When you get come out of a massage session with me, you will generally find a glass of water and a piece of chocolate waiting for you.  Some women feel the chocolate is decadent, and delight in the treat.  Yes, eating chocolate is a delightful experience.  However, there are good reasons for eating it as well.  It turns out that eating chocolate is good for your health.

Chocolate, especially dark chocolate,  is reported to be rich in flavonoids, making it an excellent antioxidant~~even better than tea, red wine, or apples.  Recent studies suggest that it raises HDL levels (the good choloesterol), can help prevent blood clots, and regulates blood pressure.  Another study showed that eating chocolate can help prevent preeclampsia, a serious condition that develops during the late stages of pregnancy, showing a sudden rise in blood pressure, excessive weight gain, and fluid retention.

Chocolate also contains phenylethylamine, a neurotransmitter that is realeased during emotional euphoria…it makes us feel good. It also contains anandamide, which helps make us feel more relaxed and less anxious. 

Of course, all the nutritionists tell us to not overdo it on chocolate and continue to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. So the next time you sit down with the intention to devour a bunch of truffles, try eating them with strawberries or cherries.

I am thrilled to see that there are signs to bring Whole Foods to North Raleigh, near the intersection of Six Forks and Strickland, which is only two blocks from where I practice Massage Therapy.  

Being a vegetarian who chooses to eat fresh, organic food, Whole Foods is my  number one choice for shopping.  Unfortunately, I find it difficult to squeeze in a trip to the one that is located on Wade Avenue, 10 miles south of my office, given that I live 25 miles north of my practice. To go to the current store takes me at least 2 hours with drive time if I go from the office.  It is often much easier to swing into one of the current local grocery options, even if the organic selection is slim and the produce is not as fresh. 

I would experience near  eternal bliss if there was a Whole Foods so close to where I practice.  If you support the effort, go to http://www.bringwholefoods.org  and sign the petition. 

When you start to feel overwhelmed with what is going on in your life, take a preventitive health day from work.  Call in, make your excuse, and then spend the rest of the day focused on you, not your work. 

Spend the day doing what you like best…whether it be sleeping, gardening, hiking, watching old movies and eating ice cream, talking with friends…whatever makes you feel good.  Even better…schedule an appointment for a massage!

In my previous work life, I held a position with a lot of responsibility.  When I was at work, I always had a long list of things that needed to get done. Sometimes, I would start to get stressed out with the amount of work that was piling up.  On those days, I would go to my supervisor and tell her I was overwhelmed with work, and that I was going home.  She understood, and would tell me to come back when I was ready.  I would walk home (about 4 miles…I usually rode the bus) and by the time I made it home, I would feel a bit better.  Then, I would usually spend the rest of the day in my flower garden.  I could usually go back to work the next day, refreshed and ready to attack the piles on my desk. (Sometimes I would be decadent and take a second day off as well.)  While this may seem daunting… taking time off means more work to do when you get back…your mindset is different, and it makes it all a lot easier.

These mental health days made it possible for me to be effective in my work. Give it a try.

For the past several years, I have seen advertisements in natural healing magazines for “Foot Detox Patches”, which are made of ingredients such as bamboo vinegar and tourmaline. While I’ve been tempted to experiment, as I’m always curious as to these kind of things, it wasn’t until recently that the urge got stronger. Recently, I was in a store buying something for my massage practice, and saw them on a shelf. Go figure.  Of course, I couldn’t stop thinking about them, so a few days later I went back and purchased a box of the patches. I decided to chronicle my experiment, which is being done with an open mind.

Day 1:

Pre-Patch body awareness:  Lower back pain (I’ve had for 2 days), neck issues (pretty common, although I am concerned about a lump in my scalp that makes me think I’m misaligned.  But that’s another posting).  I am tired, but its been a long day.

Off to the bathroom…wash the feet, and dry thoroughly.  I took my toe-ring off, because metal can mess with energy flow, and I don’t want any intrusions.

