The art of letting go

(or the practical uses of Foot Reading)

Picture by Alberto Bigoni on Unsplash

Let me tell you a story.

There was a woman -let's call her Charlotte- who one day met the love of her life and -good news!- she was his too.

So they decided to live together.

The exciting (but tricky) part was that Charlotte was from Brazil and her partner was from Norway, and because of a job offer he got, they decided to move to Belgium.

Back home, Charlotte worked as a paralegal, but that wasn't a possibility in Belgium. So she thought now was a good moment to pursue a long life dream: jewelry design. And when she started trying to make her dream become a project, she realized something. The one thing she needed the most, was money to invest.

And she didn't have any money. But... she had an apartment in Brazil, that she'd just finished paying, after a 15-year mortgage. It was a lot of money in Brazil, but not that much in Belgium. I mean, it wasn't the kind of money that would allow her to buy an apartment in Belgium. But it could certainly be enough to start her business. She knew that, from a rational point of view. But when she even considered selling that apartment, her stomach would flinch. She just couldn’t take the step. And that's when she came to my practice for a foot reading session.

How did we work?

I noticed the part on the feet related to stability and independence, (the heels) was full of blisters. She told me that had started a couple of months before. We looked at the calendar: it was right when she had first thought of selling the apartment. Basically, the feet were telling me she felt she was walking on water instead of firm ground. She felt disconnected from the support the earth gives us, no matter where we are standing. The water element, often related to emotions, was making the decision very moody. Also, if we think of species evolution, when animals first became terrestrial, they depended on water. They would go from pond to pond until they could completely transition. She was accumulating water in her "earth" area, to make sure she would survive. I also noticed the skin under the blisters was new, and pink, meaning if she could get rid of those emotions and just 'let go', she could find new solid fertile ground to stand on and build from there.

I decided to work with reflexology techniques specific to this method to move the water upwards, to the area linked to meaningful action, and to activate the energy of the legs down to her heels, to help her 'take the first step'.

I used an essential oils blend to support her and help her feel relaxed and grounded and -taking into account she is a 4 in the enneagram (heart triad)- I made sure to include a scent that would especially talk to her limbic brain. I mixed some cedar wood, sweet orange, and frankincense and add a few chamomile flowers.

Finally, we worked with visualizations and affirmations to rewire her thinking in a way that would allow her to find grounding in people and mental locations and loosen her grip on material possessions.

It wasn't easy, there was a lot of crying and peeling of her soles, and second-guessing herself. But after 3 sessions her feet had changed skin, and after 5 sessions she had decided to sell her apartment and jump with both feet into this new life she was creating, without fear or regrets.