Your Health Starts from Your Feet

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Have you ever thought about the connection between your feet and your health? From reflexology, your feet function as a map to reflect your internal organs just like your hands. From Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), there are many important meridians running through your feet, such as the kidney meridian, stomach meridian, spleen meridian, and liver meridian, etc. Therefore, taking good care of your feet can supercharge your health and eliminate certain health issues. In this blog, I am going to share a few tips that are easy to follow to boost your health and enhance your longevity.

Dry eyes: Rubbing big toes

According to TCM, the energy of the liver meridian opens in the eyes, if you are suffering from eye issues, such as dry eyes and eye fatigue, likely the Qi (energy) deficiency in the liver meridian. The liver meridian runs between the big toe and 2nd toe. Therefore, when your eyes are dry, you can stimulate the big toes to strengthen the Qi (energy) and blood in the liver meridian. In the long run, this treatment can be more effective than eye drops. When the Qi (energy) in the liver meridian is sufficient, the eyes are naturally moist and eye discomfort will be resolved on its own. Just rubbing your big toes on both feet for a few minutes a day will refresh your eyes and bring a youthful look in your eyes.

There are other causes of dry eyes for women, which are linked to hormone imbalance.

High blood pressure: Rotating the ankles

Interestingly enough, people with high blood pressure usually have stiff ankles. Did you notice that? Rotating the ankles in a circular motion and stretching them regularly can promote blood circulation. Especially for the elderly, rotating and stretching the ankles can slow down the aging process and lower high blood pressure. You can do this exercise twice a day in the morning and evening, rotate and stretch your ankles around 100 times each time until your feet are getting warm, this exercise also prevents cold feet and improves your sleep quality at night, it also prevents ankle injuries because you are strengthening the muscles around your ankles.

Indigestion: Pulling the toes

If you are suffering from indigestion, bad breath, constipation or diarrhea, or other stomach issues, you can improve your digestion by pulling your toes regularly. The reason is that the stomach meridian runs through your toes, and there is an important acupoint called “Neiting” (English name: Inner Courtyard) in the depression between the second and third toes that can help boost your digestive function.

For example, if you have bad breath and constipation, you may have excessive fire in your stomach meridian according to TCM. The Inner Courtyard acupoint from the stomach meridian helps to purge the fire in the stomach meridian and balances the Qi (energy). As a result, it can prevent bad breath, indigestion, and acid reflux. You can boost your digestion by pulling and rubbing your toes regularly.

If your stomach is on strike or you have inflammation in your stomach, here are some simple tips to bring your stomach back on track quickly.

Inner Courtyard acupoint can also help manage acne breakouts on your face. If you want the acne on your face to disappear quickly, in addition to dietary management, you can massage this point on both feet with your fingertips in a pressing and releasing motion for a few minutes every day. The pressure should be firm enough to stimulate the acupoint.

Excessive fire in your stomach meridian can also contribute to a big appetite according to TCM. You can control your appetite by stimulating Inner Courtyard acupoint regularly to lose weight easily. This acupoint can also treat toothache very effectively.

Here is how you can rock your feet to shrink the waistline.

Varicose veins: Toe stand

Toe stand causes the muscle contraction in the back of the calf, and the compression caused by muscle contraction promotes blood circulation, which in turn improves varicose veins. Practicing toe stand 2 to 3 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes each time can effectively improve varicose veins. This is especially beneficial for those people who work in front of the desk with prolonged sedentary sitting or teachers with extended standing.

According to the theory of holographic positioning from TCM, the heel is also closely related to the brain. Toe stand also prevents strokes. Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners believe that most strokes are caused by the imbalance of Yin and Yang energy flow in the body. Unbalanced Yang energy rushes upward and concentrates in the brain, which overstimulates the central nervous system and leads to seizures and unconsciousness. Toe stand is a great solution to prevent strokes. It helps balance the Qi (energy) and blood in the brain, but more importantly, it can direct the Yang energy down to the feet through the bladder and kidney meridians to prevent a stroke. Regular toe stand can effectively improve blood circulation in the brain. For those who work in a fast-paced environment and use their brain more often, toe stand can be a great way to relieve stress and recharge the brain.

Drooling while sleeping: Pressing the big toes

According to TCM, the spleen meridian plays an important role in water transportation in the body, drools while sleeping is a symptom of Qi (energy) deficiency in the spleen meridian. How to deal with it? Let’s work on boosting the Qi (energy) in the spleen meridian. The spleen meridian runs through the big toes, therefore, you can strengthen your spleen meridian by stimulating the big toes with the massage. With practice and persistence, you can eliminate drooling while sleeping over time

Anti-aging: Lifting the feet often

If the leg muscles are exercised regularly, it can accelerate blood flow and promote heart, lung, and brain functions. Although lifting the feet is a simple exercise, you can achieve great results if you practice it regularly. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is almost a hundred years old, but she looks great. According to her own anti-aging secret, she takes off her shoes and lifts her feet up for a few minutes every day.

Coughing: Massaging the instep of the foot

Massaging the instep of your foot on both feet can relieve cough and sore throat because this area is the reflex area of the tonsils. When your tonsils are inflamed, you can feel the pain when massaging this area. If you want to get rid of an annoying cough quickly, massage this area on both feet for 5 to 10 minutes regularly and drink plenty of water.

Here are some healing foods that you can try to get rid of a cough quickly and easily.

In summary, taking good care of your feet can boost your health easily and quickly. It is important to keep your feet warm in the cold weather. A foot bath or foot massage can not only benefit your health but also relax your mind. These exercises I just mentioned above are easy to follow and practice. As time goes on, you will notice the improvement in your health with regular practice.

What are your self-care tips for your feet? Please share it with us.

Quote:

“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

If you are interested in more self-care tips from the ancient wisdom of TCM, please check the book from Lucy Liu “88 Most Important First-Aid Acupoints for Self-care from TCM“. This book includes 88 most important acupoints (acupressure points) from the ancient wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for self-care. It is designed in a beautiful and colorful card fashion, which is very visual and user-friendly to the readers, it is also easy to memorize the information with precise visual aids. This book covers the most common health challenges, such as cold, fever, cough, sore throat, headache, indigestion, diarrhea/constipation, bloating, insomnia, night sweat, computer syndromes, shoulder pain, and back pain, etc. It can also be used to effectively manage chronic health conditions, such as high blood pressure, chronic pains, diabetes, asthma, heart disease, and weight management; and it can also be used for anti-aging purposes and enhancing longevity.

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About the author: Lucy Liu

As a Holistic Health Practitioner, Registered Dietitian, TCM Practitioner, Energy Healer, Master Hypnotist, Reiki Master, Advanced Theta Healing Practitioner, Author and Speaker, Lucy Liu, the founder of optimalhealthsolutions.ca, has gained a good reputation in holistic health after many years of serving patients and clients as a holistic health practitioner. Lucy has developed a unique and comprehensive approach, which combines Western Medicine, Chinese Medicine, Energy Medicine, and Alternative Medicine together, to help others achieve optimal health by creating harmony between the body, mind, and spirit, and maintain long-term success for healthy lifestyle changes.
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