Volume 1, Number 24 • August 2011

Habit #24:
Have a Foot Reflex Regularly
One morning, I was chatting with Cardinal Gaudencio
Rosales in his office.
I was impressed by this 79-year-old man.
He moved like he was only 50.
And I knew why. I’ve heard the ecclesiastical gossip. A
few seminarians and priests avoid eating meals in the Cardinal’s
house because he serves them mostly vegetables. This Probinsyano
Cardinal has always been known to eat veggies and fish all his life.
But I’m sure there were other things I could learn from him
about health. So I asked him, “Cardinal, what is the secret of your
long and healthy life?”
His answer was surprising.
He said, “Foot reflexology.”
I said, “Wow. How did this come about?”
He said that many years ago, a Chinese missionary lived with him—and this man taught him the science
of foot reflexology.
And since then, at least once a week, in the evenings, he’ll reflex his own feet.
“And I do something else,” he said. “In my bathroom, I have a box filled with stones. These are stones
that I’ve picked up in my journeys. Just a minute…” He stood up and left the room. When he came back, he had
a grey stone in hand and a thick reflexology book in the other.
He gave me the book and let me hold the stone in my palm. It was not sharp, but had blunted corners. It
also had pen markings on them that said, “Holy Land.”
“I know where this came from,” I said with a smile.
“I step on this box of stones every morning for about 10 to 15 minutes.”
“Knowing how you travel, Cardinal, it’s like you’re stepping on the entire world,” I chuckled. “This is
amazing. Does it make you healthy?”
“I believe it works. When I step on the stones, I sometimes feel slight pains in my tummy or in other parts
of my body. Different points in feet are connected to various internal organs.”
When I opened the reflexology book, I saw that the Cardinal had already written a long dedication to me
on its first page. “Thank you so much, Cardinal,” I said.
“I’m a great believer in foot reflexology too,” I told him. “I also have a foot reflex every week. But I’m
lazy. I go to a reflexologist to do it to me.”
“That’s fine,” he said. “As long as you get one.”

Disclaimer:
Neither the author, the publisher nor any of their respective affiliates make any guarantee or other promise as to any results that may be obtained from using this Report.
No reader should make any health decision without first consulting his or her own personal physician and conducting his or her own research and due diligence. To the
maximum extent permitted by law, the author, the publisher and their respective affiliates disclaim any and all liability in the event that any information, commentary,
analysis, opinions, advice and/or recommendation in this book proves to be inaccurate, incomplete or unreliable or result in any detrimental health condition.

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 Volume 1, Number 24 • August 2011

My First Encounter with Foot Reflexology

It happened many years ago.

My first encounter with foot reflexology was at the “Blessed Pedro Calungsod Healing Center” in Cebu.
They called it Reflexo-foot-therapy.
What I saw encouraged me. The other patients around me seemed relaxed, some of them asleep. So I sat
down, gave my foot to a young fellow, and prepared myself for a refreshing, restoring, relaxing therapy. I also
planned to doze off for a while as well.
But when the foot therapy began, I suddenly realized why they named the Healing Center after Blessed Pedro
Calungsod. I remembered that this saint was tortured before his death in monstrous ways, and at that moment, I felt my
therapist wanted me to be a saint as well.
In other words, he was torturing me.
Gosh, I realized these other patients around me weren’t dozing off.
I concluded the pain was moving them in and out of consciousness.
I also recognized I would never become a good martyr. Because at that moment, I wanted to scream,
“Stop! I’ll do anything you want me to do! Anything! Just stop torturing my foot!”
My therapist smiled at me and said, “Choose, my friend. Do you want the pain of therapy or the pain of
sickness?”
Just my luck. My torturer was also a philosopher.
As I bit my lower lip and gripped the wooden bench beneath me to pulp, I admitted to myself that what
he said had punch.
I was able to coherently ask, “What do you mean?”
“I’m removing the clogs in your system. When your circulation is smooth, you’ll feel much better and
you’ll be able to prevent disease.”
True enough, 20 minutes later, I felt like a new man.
I felt refreshed and relaxed.
I also slept like a babe that night.
I heard that there were stroke victims who came to that center on stretchers and wheelchairs and went out
walking—after a few months of therapy.

What’s So Good about a Foot Massage?

Let me first talk about massage—not just reflexology.

For more than a hundred years, research has proven that a good massage relaxes the mind and the body. It
provides a feeling of peace and quiet that takes away the tension of day-to-day pressures.
From experience, nothing can beat a foot massage as an answer to a stress-filled day.
Our feet bear our whole weight day in and day out. Every time we stand up, every time we walk, every
time we go around and do our daily chores, we use our feet.
The feet take a daily beating as we go to all our appointments. It also has to suffer the inappropriate shoes
we sometimes wear. Or the bumpy and hard walking surfaces.
There’s no question about it. Our feet need a massage.
But reflexology is even better.

