Invited to a Non-Traditional but Sacred Reflexology Path: Banyan Tree

Banyan Tree 

I was in Taiwan in October 2017 to attend the ICR Conference and Gina Stewart’s RVP at Garden of Hope in Taitung.  

I was very much looking forward to experiencing Reflexology paths. After doing our morning constitutional* in Taipei by the Tamsui River after our first night walking back to the hotel we passed through a small park called Yuquan Park where seniors and some younger people were exercising.  

A man said hi and invited us to join him and other seniors who were walking on the roots of this banyan tree.  How did he know?  Was it written all over our faces?  We took off our shoes at the edge and embarked on a "session of sacred tree reflexology."   Banyan trees are considered sacred.**. Regal felt we were invited into a tradition and that it was a very warm welcome, I could not agree more.

Reflexology Path? Taipei City Wall

City Wall Taipei

The very pretty urban park at City Wall entailed a slope with mulch surface as well as a stone path (reflexology path see below photo).  This one was a very pleasant one with big flat uniform stones.

I loved taking off my shoes walking back and forth between the Beiman Subway Station and our hotel in downtown Taipei.


However, I never saw anyone else taking off their shoes, and yes, the area was never very busy when we passed through there, although there is heavy motor cycle traffic.


Could it be that this was not an official reflexology path?  I noticed other areas embellished with river rocks, at times in unusual places, e.g. under a bench.  And there were these tiny pebble squares along a sidewalk which I started referring to as reflexology paths for 👶.

Taiwan: The first Reflexology Path

Regal about to work his foot reflexes

The first day in Taipei (Oct 2017), we headed to a park at the river.  We both are river people.  I made sure our hotel was in walking distance to the Tamsui.
We came across this Reflexology path :-); it was literally screwed into the ground.  Wait, I thought they had real pebble paths in Asia.  Not what I expected at all.  I was perplexed and amused and forgot to walk on it (jet leg), but Regal did.  This was an indication, however how popular reflexology was in Taiwan. Great.   There will be additional posts on Taiwanese reflexology paths.  It was so much fun to experience them.

Thanks for visiting.
Wishes,
B.

Some Info about the Tamsui River