Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Day 178 of Your Year to Wellness; Hands and Feet


Hands and Feet; The Real Revealer
A photographer once told me that he could not guess my age. He said that he’d tried but couldn’t figure out where to place me. I smiled and said, “Well, it must be the dimples.” I was already in my 50s at the time and knew that genetics could get you through your twenties, but you’d better have a great attitude and good products afterwards.
I told him that my dimpled smile, also helped. He laughed and told me that all of that was nice, but that the real age revealer was the hands. He said the feet were also a give-away, but many women knew to cover them and some even had surgery to correct the problem. Unlike crow’s feet or a sagging jaw line, the hands often went unnoticed, but it was what he and others like him check out first.
My mother was 87 when she died and she had the most amazing hands. She had long fingers and thick nail beds. Her hands gave her the appearance of a lady of leisure, but her hands were the hands of a working woman.
We used to joke that laundry was my mother’s hobby. She washed on scrub boards, a wringer washing machine and by hand. She refused to go to the dry cleaner’s having worked at one when she was younger. She said that the chemicals were extremely harsh and if you didn’t care about the clothes, you should surely care about your skin.
My mother also worked in a nursing home, lifting and cleaning patients all day and often on double shifts. I believe that the amount of activity she did actually helped her to have beautiful hands. She also made sure that she kept them clean and moisturized.
My mother’s feet were a completely different story. She walked to work in shoes that had holes in them so she lined them with newspaper. My mother stood on her feet all day. They were wet from the old shoes, rain and sweat giving her athlete’s foot. The activities that strengthened and beautified her hands had the exact opposite effect on her feet.
I am not here to endorse products or programs. You might have noticed that there are no banners or advertisements on this blog. I get up every morning and write it because I want to, not because I’m paid to. So when I find something wonderful, I can share it without any strings attached.
When I was at Red Mountain Spa in Utah, I was introduced to a method that was designed for your hands and feet. Actually, the method goes much deeper acting as a myofascial release approach, by increasing circulation and lymphatic drainage to the fascia; the soft tissue component of the connective tissue which provides support and protection for most structures in the body, including your muscles.
The M.E.L.T. ( Myofascial Energetic Length Technique) method is amazing. It produced the most immediate results of any exercise I have ever performed.
So why have the DVD and little balls that come with it been sitting on my bedroom desk for months untouched?
When I first tried and purchased the program, I did it daily. I could feel the difference in my joints and movement, but last year when I broke my hand and then two toes in unrelated accidents, I gradually stopped using them. Like with any good habit that is broken, I slowly walked away.
 But a few nights ago when I had a long lay-over in Atlanta, I decided to walk from where I landed to my connecting flight. Instead of taking the commuter train, I walked the entire airport and was rewarded with the joy I get from walking and the tired feet to match.
The next day, my aching feet begged me to put the DVD in and I was immediately reminded of why I fell in love with this program. My feet and hands felt new, but even more amazing was how my neck, back and joints felt.
You can find out more at www.meltmethod.com
Until then, get out a small racquet or tennis ball and roll it under and over your hands and feet.
Your hands do the work and your feet get you there. Take care of them and they will take care of you.

Be you, be well, be energized.
Bertice Berry, PhD.

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