Practitioners say a session of foot reading can reveal lots about your character, behaviour and emotions.
Far from being a new fad, it’s been around for centuries and has been popular in parts of Asia for over 5000 years.
Devotees say the feet are a mirror to the rest of the body and studying the colour, texture, shape and proportion of that part of the body can give away clues to a person’s moods and actions.
After all, the foot is made up of 26 bones, 33 joints, 19 muscles, 7000 nerve endings and 107 ligaments, all working together. And, it must be strong to support more than 100,000 pounds of pressure for every mile walked.
Patricia Lavelle is a professional foot health practitioner based in Scotland, offering holistic foot therapies and practising foot and toe reading.
She believes the health of a person’s foot is tied to their emotional wellbeing and she’s particularly interested in the energy connection between mind and feet.
Explaining more, she said: “Your health rests on your feet. Foot reading is a similar therapy to a doctor’s consultation. Years ago the doctor would read your tongue for signs of ill health.”
“Understanding the feet provides fascinating and beneficial insights into the workings of the subconscious mind, through the study of the ever changing characteristics of the feet.”
Patricia revealed that toes reflect your thoughts; toe necks reflect expression; the balls of the feet are connected to feelings and emotions; upper insteps are about actions and reactions, while lower insteps are linked to communications and relationships; and heels reflect mobility, security and society.
She is passionate about the therapy, which she first learned about on a trip to South Africa and later at a foot conference in Australia. She then trained with ‘the foot lady’ Chris Stormer in Australia and Ireland.
Patricia said: “I changed career to feet after a trip to South Africa. After a 20 year career in the corporate world, I retrained, I gave up the luxury of a salary, house and car and after qualifying I travelled the world to learn all about feet and people, and to learn the different alternative therapies and ways, of living from who I came across, at conferences, workshops and by taking different treatments as often as possible.”
She likes to help her patients, who come from all over the region and further afield, to be more self aware of the health of their feet.
And she said: “Understanding the thoughts and emotions that influence the ease, or dis-ease, of the body, mind and soul, as revealed through the condition of the soles, allows personal attributes and talents to be recognised and acknowledged.
“Then a meaningful direction can be gained. Once personal needs are clearly understood, it is easier to maintain ongoing good health.”
Challenging Be readers to be in tune with their own feet, she posed three questions:
* What do you like about your feet?
* Anything you love about your feet?
* How best can you serve and care for your feet?
To find out more go to www.mindingfeet.com
