Traditional Chinese medicine teaches you how to soak your feet in this way, and all diseases in your body will be eliminated!

There is a saying among the people, "Soaking your feet in hot water is better than soaking in ginseng." With Father's Day approaching, letting your father soak his feet beautifully must be the best gift, so come and learn how!

The feet are called the second heart of the human body. This is because modern scientific research has proven that there are reflex areas on the human feet that correspond to various internal organs. Soaking the feet in warm water can stimulate these reflex areas, promote blood circulation, regulate the endocrine system, enhance the function of human organs, and achieve health care effects in preventing and curing diseases.

Soaking your feet in warm water is a long-standing health-preserving habit. Chinese foot massage has a long history. The "Book of Rites" has detailed records of the "fumigation, steaming, soaking and bathing" therapy of using decoctions of Chinese herbal medicines to fumigate and soak. “Feet are the root of the human body, and foot therapy can cure the whole body.” According to legend, the legendary doctor Bian Que discovered a method of curing diseases by soaking feet in hot water with Chinese herbal medicine based on people’s living habits. It is said that this is the predecessor of traditional Chinese medicine foot bathing and foot therapy.

What are the benefits of foot soaking?

1. Promote blood circulation

From the perspective of health preservation theory, feet are farthest from the human heart and bear the heaviest burden. Since ancient times, they have been regarded as the second heart of the human body. They are also the most likely to cause poor blood circulation. Medical texts record that "people's feet are like trees' roots. When a tree dies, the roots die first. When people age, the feet age first." For people with cold hands and feet, soaking feet is the best way to promote blood circulation.

2. Improve sleep and eliminate insomnia

Persistent foot soaking also has a good effect on improving sleep, so many people choose to soak their feet before going to bed at night. Soaking your feet in 43 degrees Celsius water for 30 minutes can reduce the lactic acid in the blood. Moreover, the feet are rich in nerve endings and capillaries. Soaking your feet in hot water can stimulate the nerves and capillaries in a gentle and effective way. This warm stimulation is reflected to the cerebral cortex, which has an inhibitory effect on the cerebral cortex, thereby improving sleep and eliminating insomnia. Foot soaking can increase the blood flow rate and volume in the feet, thereby improving heart function, reducing heart load, promoting metabolism, and regulating meridians and qi and blood.

3. Stimulate acupuncture points, reflex areas and meridians

Pressing the feet can also reflect whether there is a problem with the corresponding liver. When doing a foot massage, the masseur will press our feet, and we will feel pain and soreness, but after the massage, we will feel relaxed all over. There are 6 main meridians on the soles of the feet. Soaking your feet can stimulate these six meridians and help promote blood circulation.

4. Auxiliary treatment of diseases

Thousands of years ago, Chinese medicine attached great importance to the exercise and maintenance of feet, and used foot soaking and massage (foot therapy) to prevent and treat diseases. There is a folk saying that "rich people take tonics and poor people soak their feet", which shows the important effect of foot soaking. Modern people stay in air-conditioned rooms for a long time and like to eat cold food, so some people will have more cold and dampness in their bodies. Soaking feet can speed up the expulsion of cold from the body.

When is it good for your health to soak your feet?

1. Soaking your feet at 9 pm is the best way to nourish your kidneys

The best time to soak your feet is around 9 o'clock in the evening, as this is the best time to soak your feet in order to nourish the kidneys. Because this is the time when the kidney meridian's qi and blood are relatively weak, soaking your feet at this time will increase your body's heat, and your blood vessels will expand, which is beneficial for activating blood circulation, thereby promoting blood circulation in the body. Soaking your feet at night can also eliminate the nervous tension during the day, allow your tired kidneys to rest, and make you feel more comfortable.

2. The time should be controlled within 15-20 minutes

If you soak your feet for too long, it can easily cause the local blood circulation in your feet to be too fast for a long time, thus causing cardiovascular overload. Moreover, in autumn and winter, if the skin is soaked in hot water for a long time, it is easy to cause the skin to become dry.

3. The water temperature should not be too high

The higher the water temperature is, the better it is for foot soaking. The best water temperature should be controlled at 38-43℃, and it should be hot but not scalding. Do not use your hands to measure the water temperature, it is best to feel it with your feet. Water at a certain temperature can stimulate acupuncture points, cure diseases, maintain health and strengthen the body.

Soaking your feet in mugwort leaves is also one of the best choices. Mugwort can dispel cold, dampness, and dredge meridians. Because modern people generally suffer from heavy cold and dampness, soaking feet in mugwort water can effectively dispel virtual fire and cold fire. It can treat oral ulcers, sore throat, periodontitis, gingivitis, otitis media and other recurring diseases of the head and face that are related to virtual fire and cold fire. It has a positive role in preventing children's colds, especially for children who are weak and prone to colds.

Take three pieces of mugwort (with the stems and leaves) and put them in a pressure cooker to boil water for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then use the water to soak your feet. Pour a small part first, enough to soak your toes. Do not add cold water. Wait until the water cools down slowly, to a temperature that your feet can tolerate. Put your feet in to soak. If you can't stand it anymore, take out and put your feet in again. When the water is cold, add moxa water and soak it repeatedly in hot water. However, it is only good to soak your feet in mugwort leaves 2 to 3 times a week. Doing it more often will damage your foundation.

Foot soaking taboos

1. It is not suitable to soak your feet when you are too full or too hungry.

When soaking your feet, avoid being too full, too hungry or eating, because foot bathing will speed up blood circulation throughout the body, which may easily cause dizziness and discomfort. It is not advisable to soak your feet within half an hour after a meal, as it will affect the blood supply to the stomach.

2. Elderly people should not soak their feet for too long

For the elderly, soaking their feet for too long may cause symptoms such as sweating and palpitations. Therefore, it is best for the elderly to soak their feet for 20 minutes before going to bed every day.

3. Patients with athlete's foot should be careful of infection

People with athlete's foot should not soak their feet in hot water when the condition is severe enough to cause blisters, as this can easily cause wound infection. It is not easy to soak feet if you have foot inflammation, skin disease, trauma or skin burns.

4. Diabetic patients should pay attention to water temperature

The peripheral nerves of diabetic patients cannot perceive the external temperature normally. Even if the water temperature is very high, they cannot feel it and are easily scalded, which can lead to very serious consequences. Therefore, you should pay attention to the water temperature when soaking your feet.

5. Patients with severe heart disease or low blood pressure should be careful of fainting.

There is no problem for healthy people to soak their feet or in hot springs, but special groups, such as patients with heart disease, heart failure, low blood pressure, and frequent dizziness, should not soak their feet in too hot water or soak in hot springs for a long time. Because soaking your feet in hot water or hot springs will cause the body's blood vessels to dilate, blood throughout the body will flow from important organs to the body surface, which will inevitably lead to ischemia and hypoxia of important organs such as the heart and brain. For people with heart disease and low blood pressure, it will increase their risk of disease.