Foot Massage for Health - Easy Self-Massage Techniques for Your Feet

Author: Wang Jing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: Health foot therapy offers a new approach and method for those seeking health due to its advantages such as safety, hygiene, cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and convenience. It is widely popular among the general public and will lead the new trend of nationwide fitness. This book covers 22 classic foot therapy techniques, illustrates the precise positioning of 64 foot reflex zones, and provides detailed explanations of foot therapy for 101 common conditions, showcasing the miraculous effects of foot therapy! The foot massage methods introduced in this book are suitable for both traditional foot therapy performed by others and self-massage. For consistency in narration, it is uniformly referred to as "foot scraping massage" in the book. Foot self-massage is highly favored by the general public for its lack of adverse effects, simplicity, ease of learning, affordability, and effectiveness.
For years, the author has been giving lectures across the country and has deeply felt the urgent need of the general public for a practical foot therapy book that is easy to understand and learn. The language of this book is simple, the illustrations are vivid, the content is presented in an easy-to-understand and progressive manner, making it highly suitable for the masses.
Foot scraping massage health is a simple and effective non-drug natural therapy that stimulates foot reflex zones using physical methods (including using hands alone or a foot scraping massage board). It originated from the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, where foot massage is an important part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, a classic medical text from over 2,000 years ago, provides detailed descriptions of the body's meridians and acupoints, many of which are located on the feet. For example, the Stomach Meridian (Foot Yangming) includes points like Lidui, Naiting, Xianggu, Chongyang, and Jiexi, while the Gallbladder Meridian (Foot Shaoyang) includes points like Ziquoyin, Xiari, Dawuhui, Zhilinqi, and Qiuxu. The Bladder Meridian (Foot Taiyang) includes points like Zhiyin, Zitonggu, Shuguo, Jinggu, and Kunlun, and the Spleen Meridian (Foot Taiyin) includes points like Yinbai, Dade, Taibai, Gongxu, and Shangqiang. The Liver Meridian (Foot Jueyin) includes points like Dadun, Xingjian, Taichong, and Zhongfeng, and the Kidney Meridian (Foot Shaoyin) includes points like Yongquan, Ranggu, and Taixi.
Moreover, ancient texts detailed the relationship between meridians, acupoints, and the five zang organs and six fu organs. It was believed that diseases in the internal organs could reflect to the surface acupoints via meridians, and conversely, if acupoints exhibited sensations of soreness, numbness, swelling, or pain, or if local nodules appeared, it indicated dysfunction or disease in the corresponding or related internal organs. Foot acupoints can reflect or treat a wide range of systemic diseases. For instance, stimulating Xianggu can treat facial edema, abdominal pain, and pleurisy, while stimulating Kunlun can treat neck and head pain, prolonged labor, and dizziness. Stimulating Xingjian can treat headaches, dizziness, menstrual disorders, and glaucoma. By massaging or acupuncture on foot acupoints, dysfunction in corresponding internal organs can be corrected, restoring health to the body and reducing the occurrence of diseases, thereby promoting longevity.
The Inner Canon also frequently mentions the principles of massage for treating diseases. For example, the Basic Questions·Discourse on Pain states: "When cold qi invades the meridians of the back, the meridians constrict, causing blood deficiency, which leads to pain. The meridians connect to the heart, so the pain intensifies when pressed. Applying pressure brings heat to the area, and when heat reaches the meridians, the pain subsides." Another passage says: "When cold qi invades between the intestines and stomach, under the membrane, the blood cannot circulate, causing small collateral vessels to constrict and thus pain. Applying pressure disperses the blood and Qi, alleviating the pain." These passages propose the basic pathological change of "obstruction causes pain, while unobstruction alleviates pain" and the mechanism of massage in unblocking meridians and Qi to treat diseases.
Foot massage has long been unable to gain recognition as a refined practice due to cultural or historical reasons, and it has mostly circulated among the common people. However, medical texts and other ancient books still contain records of it, such as the General Treatise on the Sacred Remedies·Immortal's Guiding Exercises which mentions "using the hand to hold the tip of the foot while holding one's breath to draw the Qi from Taichong." The famous Song Dynasty literati Su Dongpo had extensive research and experience in health preservation. He highly praised the benefits of persistently rubbing the Yongquan point on the sole of the foot, stating, "The effects may not be immediately noticeable, but after accumulating for over a hundred days, the benefits are immeasurable."