Asian Health and Beauty Secrets
(Feet First)
Of all our body parts,
our feet tend to suffer most. They are our trusty servants, yet we stuff them
into shoes and pay
little respect to the fact that they carry our whole body us to lose weight.
During our lifetime, they traipse four brittle and
prone to fracture. times around the world or roughly 70,000 miles. In cold
weather we ignore them as they are under wraps;
when it is hot we pay them scant attention with a swoosh of nai varnish before
displaying them in sandals.
And we wonder why our feet are killing us' asthat painful saying goes.Theres
nothing worse than sore feet, but it is a guaranteed condition if we don't
look after them.
Yet our own two feet are
crucial in helping us to look after our bodies just by walking. Walking tones
our heart and lungs
and so boosts our energy. It lowers cholesterol levels, burns calories and
therefore helps us to lose weight.
Medics also claim that walking reduces the risk of developing osteoporosis,
which makes older bones brittle and prone to fracture.
Needless to say, in Asia
an ancient technique for foot relief has been practised for centuries. It
originated in
India and China more than 5,000 years ago and is known loosely reflexofogy.
It has grown out of the under standing that every part of our faithful pair
of feet corresponds to a part
of our body, making them key healing zones.
After all, one quarter
of all our bodys bones (26 different bones) are resident in our feet. It seems
they deserve as
much, if not more, attention than any other part of our body.
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How to...Happy Feet
Pedicure : A pedicure is not simply the pursuit of vanity. A proper one should include a foot soak, a nail trim, which prevents in-growing toenails, and the removal of hard skin and calluses which could, if left, lead to corns. Cuticles should be pushed down, not cut, and feet and calves massaged with cream or oil if skin is particularly dry. An olive oil base is especially nourishing. Painted nails look shiniest and last longest if they get a clear undercoat, two coats of colour and a clear top coat. Polish takes at least 15 minutes to dry. Most major spas offer a full-on pedicure, although some therapists are more professional than others who can take far too long and poke about in tender spots, so be wary. Hard Skin : One of the most effective exfoliants for hard skin that develops on the soles of the feet is sand. Collect some ordinary beach sand on your next visit to a tropical spa and mix it with enough vegetable oil to make a sticky paste. Add a few drops of peppermint or rosemary essential oil to complete the invigorating experience. Massage your feet concentrating on the heels, the balls and the big toes where skin is usually hardest. QuickTips : Cool down hot feet with a peppermint and aloe vera gel rub. Soothe tired feet with a vegetable oil massage spiked with clove oil which has anesthetic properties, Best base oils for feet include avocado, olive and sesame. Soak your feet in warm water laced with pine, tea tree and eucalyptus oils to banish odours. Exercise and strengthen your foot muscles by rolling each foot over a tennis ball while sitting down. Detoxify your whole body with a 10-minute foot soak in warm water containing two tablespoons o rock salt. Follow with an oil massage. Avoid bunions and ankle problems and ditch your high heels. If impossible, wear them sparingly! Keep infections away and change your tights and socks every day. Make sure they, like your shoes, are never too small. Let your feet breathe whenever you can. Oriental Foot Massage Oriental foot massage, otherwise known as reflexology or previously as zone therapy, is an ancient art of healing which works on the principle that the bodys organs, including the brain, are connected by energy channels to trigger points in our feet. Consequently, when our feet are tired, so are our minds and bodies. Reflexologists believe that if a body part (liver, thyroid, gall bladder, eyes and ears) is not functioning properly, the energy flowing through our channels, or meridians, becomes sluggish, even blocked. This can cause crystals to gather under the skin in specific parts of our feet. Massaging these points breaks down the crystals and restores the flow of body energy. There are reputedly 7,000 nerve endings in our feet and therapists know which area mirrors which body part. Asians are particularly intuitive when it comes to massaging feet and a treatment of this ilk is offered in most spas, either alone or as part of other massage therapies. It is fabulous for stimulating circulation and restoring physical and mental harmony. It is also an uncannily accurate way of both detecting and healing internal problems. Foot and Nut Treatment The felons for corns and carbuncles are fashion footwear, tights and high heels, all of which we thrust upon our faithful feet. Give them time out and treat them to a weekly foot soak and massage, but if you find yourself in Ball, do not leave until your trotters have tried this bumper foot treatment at dmu Traditional Spa, Kuta. They never knew life could be so good If you are doing this Foot and Nut Treatment at home, prepare the following before starting: 
