feet #2
Intro
Visual Reflexology is a way of foot reading based totally on modern Western reflexology. Other ways of reading the feet based on or incorporating the use of methodologies such as Yin/Yang, Chakras, the natural elements etc., have already been written about extensively elsewhere and are not included.
This is to encourage the development of foot reading based on our own therapy. And also to make the reasoning behind it understandable to all reflexologists, the majority of whom have little or no training in these other methodologies. Once a reflexologist has an understanding of Visual Reflexology this can be used on its own or in combination with other ways of foot reading.
As reflexology is a bodywork therapy, I read the physical aspect of the feet first. This then gives a holistic insight into the health of other forms of energy, because – naturally – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual imbalances all replicate in how they manifest visually on the feet. Alongside reading the health of individual reflexes, problems with the functioning of systems of the body (lymphatic, musculoskeletal, venous, etc.,) which usually develop in areas of the body, are read over corresponding areas of the foot.
To learn more about how I read the feet and reached the conclusions below, as well as how to apply this knowledge during a treatment, read my ebook
Feet of the Month #2
In this post, I read the feet with reference to the client’s notes, but I will also look for other conditions the feet show but are not obviously related to any issues that the client has told me of.
Client:
Female 64, works as a mobile health visitor which she enjoys. Also does work-related research and is more sedentary than she used to be. She still walks a lot for work and uses a rebounder (a mini trampoline adapted for exercising) several times a week. Sleeps well and has a very good diet and digestion but drinks over 20 units of alcohol weekly and is about 1.5 stone overweight. She took a few recreational drugs when younger but has never smoked. Has always been very conscious of her health holistically and has occasional reflexology for general well-being.
Medical History:
Had good health generally throughout her life. Not on any medication. Had a bout of psoriasis aged 20 and two bouts of iritis (a painful light-sensitive condition) of the left eye around 30 years ago. Neither have reoccurred since though her left eye can feel sensitive at times.
She manages hereditary sinus problems by eating very little dairy produce, but still gets ‘post nasal drip’. Gets acid reflux occasionally but takes care with diet to keep this at bay. She had recurrent cystitis when younger and now has an age-related weak bladder.
Her left leg is smaller and weaker and she had an undiagnosed problem with pains in her left leg as a child but this has not troubled her since. Had a bad break of her left fifth metatarsal 15 years ago, and a bad sprain of her left ankle in February this year. No musculoskeletal problems except an occasional ache in her right lower back. And in the last year or two, she has often woken with an unexplained pain in her right neck, but this eases on rising and doesn’t usually occur in the daytime.
She has had cellulitis a few times in her left leg but recovered without it being diagnosed. She only realises in hindsight this was what it was.
Her menstrual cycle was regular and easy to manage. Had two terminations in her twenties, one early, and one at 6 months for medical reasons. One straightforward pregnancy resulted in a son, now aged 26. Had an easy menopause and did not take HRT.
BP and glucose levels are good as is liver function, but has been told recently her LDL cholesterol level is too high and recommended statins. She is currently trying to lower it through natural supplements, reducing alcohol and increasing exercise.
Emotional Wellbeing:
She meditates and spends a lot of time in the country outside of London, is happy in her career and financially stable. Lives with her son and her partner and has good relations with everyone close in her life including her friendship group and large extended family. Her main cause of stress and anxiety is her son who lives with her, who suffers from regular epileptic seizures which are only partially controlled by medication.
Plantar Aspect (Right-Left)
***If something is not clear in any of the photos try enlarging it in your browser***
General Presentation and Overall Balance
When lying down, any deviation from the anatomically correct foot alignment is connected to tension in the lower leg muscles, which inevitably carries on up into the hip/pelvis and lower back. So the position and angle of the ankles provide a lot of information about misalignment in the musculoskeletal reflexes of the lower body.
1. The feet should lie hip-width apart, equidistant from the medial line, showing straight alignment up the leg and into the hips. So these are more or less spaced correctly in this regard.
2. If the pelvis has a straight horizontal alignment, both heels should be the same distance away from us. But here the left appears further away and higher, reflecting the pelvic misalignment, associated with the occasional lower back ache and sciatic twinges.