Foot Reflexology Massage Is a Healing Art

The Chinese believes that within the soles of our feet lay all the sensory nerves of our internal organs.
Archaeological evidence shares that ancient reflexology systems were present during various historical
time-spans: China (2704 BCE), Egypt (2330 BCE), and Japan (690 CE).
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 Volume 1, Number 24 • August 2011

That’s how ancient this healing method is!

Foot reflexology is a natural healing art.
There are areas and points on each foot, from the toes to the heel, which is “connected” to specific organs
and glands in your body. Foot reflexology applies pressure to these points to stimulate these organs so that it will
have better health.

Benefits of Foot Reflexology Massage

Stress can greatly affect a person’s immune system.

Too much stress all the time can make a person vulnerable to illnesses like hypertension and serious
ailments like cancer.
When a person receives a foot reflex, the first thing they will feel (aside from the sometimes painful
pressure applied on the feet) is a feeling of relaxation.
How can slight pain and relaxation happen at the same time?
I don’t know, but after years of foot reflex, I know it happens.
What happens here is the heart and breathing slow down as the muscles start to relax. This causes the
release of hormones for stress to minimize and blood pressure to diminish.
Because the body relaxes, the serotonin level in the body increases. Serotonin (the ‘happy hormone’)
is actually a certain chemical within the body that is known to have positive effects on a person’s thoughts and
emotions. Feelings of anxiety, of worry and of fear leave, and a positive energy flows in. Aside from this, it
also reduces some physical ailments that are related to stress like cardiac arrhythmias, hypertension, digestive
disorders and insomnia.
How can foot reflexology do all these?
What happens here is that the body actually reacts to the pressure being applied on specific reflex points.
As pressure is applied, the soft tissues (ligaments, muscles, tendons and connective tissue) become relaxed
and normal, which then releases the nerves.
It also increases the circulation of lymph and blood throughout the body. As the circulation becomes
better, the nutrients and oxygen reaches the organs and muscles that need it more efficiently.
So what else can foot reflexology do for you?

1. Reduces pain

Foot reflexology can help manage pain. As the particular reflex points are pressed, the body produces
more endorphins. These endorphins are our body’s own painkillers. They can block pain signals to the brain more
efficiently and effectively than morphine (without morphine’s side effects).

2. Aids in digestive problems

A foot reflexology massage session is one of the quickest and most effective ways to relieve constipation.
It can help the bowels to move much quicker than taking laxatives (which are not really recommended since
these can create dependency or cramping). With foot reflexology, the intestines and colon are stimulated, making
elimination easier and allowing it to return to its normal state.

3. Improves memory

As the blood circulation improves, oxygen reaches the brain more efficiently. When foot reflexology is
regularly applied to the points corresponding to the brain, circulation of blood to the head improves, and the
memory also gets better.

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 Volume 1, Number 24 • August 2011

4. Improves sleep, removes headache and migraine,

and relieves sinusitis and asthma

Foot reflexology massage allows the body to relax and the nerves to be released. Stress is one of the major
causes of insomnia, headache, and migraine. As stress gets eliminated, you can count on all these other ailments
to go away with it too. There are also specific points that can relieve sinusitis and asthma (which recurs during
stressful situations).

A Few Reminders

Cardinal reflexes his own feet. You can do it too. Go to a bookstore and buy a reflexology book.
As I mentioned above, I get my foot reflex from therapists.
There are now many places in Manila who offer foot reflexology. Try it out and see if it’s for you. (Today,
I enjoy the slightly more painful ones.)
Before undergoing foot reflexology massage, make sure you are not hungry or very full. Have your
massage an hour after you have eaten.
After receiving the massage, drink a glass of water. This will help eliminate the toxins and lactic acids that
could have developed after the massage process.
You should not take a bath or wash your feet within one to two hours after the foot reflexology massage
session. It is at this time that the body is supposed to be absorbing all the energy that the massage has created,
making the organs stronger and allowing the relaxation experience to seep in. This is also to make sure the body
is protected from the effect of too much cold.
And do you like the idea of having a “box of stones” from the Cardinal? Stepping on the stones for 10 to
15 minutes a day may just be what your body needs.
Get a four feet by four feet wooden or plastic box. And then visit a hardware store with a gravel and sand
section, and choose the stones you want. If the stones are too round and smooth, it may not do the work. But don’t
buy stones so sharp that will cut your skin.
And then do what the Cardinal does: When you travel to various cities, pick up stones along the way, and
write where you got them from.
As you step on them each morning, pray for the people you know in these cities.

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez

PS. I love it when members of our 52 Healing Habits Program tell me they’re doing our Habits. Wow, people are
actually practicing these Healing Habits! Fantastic. Don’t stop!

Not yet joined 52HealingHabits Program? Join at www.52HealingHabits.com now!

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