Samantha Fisher is British reflexologist who very kindly agreed to write the following guest post for me during this month of foot-related posts!
Samantha blogs at Refloblog and runs the Reflotherapies website. So here are her hints and tips for deskbound feet!
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Are you slumping over your desk again? Yes you! Are your feet hot and irritable, encased in office wear all day ? If you have tenderness in specific parts of your feet,they might be trying to tell you something. Reflexology works on the idea that your feet are a reflection of your body and all its’ organs so if you have tender toes for example it could be that you are just starting a cold;If you have a headache quite often your big toes will be very tender-see below for an easy way to shake off that fuzzy head !
Have a look at the following foot reflexology excercises and give your feet a bit of TLC next time you have a break. Note – please warn your nearest colleagues before you unleash your feet in a crowded office!
toe squeezing!
A much neglected pastime in my opinion – get your toes one at a time,starting with the big toe,and give it a good squeeze all around the fleshy underside,and a pull and a wiggle.The toes all relate to the head and brain and you will probably find if you have a cold your toes will be VERY tender.If you have a headache your big toe might be sore along the inside-give it a good rub and feel yourself relaxing instantly. If you feel a bit embarrassed about exposing your feet, keep your socks on and push your toes into the floor, bending them forwards and back gently as you sit in your chair.
lung relaxer and cough remedy
Do this excercise if you have a persistent cough – make a fist and push it into the top third of your foot underneath( under your toes from the ball of the foot across). Push this part of the foot whilst gripping it with the other hand and let your toes curl around your fist – this will stretch the top of the foot and stimulate the circulation. Now run your fingers down the outside of your big toe to the dip between the toe and the ball of your foot – If you have a cough you should find lots of lumps under the skin here – give them a good rub and a push and this will help to shift your cough.
constipation remedy
This is easily done on the hands – it is amazing how reflexology can help if you have constipation or a tummy upset. Get a pen or pencil and hold it horizontally between you palms, then roll it between the fleshy pads under the thumbs. This again might be ‘lumpy’ especially the left thumb pad if you are constipated.
Feeling hormonal?
Ladies , if your hormones are getting the better of you there are two things you can do to your feet to help balance the hormones and stop you having the urge to stab your neighbour with a stapler or eat excessive amounts of chocolate: a, massage all around your heels and under the ankles – these areas all relate to the reproductive organs and hold a huge amount of tension at certain times of the month.
For more hints and tips please email Samantha on sam@reflotherapies.co.uk.
Give your feet a bit of T.L.C. and you will feel better all over!
Happy Monday everyone! Birthday weekend over and a new week beginning. But never fear, birthday celebrations will be stretching into next weekend!
A few things to get on with today so let’s get straight to it.
The Gaiam Yoga Club (Week Two)
(Week One)
This week we have been concentrating on sun salutations. I’m not the biggest fan of traditional sun salutations (I do them like this). I’ve never been convinced that the chaturanga/upward dog transition works for everyone, I think sometimes it can put so much strain on the shoulders, more than it’s worth and I am also constantly boggled by how early in a person’s yoga journey we introduce this tranistion.
That said, Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman once again introduce the sun salutation step by step, concentrate on several modifications, explain the anatomical make up of the poses and emphasise that you don’t have to do the full sequence until you’re ready. And you know what? I did the best chaturanga/upward dog transition of my career by taking it slowly!
The Gaiam Yoga Club is currently running two memberships – US$25 per month or US$65 per quarter (which saves you US$10). Both packages include a 10 day free trial period.
And now on to a fabulous guest post from La Gitane.
Supta Padangusthasana: La Gitane’s One-pose wonder
[Supta = reclining Pada = Foot Angustha = Big Toe Asana = Posture]
Many of us have a pose (or many, at different times in our lives!) that just brings everything home for us. The pose seems to completely understand what our body needs at the time. It brings us exactly the sensations we need, stretches what needs to be stretched, relieves the aches that plague us.
For me, at the moment, this pose is Supta Padangusthasana. Actually, a combination of SP I, II and Parvritta SP which we’ll call SP III. Don’t worry – there are pictures!
Before we get into it, here are 3 things I love about this sequence of poses:
SP I: stretches your hamstrings while keeping your back neutral (highly recommended as a hamstring stretch if you have lower back problems!!)
SP II: opens your hip while allowing your opposite hip flexor to work out as well, plus, you get a nice little shoulder action as a bonus. Pure hippy joy!!
SP III: just a fabulous reclining twist that gives a lovely stretch to your outer hamstrings and gluteus muscles too! Fabulous for relieving back pain, especially around the lower middle of the back.
So with no further ado, here is a super-simple Supta Padangusthasana sequence.
Props you may like to have handy: pillows or bolsters, placed at leg’s length to either side of your body in line with your hips, and a yoga strap.
1. Pavanamukta asana to Supta Padangusthasana I
Start by lying on your back. Gently bend your right knee and hug it towards your chest by bringing your hands onto the right shin. Breathe deeply, keeping the chest lifted and relaxing the shoulders back towards the mat. Keep the head on the mat.
Soften: by using a strap or towel around your shin
Intensify: by keeping the left leg really engaged, lengthening from the left thigh all the way through the left heel as if you were pressing into a wall.
