inclination to move and be active, which then leads to pain and dis-ease, emotionally and physically.
Please feel free to contact me to ask about your conditions/symptoms and I can recommend which foot-soak would be best suited to you, but remember even soaking your feet in warm water will have an effect, the herbs just push that on and stimulate even more movement and healing.