|
| |
 |
|---|
|
Seattle Post-Intelligence, June 22, 2006. Your Health, Helping You Make Smarter Choices
|
"Healthy feet can hear the very heart of Mother Earth." --Chief Sitting Bull For thousands of years, Egyptians, Indians and Chinese have sought better health through the soles of the feet. That can mean applying finger pressure to specific neurological foot reflex zones to dislodge toxins that collect around the foot's nerve endings. After foot reflexology, water is consumed to flush away toxins. Every day in Asia, millions of individuals walk on public reflexology paths. These are therapeutic walkways with raised stones, designed and used to promote health. Walking reflexology paths encourages community and enhances well-being. The latest research lauding benefits of reflexology appeared in The Journal of American Geriatrics in 2005, concluding that walking indoor cobblestone mats lowers blood pressure and improves balance. In 2004, Kenmore's Bastyr University built the first outdoor reflexology path in the U.S. Bastyr medical students use the path to study reflexology. The path is free and open to the public. In America, we're welcoming an age of awareness of foot reflexology. King County Executive Ron Sims is working to bring public reflexology foot paths to King County parks. Reflexology mats, sandals and spa treatments are all testament to modern feet looking back to ancient wisdom. Source: Elizabeth Marazita, L.Ac. (licensed acupuncturist), Bastyr University, and Michael Spano, L.Ac., Bastyr Center for Natural Health; Reflexology Path Designer, www.pathsofhealth.com. Each week, Bastyr University in Kenmore offers a healthy lifestyle tip. Bastyr is a non-profit, private university offering graduate and undergraduate degrees, with a multidisciplinary curriculum in science-based natural medicine. The university's Seattle teaching clinic, Bastyr Center for Natural Health, is the Northwest's largest natural medicine clinic; go to www.bastyr.edu or www.bastyrcenter.org. |
 |