Exploring the Wisdom of Your Body: Trust Your Feet!

​What does it mean to trust your feet?  Well, to effectively answer this question, we must first get to know them a little better.  Your feet are those two, relatively small protuberances at the end of your legs that are each made up of 26 bones, 33 joints, more than 100 tendons, muscles, and ligaments.  All this anatomy is necessary to allow for the kind of flexibility that’s required to negotiate all sorts of terrain from smooth, flat surfaces like a tile floor to sandy beaches and rocky hills.  Your feet literally change shape to keep you connected safely to the ground—not to mention, they carry the weight of your entire body!
Feet take quite a beating pretty much on a daily basis.  They often get shoved into shoes that don’t fit right; they get stepped on and toes get stubbed; they get stung by bees and bitten by ants; they get splinters and blisters and can get calloused and really sore after a long day of walking or standing.  Feet have a unique set of problems that other parts don’t experience like corns, cracked heels, hammertoes, bunions and ingrown toenails.  We have a tendency to just accept these kinds of problems with our feet and essentially ignore the sensations they create that could actually be providing us with some valuable information. 
If your feet develop health problems, your level of activity and quality of your life can be greatly altered.  It doesn’t take long for inactivity to negatively affect your overall heart strength, muscle endurance and pulmonary functioning.  The resultant decreased activity can potentially create a serious decline in health and quality of life.   The slippery slope toward chronic illness and dysfunction due to inactivity can be avoided by compassionately listening to the messages of your feet and by taking the appropriate steps to care for them.
In Rubenfeld Synergy, feet are a rich source of information for guiding you to listen to the messages that are held not only in your feet, but in your entire body and can be a direct line to connecting mind, body, emotions and spirit!  During a Rubenfeld session, your synergist may gently manipulate your feet and “listen” with her hands for any messages they may be holding. These messages may be revealed through stiffness, resistance to movement, temperature or pain sensations.  You may even discover images or colors that emerge through mindful observation of your feet.  Metaphors to your life may also be found in your feet and can open up a conversation that can reveal answers to significant questions about your life or state of being.  Are you resisting moving in a certain direction?  Are you tip-toeing around something?  Do you have cold feet over a choice you’ve made?  Maybe your feet are strong and wide and sturdy, revealing the weight of things you’ve carried throughout your life; or perhaps they are reluctant and weak due to a trauma or injury from your past. Whatever the message, your synergist’s and your own compassionate listening can guide you to discoveries that can open up pathways toward potentially life-changing insights!
Now that you know that your feet carry rich wisdom that can guide you in gaining and maintaining a good quality of life, are you understanding why trusting your feet is another key to optimal health, healing and wellness?  Make a commitment to take great care of your feet!  After all, your feet have taken you everywhere you’ve ever been and can propel the journey toward healing, health and wellness today, tomorrow and for the rest of your life!
 
For information about your feet’s role in grounding (or Earthing), reflexology and how to care for your feet, join Patti at Bridge to Avalon on April 26 from 7-8:30 for Part 2 of the workshop series Exploring the Wisdom of Your Body entitled Trust Your Feet!