Honey Milk Cleansing Lotion ; 10 pieces : kemiri nut (candlenut) 3 tbsp : honey 4 tbsp : water Blend the kemiri nuts and water together for two minutes. Using a fine mesh cheesecloth strain the milk from the meat. Save the meat for the Kemiri Nut Scrub and two tablespoons of the milk for the flower mask.Add the honey to the milk anc mix well. This is now ready to use. Lemon Grass Infusion ; For Kemiri Hut Scrub, on right 250 gms (1//2 lb) : lemon grass 250 gms (2 cups) : boiling water Pour the boiling water over the lemon grass. Cover the container and let it stand for 20 minutes until the liquid has cooled down. Starin. |
Kemiri
Nut Scrub Flower
Mask
Steps : Wash your feet in a tub with a few drops of your favourite essential oil. Make sure you dry them properly between the toes and outwards along the nail growth on the side of each toe, removing all moisture so as to avoid infection, Using cotton wool, rub the Honey Milk Cleansing Lotion all over each footThe nut content is both astringent and deeply moisturizing while the honey both exfoliates some of the finer dead skin and softens it. Relish rubbing your feet with the Kemiri Nut Scrub trapping the grains between your thumb and the nerve endings in the soles of your feet - there are over 7,000 of them! This very sensuous step leaves your feet wide awake and tingling. Wipe away the scrub with a warm cloth and remove the finer traces with some more Honey Milk Cleansing Lotion. Scoop the Flower Mask into the palm of your hands and pat it around your feet, covering them entirely up to the ankle to make two clay booties. It is best to sit back with your feet upona stool covered with a towel. Enjoy the tightening and cooling sensation. Leave for 20 minutes before washing off with warm water. Finish off with a calming aromatic foot massage using a rich carrier oil such as avocado, sesame or olive, plus a few drops of your favourite essential oil. This is quite a labour-intensive treatment if done at home, but leaves your feet feeling loose and fluid. It is altogether a more divine experience at Jamu Traditional Spa where you sit back under the dappled shade of a banyan tree. Here therapists treat your calves as well as your feet. Both are cosseted for an hour and a half. Floral Foot Soak
In Bali, the higher castes allegedly keep a bowl of water in the corner of their bedroom, filled with flowers and the oil of eucalyptus for a ritual cleansing at the end of the day. Foot washing is also a symbolic part of one of the many rites of passage in Balinese Hinduism, carried out as a sign of deference to Sang Hyang Widhi, one of the gods responsible for the order of balance and imbalance in our lives. You can experience the most heavenly foot soak in Bali at the Spa at Bali Hyatt where it is given as a matter of course before every treatment. You don't even have to lift your foot in or out of the thick wooden tub! The treatment consists of gentle splashing with the scented flower water and gentle skin sloughing with volcanic stone: soft, white stone for women and a coarser black one for men. After this, heavy feet shed tension and start floating. After patting them dry, your therapist will massage your feet and legs with oil, working up toward the heart, using her thumb and forefinger to apply pressure up the back of the calf from the ankle. According to massage theory these strokes relieve poor circulation, fluid retention and bladder problems. The whole experience Is so pleasurable and focused (and it could never last long enough!) that it hardly matters what, if any, medical benefits are taking place. Use essential oils in your own foot soak. The Spa at Bali Hyatt favours three drops each of thyme, vetiver and sage as a good combination to make skin smooth. Flowers are added as a symbolic gesture to wash away bad luck. As an intrinsic part of every day life in Asia, flowers represent a bridge to the natural world, taking on a spiritual and cleansing significance. Dont make the water too hot and soak for 10-15 minutes for best results. Follow by massaging your feet with a rich oil such as coconut, olive or avocado. |
Happy
feet make happy people. Remember that anointing the feet is a long-held
ritual in many cultures. As you rub on these ointments think that you
are giving a sacred start - or finish - to your day. This is an almost
religious act of gratitude for your mobility! Here are some quick and
easy ways to cheer all three of you up. 
Soaking
feet in warm water is an ancient form of pain relief practised, in
varying guises, throughout many cultures. For centuries people have
dissolved Epsom salts to reduce swelling, rock salt to detoxiiy the
whole body at bedtime, or peppermint oil to cool and tickle the nerve
endings. See also :
| Body Conscious | ||
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Feet
First
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