3. As the muscles on the lateral side of the thighs are heavier than those on the medial, if the person is relaxed when lying down, their legs should roll slightly outwards. So the ankles should rotate to ’11 and 1 o’clock’ angles, which they are here and the legs appear relaxed as she is generally.
Comparing the size of the two feet, the right foot is slightly broader especially over the metatarsals, reflecting the lifelong weakness of the left leg and why she is prone to accidents on this side.
The feet have an overall pinkish tone caused by the narrowing of the arteries due to her poor circulation. The skin texture is dry, showing her general chronic dehydration. This is partly due to her alcohol consumption, but also because she is loathe to drink as much water as she should because of her bladder weakness.
Emotions and Personality, the distance between her feet, and relaxed ankle rotation indicate an open, confident straightforward person which she appears to be. Both feet look very similar, especially for her age, reflecting a balanced person who has adapted well to changes throughout her life.
The big toe joints mostly are straight with only a little lateral deviation on the distal joint of the left foot, meaning the two sides of the brain are well connected and balanced. The toes generally are well lined up, but with a little too much space between some of the smaller ones, showing some lack of cohesion in thought patterns.
The poor circulation shown by the pinkness also means a poor flow of emotional energy, and she does find it hard to express herself saying it is due to her upbringing
The arches are high (this is clearer in the medial aspect photo below). This indicates an independent personality which may be best suited to working alone or in a position of responsibility and/or authority. Their weakness is linked to pride or resistance to ask for and accept the support of others. This assessment fits well with her.
right foot
left foot
Individual foot assessments
The big toe on the left foot is leaning slightly into the second toe, showing a tendency to lean her neck this way. The third toe has three parallel stress lines running diagonally down beneath it, likely related to the history of iritis. Another two stress lines are running up the right second toe, showing there is also a weakness there. And there is a line running from beneath left toe 5 showing stress around this ear in the jaw hinge/Temporal Mandibular Joint, which carries on down into the shoulder joint.
The pads of left toes 2&3 have small round swellings reflecting poor sinus drainage. On both feet toe pads 4, and especially 5, are bunching up a lot because of tension in their joints. This also contributes to congestion in the head in these zones. In the little toes, this is another indication of tension passing from the jaw down to the shoulder joint.
There is hard skin showing dehydration with slight yellowness (toxicity/mucosity) over the right lung reflex. This would be caused by the sinus drip, but also the impact of pollution as she has lived on a very busy main road for decades. The hard skin carries on into zone 1 over the central chest, and oesophagus reflex where she has noticed it gets thicker at times when her reflux is bad.
The callous at the left axillary lymph node reflex has developed since she sprained this ankle and is doubtless connected to a change in gait. The dry skin of the callous shows there is impeded lymph flow to the area.
On zone1-2 of the left foot, there is a stress line running up from the diaphragm into the heart reflex. It carries on up the zone as a weaker line crossing the heart reflex towards toe 2. This is concerning as she has a family history of heart attacks, and also because of her high LCL.
The two deep stress lines exiting from the spine reflex around T6/7 on the right foot show that tightness in the back muscles on this side is causing these vertebrae to be compressed. This will put pressure on the nerves leaving between the vertebrae, as well as the local organs including the stomach, contributing to the reflux.
Issues with the left kidney are seen in zig-zag stress lines over the reflex and the whiter skin tone there showing that the circulation to this core area is poor. This kidney weakness will be connected to her cystitis, and possibly reflecting the potential hereditary problem and exacerbated by her drinking.
There are lines running from the mid-spine across both feet, mainly crossing the horizontal colon but also the small intestines. She is not aware of any digestive problems but the area feels sensitive. The sigmoid flexure has a texture caused by cross lines, presumably due to past pathogenic overgrowths. There is hard dry skin over the sole of the right heel showing dehydration and poor lymph circulation on this side of the pelvis.
Emotionally, the lines over the heart show barriers to the expression of her feelings, reflecting her tendency to supress her emotions. The bunched up fifth toes show round shoulderedness which will carry on as tension down her arms. As we use arms and hands to physically demonstrate emotions this shows they are being repressed physically. The kidney represents the inner child and their needs. She originally wanted to be an artist and feels she has repressed her creative side all her life.
