Why do we need to take care of our feet?

 

Our feet are weight bearers of our body. We use our feet almost all the time, while standing, walking, playing sports, exercising, performing household chores, etc. Not to mention that our feet bear our weight for a lifetime!

“We walk about 115,000 miles in a lifetime – more than 4 times the circumference of the globe”

“A 150 pound person walking 1 mile exerts an equivalent of 63.5 tons, which is a force greater than 127,000 pounds on each foot.”

[Source – American Podiatry Medical Association and “Footwork” by Shannon Sexton – Yoga International Magazine, September 2003]

 

How do we take care of our feet?

 

After all the work our feet do – we “ignore” them, probably because they are the farthest point from our brain – our thinking machine. For us, taking care of feet means getting a pedicure or painting our toes. Furthermore, if our heals crack, guess what? We hide them in our shoes and socks. This goes for both men and women.

 

We need to pay our feet back with love and appreciation for all their hard work . A daily 5 minute foot self-massage with the ORNA Foot Revitalizer is all that our feet ask for.

 

What do our ancestors teach us about taking care of our feet?

 

The art of foot massage has been practiced across cultures since centuries. Historical scriptures from Russia, Japan, Egypt, Thailand, Peru, India, China and North America stress the importance of massaging our feet.

In Egypt, an ancient wall carving shows a physician massaging the foot of a patient. Ancient Egyptians believe that the human body could be “tuned” by massaging the energy points on the feet.

An altar in South America has engravings of a Mayan reflexology treatment, depicting the connection between reflexology and the Mayan civilization.

Native American culture, especially the Cherokee nation, is known to have a custom of footwork for healing. They believed that our feet keep us connected to the Earth and, therefore, the Universe, i.e., to the roots of life itself.

Ancient Buddhist scriptures, Hindu texts and even the Bible reference the feet as an important symbol – washing the feet of another is considered a symbol of humility and forgiveness; removal of shoes before entering a holy place is considered a sign of respect. Feet are given special importance in the Ayurvedic system of medicine in India - special “Marma” (energy) points on the feet are massaged to help prevent certain ailments.

 

 

 

Click here to learn about some common foot problems