Self-Reflexology Series: Feet

okay everyone so we have our self reflexology routine right here and we are just going to be going through each of the zones starting with our right foot we are going to start with these spinal reflex area which is on the medial Arch and we are going to rest the fingers of either hand on the foot in a way that's comfortable for you keeping both thumbs bent to protect them we're going to use an alternating pressure to walk up the arch three times see how I'm keeping the thumbs nice and bent returning to the bottom and just side by side nice and easy you might find a couple tender points and that's totally natural just walking up that Arch and third time perfect then we are going to move to the head and neck reflexes at the toes starting with the little toe we're going to use a three finger grip and gently massage up the toe three times one two three and repeat the same technique with each consecutive toe and then once we get to the big toe we have a whole another routine for the big toe but we're basically just bringing blood to the toes you can see on my toes how it goes white and then red again and that's a sign that the circulation has gotten nice and deep so we just want to facilitate all of that opening of those head and neck reflexes three times each one two three and then if you wanted to even switch hands for the big tail if that's comfortable for you you totally can two and then three after massaging the big toe use the thumb of the right hand to walk up the pad of the toe with the fingers of the right hand behind the big toe for support so we're going to walk up the big toe also in five vertical columns three times each it's gonna look like this so we have the fingers behind we're going to bend that thumb nice and easy up five imaginary columns three times each so starting at the edge of that toe and then working our way to the opposite Edge just imagining that that toe is broken up into five vertical sections and then walking up each of those five vertical sections three times each right that third vertical row right now and again you can see how that big toe has that dramatic color change and that's a sign that we're getting that good circulation in there or always remember to keep your thumb bent to protect it just to make sure we don't want to get those health benefits and compromise our joints in the process okay and if you'd like to do a couple extra passes you totally can just whatever feels good for you as we walk through this self-care technique and we're going to go into the chest lung area at the ball of the foot again resting the hands on either side of the foot in a way that's comfortable for you keeping the thumbs bent and we're going to walk off each of those five zones in line with each toe three times so just like we did with the spine creating that nice easy alternating pressure but we're staying in line with each of the toes so starting with the big toe three times and then moving to the second toe this is great for anybody who happens to suffer with neuropathy or neuromas in the toes just opening up all of those lovely nerve Pathways with just a super gentle pressure okay that's our third walk in the third Zone moving to that fourth and you can take as much time as you'd like I'm just giving you a little bit of a faster demo and if you can't reach like you can see that my wrist is kind of torquing you can always just use one hand as well if that's more comfortable this is your practice so really get creative as far as the techniques that you would like to do I'm just giving you an outline okay third time on that last Stone so we've got our third reflex area now we're going to move to the upper and lower digestive reflexes what you're going to look for is there is a bump on the side of the foot so if we Trace our finger all the way down about halfway there's a nice little bump this is the proximal head of the fifth metatarsal we're going to draw an imaginary line and that's going to divide our third and fourth Zone in reflexology or the fourth reflex area from the fifth reflex area in this technique and what we're going to do is we're just going to work in the third for now and again wrap the fingers around the sides of the foot for leverage keeping the thumbs bent and using that same alternating pressure to walk up each Zone each in line with each toe three times each and this becomes a very therapeutic technique it's super easy great to teach kids as well just taking your time really feeling through the area this Zone has all of those upper digestive reflexes in it so really paying attention especially if you have symptoms in those areas feeling for points that may be a little bit tender but also just taking your time and making it feel good you can always do more passes if you'd like if an area is tender you can also do less that's totally your preference to two and three perfect moving to that fifth reflex area those lower digestives so we find our Point again that proximal head of the fifth of tarsal we're going to go below that we're going to stay above the heel so if you wanted to think of the arch that part of the foot that would actually pick up when you have your foot planted down we're only going to do the farthest end of that arch for the upper and then the closest end of that arch for the lower but the heel we're going to walk separate so starting above the heel but below that proximal head of the fifth metatarsal again walking up each Zone with that nice alternating