After I peel the backing off the adhesive, I take the little patch out of its protective pouch, poke it a bit out of curiosity, smell it…very tentatively… It smells a little like smoke, nothing too nasty.  I place it ever so gently on its adhesive nest, and take a deep breath.  Ok, I am ready.  I then place it on the bottom of my left foot.  Immediately I feel some warmth and tingling.  Repeat the process for the right foot, without the poke-n-sniff.  Again, I feel warmth.

The directions say put them on an hour before bedtime.  Walking around the house on them a bit before climbing into bed was rather odd.  I am someone who goes barefoot as often as possible, so it was uncomfortable having something stuck to the bottom of my feet.

When I did get into bed, I noticed that my arms, back, and neck began to tingle a bit.  Not in a scary way. Rather soothing in fact. Interesting.  Kind of like an energy flow.

I had to get up a few times during the night to go to the bathroom.  Of course, I had to look at the bottom of my feet.  I saw nothing coming through. I was a bit skeptical, but each time I crawled back into bed, my mind racing curiously.  The excitement made it a little difficult to sleep.  (Hey, I lead a very quiet life.  Foot patches are a highlight)

When I finally rolled out of bed in the morning, I got up and the first thing I noticed was there was no back pain.  Might or might not be related.  Got to the bathroom, and after my usual morning constitutional, I again looked at the patches.  No visible changes below.  Still skeptical, I tore off the first patch.  Low and behold…a dark greenish-gray.  My foot tingled.  I wiped the warm, slightly slimy-yet-sticky residue off the bottom of my foot, and peeled the second patch off.  Same look, same sensation. The smoky smell was stronger.

Physically…I felt more rested than I have recently, and more than I usually do the morning after a long day at work and an even longer day at home.  My calves felt tired, and slightly sore.  The soles of my feet felt like my arch was a bit elongated, and were tingly.  It also felt a bit like I had gotten a reflexology session…clear is the only way I can describe it. I noticed the taste in my mouth was different.  Since the odor of your breath (and the taste in your mouth) is related to what is floating around in your digestive system, this makes sense.

Towards the end of the day, the lower back pain returned, but only slightly.  It felt more tired than sore. The calf discomfort is gone, but my right knee hurts (not normal for me).  I felt slightly nauseous a few times during the day, but nothing that concerned me.   I also got a little dizzy when I did energy work on one of my clients.  I haven’t had that happen before.  The directions say use the patches every other day.  I’m going to be bold and apply them again tonight.

Day 2

I slept REALLY solid last night and did not get up to “eliminate” until 4:15 this morning. At one point last night, I felt a somewhat odd tingling sensation in the middle of my abdomen…kind of like what I felt in my upper body the night before.

My curiosity continues, so I looked up the product online.  I found a review site, where about half of the folks said the patches did not work, and were a bunch of crap.  One said if you put them on warm rice they do the same thing, which is something I wondered about.  Is it the warmth of my feet that creates moisture, which turns the pad greenish-gray and goopy?  It was powder inside when I put them on my feet.  I feel a science experience coming on.

Day 3

I am totally enthralled with this whole foot detox pad thing. Last night’s application was similar to the two nights before.  I did not notice anything different, although I must admit I also didn’t pay attention.  The pads are still the same color as the two previous nights.  I don’t think I’m that toxic, but I also recognize that I am a little off balance energetically.  Perhaps that is it.

Day 4

The first 3 nights of my patch experience, I have placed them on the same spot of my feet, the arch, which in reflexology is the general area for the whole digestive and eliminative organs. Last night, I decided that if these pads work the reflexology points, it would be beneficial to me to place the pads on areas where I tend to have issues…namely, respiratory system…lungs, bronchial tubes, sinuses.

So, I placed the patches on the balls of my feet last night.  When I first placed them on my feet, I noticed the warmth that I had experienced the first two nights.  My feet also itched quite a bit.  I always take that as energy releasing, so I was not alarmed, although I did read about someone having an allergic reaction, and that thought entered my mind…hmmm, do the detox herbs contain something like mushrooms that makes it extremely foolish to put over the points of my respiratory system, being that I am very allergic to them?

