Ayurvedic Treatment For Cracked Foot

Ouch!!! It aches, especially on every step that I take. What can I do?’ These are the mind words of people who have sore, cracked foot. Women are often affected and suffer with dry, cracked and not so appealing heels more than men. Your dream footwear will just be sleeping on the shelves of the shoe rack, till you treat your cracked foot. I have seen people hide their foot, with the fear of unveiling their thorny, flaky and busted heels also known as heel fissures. Painful, cracked and dry heels is a predominant cosmetic problem and has been termed as Padadari in Ayurveda and has been explained in Kshudra Rogas in Sushruta Samhita. There are innumerable remedies for cracked foot in Ayurveda and let’s have a look at the promising Ayurvedic essential oils for healing heel fissures.

Causes for cracks or fissures: Human foot is the powerful part of the body helping one to withstand all severe climatic conditions and roam around, yet it is this part of the body that is often neglected. Cracks on foot have no age limit and it can affect anyone for that matter irrelevant of the sex, color and origin. The major causes for cracks or heel fissures are:

  • Cracks are occupational especially for farmers and other people who are involved in laborious tasks that demand standing always, which lead to huge pressure on the foot forcing it to develop cracks.
  • Prolonged standing on hard floor and this is the reason why most of the homemakers develop cracks.
  • Dry, dull and lifeless skin that lacks moisture, especially during winter has the tendency to develop cracks.
  • Uncomfortable, not so fitting or open back footwear compels pressure on the foot, while widening and deepening the cracks.
  • Obesity or excess accumulation of fat and deficiency of essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals.
  • Dry, hot, humid and tropical climatic conditions make your feet dull, dry and hard paving way to develop cracks.
  • Aging and skin conditions like psoriasis, eczema, athlete’s foot etc.
  • High exposure of feet to dust, dirt, germs and other harmful organisms leading to infection in the foot.
  • Excess sweating of feet or other causal illnesses like thyroid and diabetes can also cause cracks on the foot.

Symptoms: Cracks generally appear on the external or outer walls of the heels, when it is thick and dry. The symptoms of cracked foot are dry, itchy and painful heels with flaky and red patches and partition of skin looking like root hairs. When left unnoticed, fissures may start bleeding with excruciating pain and might even lead to developing Calluses, Cellulites, and Lymphangitis etc. Anyone with cracked feet will have greater discomfort while walking and the cracks can act as a dangerous channel for bacteria, virus, fungi and other harmful organisms to enter into the body and complicate the situation.

Ayurvedic treatment for Cracked foot: Ayurveda, the natural healing science suggests the systematic way of living in harmony with nature. Following an Ayurvedic routine can weaken your illness woes and strengthen your immunity. Padadari or cracked heels occurs mainly due to Vata imbalance. Ayurvedic texts recommend human beings to keep themselves clean and maintain perfect personal hygiene, which can help in controlling and preventing illness.

1. Pamper your feet with an Ayurvedic massage: Feet is one such vital part of the body that needs complete pampering and with such care it would remain soft, supple and glowing. Abhyanga or an Ayurvedic massage with effective natural and hydrogenated vegetable oils like Coconut oil, Sesame seed oil etc can heal your cracked heels effectively. Essential oils like Lavender essential oil, Lemon essential oil, Eucalyptus essential oil etc, can heal your infected heels and make the foot skin soft. This helps the hard, rough and dry skin to turn tender and smooth by enhancing the blood circulation in your feet.

2. Comforting foot bath or Padasnana: For cracked foot, this miraculous science suggests foot bath also known as Padasnana to revitalize your foot skin and prevent the fissures in the future as well. Padasnana along with certain effective Ayurvedic essential oils can help you save your foot from such painful, displeasing and unappealing heel fissures.

Take a small tub of warm water and add 2 to 4 drops of Patchouli essential oil, Tea tree essential oil, Rose essential oil and Lavender essential oil. Soak your feet in this water for about 15 to 20 minutes and the cicatrisant, antibacterial, antiseptic, antifungal, calming and anti-inflammatory properties in these essential oils will make your feet petal soft when done two or three times a week.

Adding few drops of Tea tree oil, Peppermint oil, Eucalyptus oil and Lemon oil to a small basin of water and soak your feet into this medicated solution for about 10 to 15 minutes. This relaxes your heels, loosens the cracks, moisturizes the dry scaly skin and helps combat fungal infections as these oils have anti-fungal, analgesic, anesthetic and astringent properties.

3. Moisturize your feet with soothing essential oils: The best essential oils for moisturizing your feet are Peppermint oil, Myrrh oil, Lavender oil, Rose oil, Geranium oil, Patchouli oil, Tea tree oil and Eucalyptus oil. These oils can be used for massaging your feet either as a blend with carrier oils like jojoba oil or coconut oil or can be added to warm water for your foot bath. 5 to 10 drops of essential oils of Geranium, Benzoin, Lavender, Myrrh and Tea tree mixed with 1 ounce of natural cream or mild lotion can act as the best daily moisturizing rub for your feet, especially after a shower.

4. Care your heels with Carrier oils: Carrier oils like Jojoba oil, Calendula oil, Avocado oil, Olive oil and Sweet Almond oil can guard your foot from cracks and other infections. These oils enrich your skin with the presence of essential vitamins and minerals. A gentle massage with any of these oils can aid in nourishing your dehydrated and dry skin while preventing it from painful cracks.

