Reflexo-Yogic into the 2020s

One Mile Walk- one way

The feet like all areas of the body benefit from attention and exercise, but may be overlooked.  The things I did to my feet before yoga and reflexology, although shoes became somewhat of an issue after a metatarsal stress fracture in 1986.  From then I needed to be more mindful about what I wore.  I remember my pair of black platforms.
The feet represent the entire body, the feet are a microcosm of the body according to reflexology.
The feet are the foundation of shapes/forms (* as we call it in trauma-sensitive yoga), according to yoga.
Anatomically, the feet are the foundation of our physical structure with 26 bones and 4 layers of muscles. 

This New Year’s Day I expanded on the idea of a Coney Island Polar Bear tradition makeover, making it a “reflexo-yogic” practice due  to a lingering cold and lacking motivation.  It just seemed too much work to plunge.

Walking barefoot the mile from Stilwell Avenue to Brighton Beach it was.  I started with standing in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean, walked next to the water on the very firm and cold surface, continued along the drier wobbly part and ended with a few minutes of walking on the boardwalk.  Walking on wood resonates with me; I find it heavenly.  Splinters did cross my mind, so I kept it short and I walked slowly and mindfully.

Water, wet, drier sand, wood (careful)
= foot work out/body tune up

The 200 thousand or so nerve endings on my feet, the reflexes got busy, as yogini I connected to feeling the temperature in the body and the way my feet made contact with the ground (interoception) through the full motion of walking as well as cold entering through the back, my neck getting achy as a result of carrying a bag across my body.  It was very windy at times.  It was not an easy walk. 

  

The first metatarsal mentioned above and marked in the collage on the left, the long bone behind the big toe on the right foot was beginning to hurt as it so often does, but as my feet warmed up it disappeared after a while, as most of the time.  When I sat down on a bench on the boardwalk, my toes were red and a bit numb and the arch starting itching, but the warmth of my hands removing the sand and wiggling the toes and moving the ankles was enough to alleviate the discomfort.  By the time I was wearing my shoes, my feet were back to normal, and the pain in my neck had subsided.

When I started with the polar bear plunge around 1993, it was a very small event, but it has become a very big and crowded event since 2000 I believe with having to stand in line to get registered, then waiting for your “color” to hit the Atlantic in waves.  While nothing beats the exhilaration of taking a full body plunge with a crowd of like-minded folks from all walks, an often greater part of me craves solitude and private quality time.  That part of me was satisfied on New Year’s Day during the walk.
I walked the mile back to Stillwell Avenue via the boardwalk wearing my boots (which also  allow for full range of motion) and did some dancing on the boardwalk before stopping at a friend’s house to have some yum soup and to watch the first sunset of the year.  It always feels so strengthening to brace the elements despite possible discomfort.

Wishing you the best for the new decade, may we all be surrounded by balance within so we can deal with external imbalances.

Thank you for your visit as always,
B.

* Poses (the term used for “asana” which actually means seat) is not a term we consider trauma-sensitive.

Coney Skies Never Fail, neither does the Polar Bear Crowd.

Bye Coney Island; see you soon (Q Train).   

Funky Knee: Reflexology as First Aid

(From my draft folder).  During a summer holiday weekend last year, we did some boating with Ember.  It entailed often sitting with my knees splayed out.

I am not very good in getting in and out of vessels, and my buttocks had gotten a bit stiff.  I ran up a small hill with uneven terrain, such as twigs,  rocks, and roots to get my phone to take some photos.  All of a sudden there was this pain on the medial (inner) side of my left knee; wrong step, stiff to begin with, the rushing did it.  It can be that easy to hurt yourself when we rush, can’t it?  I did some