Dorsal Aspect
left foot
right foot
Individual foot assessments
(NB Visual Reflexology works with the understanding that energy travels through the anterior to the posterior body and vice versa, therefore indications of the health of internal reflexes can be seen on both plantar and dorsal aspects of the foot.)
(The orange colour on the big toenails is the remnant of nail varnish and the whiteness around due to poorly removed varnish there)
The nails have distinct vertical ridges, and some thicker ones are just visible on the second right toe. She has had these since she was young but they are getting deeper with age. It is now thought that they can indicate a kidney weakness. Her mother also had them and suffered from serious kidney problems in old age.
Both second toes are pulling dorsally resulting in them appearing higher than the big toes. And the amount of skin showing on the lateral edge of their nails shows that they are also twisting inwards medially. Both of these misalignments mean tension in the sternocleidomastoid muscle in front of the neck. The right big toe also has a dip running down its lateral edge which shows additional tension on this side, doubtless connected in some way to the waking right side neckaches.
Stress lines cutting diagonally down across the clavicle reflex on the right foot zone 2-3, and also at the base of toe 4 show tension here probably caused by the arm pulling forward during long hours on the computer. This is an impediment to upper lymph drainage as can be seen in the puffiness beneath toes 2-4 on both feet which will not help her sinus drainage. There are also short stress lines at the lateral base of the left big toe.
There is a swollen area beneath the left toe zones 4-5 near where the metatarsal break was. It lies over the breast reflex, and she has developed a benign cyst at exactly this area of the breast.
The sprained left ankle caused her to lean into her right side for several months. The multiple distended veins evident over the abdominal reflex area of the right foot shows the pressure of this extra weight bearing on the circulation of the lower back, groin and pelvis.
There is general oedema, particularly noticeable at the ankles showing very sluggish lower body lymph drainage and this may well be at least partly due to her increasingly sedentary lifestyle, plus her regular overconsumption of alcohol. There are a couple of very pale freckles, one at the lymph drainage point of the right foot showing perhaps some previous localised nerve trauma in the area.
Medial Aspect
right foot
left foot
There is hard skin over the medial edge and base of the right big toe, covering this side of the cerebellum reflex. It is also over the part of the brain where the nerves cross over to the other side of the body, and the connection of the mind and body at the top of the spine. All these reflexes are involved in putting thoughts into action, and the hard skin shows a barrier to the flow of energy at them.
The upper area of hard skin on the right also continues through to where it is likely affecting the internal nasal area and therefore contributes to the thickened mucous and poor sinus drainage.
Another patch of hard skin lower down over zone 1 on the right foot covers the upper thoracic spine/oesophagus reflex. This is definitely connected to her reflux, as the two small patches just discernible along this area only develop when her reflux is bad. There is also a slight ridge of hard skin on the left foot along the spine/oesophagus zone 1.
(Many stress lines can be seen cutting over the soles but in this section, I only focus on the ones over the medial arch.)
The strong vertebral stress exiting from the right and left mid-spine reflex on each foot are visible. Compression in spine. They both cut across the horizontal colon reflex on each foot.
Multiple parallel lines are crossing the bladder on both feet reflecting the bacterial overgrowths associated with her history of cystitis. Several short lines can be seen cutting into the soles, particularly on the right heel associated with the hard very dehydrated skin, covered in the section above.
Lateral Aspect
right foot
left foot
The tightness in the middle joint of both fifth toes that causes their bunched appearance is very visible, reflecting the tension in the TMJ going down into the shoulder joints.
The stress from the shoulder joints can be seen to carry on into the arms in the multiple diagonal stress lines that cut across their reflexes on both feet.
There are also lines cutting across the lateral heel base. Some of these may be showing tension in the upper thigh/hip connected to the lower back ache. But others are due to cracks in the skin because of dehydration on the soles as covered in the previous sections.
THE END
(all photos used with the client’s permission)
copyright 2023 Angela Telford. All rights reserved.
Post #3
‘is swelling oedema, lymphoedema or lipodema?’
…coming soon