I thought it appropriate to release a post in the run-up to National Feet Week about the incredible power of your feet to tell a story. Did you know that a person’s entire life history is recorded on their feet? Your feet harbour and express a secret language all of their own.

Visual vs Palpation Reflexology

I’m currently studying Visual Reflexology – something I’e been meaning to do for the past year or so. I intend, with client consent, to gradually integrate this into my standard reflexology practice.

Standard reflexology is different in that it is about touching and feeling the reflex of the feet – what reflexologists call “palpation”. Visual reflexology on the other hand is more about recognising the appearance, contours, structure, shape, colouration, markings and patterns on your feet and using these as visual clues to interpret your personality as well as gain some insight into your current and past health, physical and sometimes emotional.

Personality Foot Reading (Solestry)

Are your feet inverted and tense or are they loose and relaxed? Inward-turned and tense feet could be a sign that you are a shy or retiring person. If they are loose and more outward turned, it could be an indication that you are more outgoing and laissez-faire, i.e. easy-going.

Are your arches high or low? High could mean that you are independent and self-sufficient. Low arches on the other hand indicate that you are practical, but possibly look to others for decision-making guidance or provide a suggestion that you need to use your imagination more.

Jane Sheehan is an expert in personality foot reading, what she has called “Solestry”.

The Energy Story of the Feet

From my point of view as an energy healer, I’m more interested in what the energy story is of the feet – what picture do they paint of you from a physical and emotional health aspect?

Even a verruca (or any other type of viral infection), whilst on the surface suggesting a low immune system, could indicate some other underlying story, depending on which reflex the verruca is positioned on the foot.

Cracked heels could mean that you have obstacles in your path and that your roots are not stable. Or you may feel torn in different directions.

Swollen or puffy feet (apart from indicating a lymph flow issue) could suggest that you’re holding back and need to express your emotions and resolve past issues or burdens.

When I’ve worked with people in my energy coaching capacity to release limiting beliefs often associated with past emotional upsets and pain, I’ve inadvertently helped them resolve physical conditions, such as restless leg syndrome, or lower back pain. It’s because we’re highly complex creatures with an intricate emotional mind-body energy system of cause and effect and biofeedback loops.

Energy Chain Reaction

Things do not appear by magic on the feet. We certainly know this as reflexologists, because there is a whole intricate map of reflexes on the feet correlating to different body areas. Changes in the cells of the foot reflex correspond to changes in the cell of the body area that corresponds to that reflex. It’s a fascinating area of study. So there’s a whole chain reaction of prior events leading up to the energy change and the change in physical appearance of the foot reflex.

Significantly, energy we know is always in flux and is circular – it moves up from the foot reflex to the organ and not just down from the organ to the reflex. So the surprising conclusion is that external wounds on the feet will affect the corresponding part of the body connected to that reflex.

Variations and Anomalies

Moreover, the same condition can present itself visually in one client differently from another. This is because each person has a different genetic code and medical history as well as personality. Anomalies can occur as a result of different lifestyles and emotional experiences, including the person’s ability to handle emotional triggers.

Anomalies and variations in the appearance of the feet are invariably the result of imbalances in the energetic field of that person.

The Whole Story

After reading the Biology of Belief (Dr Bruce Lipton), You Can Heal Your Life (Louise Hay) and the Molecules of Emotion (Dr Candace Pert), I’ve understood there is an interesting correlation between the mind, the emotions and the body. There is an energy transference that cannot be ignored.

Therefore, to have a fuller picture of any of my clients’ health, it’s important to understand the circular transference of energy and attempt to understand cause and effect. Often our physical symptoms mask an emotional story.

Do your feet have a story to tell? Please comment and share.