pressure of the thumbs three times each in line with each toe again if you feel like you can't reach you can always just use one hand as well just remember to keep your thumb bent because we don't want to put any excess stress on that joint and then last but not least we're going to do the exact same thing for the heel starting at the edge of the heel and walking up in line with each Zone to two and three four two three and one two [Music] three and I'm actually gonna wrap my fingers around here just because it's a little easier for me one two three if you wanted to switch to fingers at any time as well you can always use your fingers too one to three we'll demonstrate that one more time again just using the fingers if that's a technique that works for you but just making sure that as you walk through these areas you're taking time to clear each individual Zone perfect and that concludes our walking great job on to the walking for the left side we're basically going to repeat the exact same thing so again having your sheet handy is always helpful but we are going to start with our spinal reflexes bending the thumbs walking up spinal reflexes three times each on the medial Arch you're really focusing on the meat here but as we explore the left side versus the right side you might notice some textural differences both uh you know what you're feeling as you're walking but also what you're feeling is you're pressing in terms of sensitivity so just be on the lookout for that moving to the toes at three finger grip massaging each toe two three again looking for that color but likewise with the toes you might notice that one of the toes is more sensitive than the others but likewise from left to right one toe may be more sensitive on the right than the left or on the left and the right so just notice that as the head and neck reflexes are in the toes that if you have head or neck issues on one side that that side maybe a little bit more tender and always feel free to switch hands if you'd like whatever gets you the best leverage and what's comfortable for you there's no judgment with this technique as long as you clear each of the zones in your own way at your own pace but really making sure that each of them get the attention that they deserve we don't want them to get jealous and after the big toe three times we're going to start with our walking of each of those five imaginary zones three times each so we have our fingers behind for leverage our left thumb is going to do the walking here and just very gently tracing up seeing that beautiful color change on the pad of the toe moving to each consecutive zone three times three one two three and last one two perfect after the toes you move to the ball of the foot keeping the thumbs bent and walking in line with each toe three times normally some people don't have it but if you do happen to have it like I do really nice line this line right here is called the diaphragm guideline and it separates the upper digestive reflexes from the chest lung reflexes so that line will help you stay in horizontal zone two just to let you know that you're in that chest lung area we don't want to get our reflex areas confused at all especially if you're looking to release tension in a specific area one two and three Excellence just breezing through the technique as with any form of self-care taking time for you is important but the time shouldn't interfere with your day so really take as much time as you'd like or as little time as you like as long as you take time for you that's what's most important moving to that upper digestive reflex area which is going to be our fourth reflex area to work tracing the finger down finding that proximal head of the fifth metatarsal drawing that imaginary line and starting just above that line walking and eat in line with each toe three times keeping the thumbs nice and bent two three starting to feel my stomach gargle a little bit just in response to the work Absolutely Fabulous As we walk through these upper digestive reflexes again as you get to that edge if you'd like to switch to one hand you totally can or if your hands are really nice and long you can always reach over totally up to you just making sure that you clear each of the zones with just that nice steady alternating pressure finding that proximal head tracing now we're going to go below but above the heel walking up in that closer Arch area three times in line with each toe [Music] people oh sound effects are very important just kidding you don't need sound effects and you can see on this video probably better than the other one that my digestive reflexes are actually a little bit dry and you can even see a little sprig of redness in there so I might actually want to up my digestive reflex walk uh because of that dryness just as a sign that my digestive reflexes are a little bit tired so I might even just want to go through that whole section one more time just because my feet are telling me that I need work in that area so that's one other kind of tool and technique that you can use is just visual assessment but moving on to the heel three one two three got really good blood flow through there absolutely wonderful or two three and I am working super fast you can always slow down always feel free to slow down take your time hold some points that feel really really good because again this is your practice so really make it for you at all times Zone one two three and that concludes our walking on this side great job everybody