When I went to bed, I prayed for healing of my heart, throat, and lungs.  I also was very conscious of what was going on in my body. I noticed a similar energetic tingling, this time beginning in the area of my heart chakra and solar plexus.   It then spread up to my throat, and down to my sacral area.  I tried to consciously move the energy down my legs and into my feet, but it seemed to want to linger where it was.  I let go of that plan and fell asleep.

When I woke up, my chest did feel lighter.  My heart felt more open.  That was encouraging.  I’ve been feeling a little heavy in that region lately.

I coughed and sneezed a bit, but that could have been due to the cheese in yesterday’s asparagus omelet, or the big gigantic piece of German Chocolate Cake (I was forced to eat it at gunpoint…. really!)… Nah.

I think today I will stay away from wheezy stuff, and put the patches in the same place tonight.  Just to see.

Day 5:

I placed the pads on the balls of my feet again.  As the night before, I noticed a similar energy movement in my chest area.  I also had a pain in the area of the thyroid point on my feet.  Hmmm…my mother has thyroid issues.  Maybe that can be my excuse for my “extra baggage”.  It’s NOT the German Chocolate Cake after all!

Day 6:

In the interest of equal opportunity,  this time I placed the pads on my heels.  Almost immediately, I felt a discomfort/tightness/not-quite-pain on the lateral (that’s outside) of my left foot.  About 30 minutes later, my left knee hurt.  I did not feel any energy sensations when I lay down.  Everything feels quite happy this morning.

Yesterday, I looked up Kinoki Foot pads on the internet.  Most sites were about how it is a scam, how they saw no difference in their health, etc.  My thoughts are this:  Are the people who say it is a scam not really understanding the properties of the ingredients?  Which are, according to the “Official” website  (www.BuyKinoki.com) Bamboo Vinegar, Chitin, Tourmaline, and Detox Herbs.

Bamboo Vinegar: According to the competitor’s product site (Takara foot patches), It has a disinfectant effect in sterilizing the skin; the ester content can easy permeate and bring nutriment to the deep tissues. The acetic acid contained in bamboo vinegar will soften the skin cuticle and has a wonderful effect for skin care.  Herbal properties include the powerful ability to assist in the discharge of unnecessary waste matter and toxins from the human body.

Chitin: Put simply, it is a substance that is often found in the cell walls of fungi.  It is also a main ingredient in the exoskeleton of such critters. It is a natural polymer.  According to Wikipedia, it is used in surgical thread, and is biodegradable. Chitin also accelerates healing of wounds, and has been used as a stand-alone wound-healing agent.   Its most famous use is as a weight loss product.

Tourmaline:  A healing crystal (or should I say heeling, since this is about feet) that is piezoelectric.   Heating it will create a different electrical charge, one positive, and one negative.  It encourages balance of the whole body’s energetic framework.  It is used to counteract negativity and detoxify the system.

The last ingredient they list is “Detox Herbs”.  I guess they need to be nebulous, otherwise their secret ingredients would be open to the world and the might lose out on our money.  I guess all I can say is that detox herbs have a very powerful affect on the body, and I find them useful.

After saying all this, my conclusion is that they work if you are conscious enough to be in tune with your energy, believe that healing can be gotten from natural ingredients and through points in your feet, and not just when a prescription is written or a surgical knife is wielded.

Years ago, I had a friend who had a bumper sticker that read “Hugs Are Better Than Drugs”.  There is such truth in those five words.  Think about it…hugs are free, and they have no bad side effects like drugs do.  The only thing they have in common with drugs is they can be addictive.

In 2003, researchers at the University of North Carolina came to the conclusion that hugs actually can improve your health. The scientists discovered that hugs lower the levels of cortisol in your body, a hormone that is released during stressful moments.  Hugs can lower your blood pressure and decrease your heart rate.  

This research supports my belief that we should give (and therefore receive) a minimum of seven hugs a day.  Hugs that last at least 5 seconds.  Hugs that are “heart to heart”, meaning your chin is on the other person’s left shoulder, and your hearts are touching.  Passing positive energy between your hearts.  Spreading the love, if you will.

So hug your children, your spouse/partner, your parents, and your friends.  You will improve your health, and the health of those around you.