Next, release your hands from your shin and clasp your fingers together around the base of your right thigh, towards the root of the hamstring. Gently begin to straighten the right leg, applying a bit of pressure with your hands. Turn the right toes slightly outwards, towards your right shoulder. Keep breathing deeply and evenly, and keep the chest lifted and the shoulders soft.
Soften: by bending the left knee and placing the left foot on the floor / or, don’t straighten the right leg all the way.
Intensify: by keeping the left leg really engaged // or, by increasing the pressure with your hands and then pushing back into the hands with the right thigh, creating a kind of push-pull for a nice deep stretch.
2. Supta Padangusthasana I to Supta Padangusthasana II
Release your hands from the right thigh and either grasp the right big toe with your right thumb and forefinger, or loop a strap around the ball of your right foot. Breathe a few moments there, keeping the shoulders soft.
Take both ends of the strap with your right hand, and gently start to release the right leg towards the right hand side. Keep the foot flexed, with the toes rotating outwards (towards the floor). You may want to use one or more pillows, blocks or books to rest your right foot on, like in the picture.
When you’re comfortable, open your left arm to the left hand side an turn your head out to the left.
Soften: By adding more pillows under the right foot.
Intensify: By activating the left thigh and lengthening the left leg away from your body. OOoooooh hello hip flexors! You can also place a small weight like a sandbag on your left thigh to help work it towards the ground.
3. Parvritta Supta Padangusthasana
Bend the right knee and gently come out of SP II. Stretch it out as needed. When you’re ready, come back to centre and bring the right knee in towards the chest. Stretch your arms out to either side, and gently release the right knee to the left hand side of the body, keeping the left leg straight. Look back over your right shoulder and breathe deeply into the belly in this twist.
Soften by placing a pillow or block under the right knee.
[This photo makes me look like I have spider-arms!! Ideally the arms should be straight out to the sides and the torso should be mostly straight, like in the second photo. But hey, whatever floats your spine!]
You can also do this stretch with the right leg straight, but it is much more intense, so please try the bent-knee version first! If that feels ok to you, you can try the straight leg version, using a strap or a pillow (pictured) as feels comfortable to you. Look back over the right shoulder, breathe deeply into the belly and enjoy this spine-refreshing supine twist!
When you’re done, repeat the whole sequence on the left side! Wrap it up by hugging the knees to the chest and rocking from side to side or doing circles on your lower back, or maybe taking the feet up into happy baby pose. You might also want to add a supported bridge pose or a supported reclining backbend like Supta Baddha Konasana for additional lower-back yumminess. Balance it out with a round of alternate nostril breathing or Brahma Mudra when you’re done!
Enjoy!
LaGitane (Bree) has been practicing yoga for 8 years and teaching for 4. She is a certified Vinyasa instructor in the Ashtanga tradition but harbours a not-so-secret passion for restorative and therapeutic Yoga. As a yogini with an s-shaped scoliosis, she has a special appreciation for all things spine-candy. A lifetime nomad and development worker, she blogs about yoga and life from her present base in Dili, East Timor (go on, look at a map, you know you want to!).
Happy Hump Day! Before we move on to Wednesday’s yummy recipe I did a guest post for Yoga Gypsy yesterday – a yoga sequence for scoliosis. It works for any type of back pain so go check it out if you think it will help.
Also many thanks for all your input on Child’s Pose yesterday – love it! Nikki reminded me that Bala means strength – so try to find strength and softness in child’s pose!
Right, onto those recipes!
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Dips.
Dips are the perfect entree for everyone and as long as you stay away from sour cream (unless you’re using the vegan version) then they can cater for carnivores and vegans alike without anyone noticing. Belive me on this. I often have to feed my caveman sausage-eating brother at the same time as myself. Although at the weekend he did ask for “something that had looked over a wall” (i.e. animal). Himself kindly provided organic burgers cooked on the barbequeue and as he didn’t want Brother Yogini to feel left out, he had one too 
So serve vegan dips with carrot and cucumber batons, pitta pieces, tortilla chips – then have a glass of white wine or bubbly and everyone’s a winner.
Want to know two of my favourite dips?
1. Suburban Guacamole
I have no idea how closely this resembles a traditional guacamole recipe but this is how we make avocado dip in this house.
Start with a ripe avocado, chopped up with a clove of garlic in your food processor.
Add a handful of fresh coriander or a teaspoon of dried coriander leaf and half a fresh chilli or half a teaspoon of dried chilli.
A handful of cherry tomatoes
And the juice of half a lemon.
And blend.
And serve asap, because we all know fresh avocado goes brown pretty quickly!
2. Aubergine Yogini (OK I’m on a limb with these names)
Prick two aubergines all over with a fork and roast at 180*C/Gas Mark 4 for an hour on a greased baking sheet along with a couple of cloves of garlic. When they are done cut the aubergines in half and allow to drain in a colander for an hour.
Scoop out the aubergine flesh into your food processor and add a teaspoon of each of these.
(that’s chilli powder on the right).
The juice of one of these.
A teaspoon of this.
And two dessertspoons of soy yoghurt.
And blend and voila.
Dips for everyone
