Ayurveda and Foot Care

Ayurveda offers a holistic approach to taking care of your body, especially when it comes to your physical body. One of the most neglected body parts is the foot, despite the fact that it is also the most exhausted. To pamper your feet and properly care for it, take note of the tips below.

Pre-Bath Ayurvedic Massage

Before you take a bath, you can perform abhayanga or Ayurvedic massage on your feet. Thoroughly apply gentle but firm strokes on your feet, around your toes, ankles, heels, and soles. Use a warm oil for a soothing effect on your skin and to relax your tired feet. Regular massaging on your feet helps to lubricate it and promote circulation. Meanwhile, foot massage also helps release any toxins that have accumulated on your feet. Make sure to use oils from Ayurvedic herbs to enjoy maximum benefit.

Foot Care During Bath

Aside from pre-bath massage, make sure to pay attention to your feet during bath. Use warm water and apply a gentle and non-irritating foot cleanser with a washcloth. Thoroughly but gently scrub off dead skin cells to keep your feet clean and fresh all the time. The best cleansers are those that are neem-based, or contain coconut oil and plain shea butter.

Regular Foot Exfoliation

You must also perform natural exfoliation on your feet once every week. Concentrate around the soles and heels to eliminate any hardened skin on those areas. You can even prepare your own exfoliation mixture at home by combining 2 parts ckickpea flour, 2 parts of coarse oatmeal, and 1 part of rose water. Pour in water to these dry ingredients and continue mixing until it attains a paste consistency. Apply on your feet, scrub, and then rinse off with warm water.

Guidelines on Proper Footwear

Another reason why your feet become overly stressed is that most people do not pay attention on choosing the right footwear to use. Most sacrifice comfort for fashion, but Ayurveda experts warn against this.

Always follow the basic rules of comfort. Make sure that your footwear fits nicely (not too tight) and there is enough room to move around without pinching your toes. Limit the amount of time you spend wearing high heels since the pressure of your entire body weight is focused on your heels.

Herbal Foot Soak Recipe

To prepare an Ayurvedic foot soak recipe, you must first gather the following ingredients: quarter cup of lavender flowers, quarter cup of lemon peel, a tablespoon of dried rosemary, and 2 tablespoons each of almond meal and fine oatmeal. Using a cheesecloth, wrap all ingredients together and tie it up with a string.

While you do this, heat a pan of water until it comes to boiling point. At this point, you can drop the herbs wrapped in cheesecloth into the boiling water and allow it to sit for about 20 minutes. After that, you can pour the herb infused water into regular warm water where you will soak your feet. Make sure the water goes all the way up to your ankles and soak it in there for at least 15 minutes. You can also rub shea butter onto your feet to enhance the results. This particular Ayurveda herbal foot soak recipe is known to be really nourishing for your feet and legs.