5. Healthy and nutritious diet: Drink enough water daily and eat a balanced diet with rich nutrients like essential fatty acids, minerals and vitamins, which make your skin smooth and combat dead skin cells in your body. Green leafy vegetables and juicy fruits can supply the essential resilience to your skin.

Regular physical exercises and yoga can help you in treating your cracked heels. Hmmm…. Now you can use your dream footwear on your shelves again and dance in joy with the comfort and confidence of having crack-free, clear and supple heels. Happy Dancing!!!

Thought for the day:

The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.                                                                        – Leonardo da Vinci

Suggested Reading:

  1. Natural Foot Care: Herbal Treatments, Massage, and Exercises for Healthy Feet By Stephanie L. Tourles
  2. Whole Body Massage: The Ultimate Practical Manual of Head, Face, Body and Foot Massage Techniques By Francesca Rinaldi, Nitya Lacroix, Sharon Seager, Renée Tanner
  3. Absolute Beauty: Radiant Skin and Inner Harmony Through the Ancient Secrets of Ayurveda By Pratima Raichur, Mariam Cohn

Reference Links:

  1. Kshudra Roga Critical Understanding by Scribd
  2. Effect of Madhusiktadi Lepa and Padasnana in the Management of Padadari by S.J.G. Ayurvedic Medical College
  3. Dry Cracked Feet by essential3

Think Ayurveda To Think Better

Your thoughts decide your actions and your actions define ‘YOU’. There are myriad emotions that are exclusively indulged with humanity. Only you can smile, you can talk, you can discover and you can create. Thinking positive indicates that you are a proud owner of a healthy physique that keeps your thinking sound as well. Ayurveda talks about the constructive effects of positive thinking that helps you keep going on and on. Pessimism or negative thinking can even stop the functioning of your heart and collapse the brain’s functionality. Every human being has his own problems but just the severity of the problem differs. You can laugh at a person if he says he is free of troubles because in this materialistic world only a five-headed snake can be free of worries. It does not count whether you have problems or not but it matters how you deal with it and Ayurveda paves way for such an optimistic living.

Optimistic thinking: There’s a popular book named ‘You Can Win’ by Shiv Khera where the author beautifully lists the mentality of Pessimists’. 3 of my favorite lines in that excellent piece of writing are:

‘Pessimists don’t see the doughnut, only the hole,

Pessimists forget their blessings and count their troubles

Pessimists stop sleeping in bed when they hear that more people die in bed than anywhere else’

Yes my dear friends! This is the way that negative thinking affects your life and the best way to come out of this dark world is to think better with the natural and holistic healing of the ancient science named Ayurveda.

Ayurvedic treatment for optimism: According to Ayurveda, a healthy mind is the key to a healthy body and your attitude decides it. In this mechanical epoch that drains you, demands more than your potential with taut deadlines and cumbersome workload ends up in mental stress, difficulty in striking balance between your work and your family, anxiety, fear, fatigue and deep depression. When every single problem is placing you in the darker side of the world, let it know that you are strong with the real power granted by the natural Ayurvedic essential oils, meditation and yoga along with the robustness to turn the tide.

Ayurvedic essential oils for positive thinking: Essential oils of lavender, marjoram, grapefruit, thyme, sandalwood, jasmine, lemon, peppermint and ylang ylang possess an adorable fragrance in nature. These oils have soothing, calmative, stimulating, energizing and revitalizing properties that can enrich your spirits along with your mind and body. Using these essential oils either as a massage oil or to your bath tub or in your diffuser will calm your nerves, relax your muscles, alleviate stress, lighten your pressure, uplift your mood, kindle your thoughts, augment your mind power, improve your memory power, balance your emotions, fortify your immune system, strengthen your will power, encourage a peaceful sleep while invigorating your system for a replenished crack of dawn.

Meditation: Ayurvedic way of treating humanity can never be fulfilled without meditation. Spend some quality time for yourself and let that time of eminence be your meditating time especially in the early hours of the day when your environment is calm and composed. Meditation with deep breathing exercises can empower your mind while promoting positive feelings and preparing your body to adapt to new challenges and your mind to learn luminously, think undeniably, regulate stressful situations, recall your past and retain your balanced system for the days of harmony ahead you.

Being an optimist is the best way to setting your life as a role model for your younger ones to lead their life with great trust as real optimists always see an opportunity in every threat:)

Reference Links:

  1. You Can Win by Shiv Khera
  2. The healing force is within ourselves by Ayurveda France
  3. Attract more positive energy by Rejuvenation Lounge

Beauty Secrets With Ayurvedic Essential Oils

Who will hate being beautiful and staying away from the limelight? To be honest, none of us has the answer for this question. Every man would at least try being handsome, if not for attracting women nonetheless for having his own image in the society. Every woman would make an attempt for being beautiful to face the world confidently. All we need to know now is ‘What does the word ‘Beauty’ actually mean?”. This word has a unique meaning in everyone’s dictionary. For some it means a fair complexion and clear skin, for few it means curly hair, for several it means skinny figure, for few others it means brawny muscles and for many it means everything from head to toe.

When manifold advanced therapies like Liposuction aim at beautifying you by biting your pocket, you will be awe-struck to hear that ‘Beauty without biting your pocket’ is just a click away from you. Yes! Ayurveda, the ancient healing system recommends thousands of Ayurvedic essential oils along with yoga and meditation to augment your beauty naturally.

Ayurvedic essential oils for flawless beauty: Ayurveda is a spectacular gift granted by the ancient sages and saints who lived before thousands of years ago. It is known as the mother of all healing sciences. Essential oils are pure plant extracts without any kinds of artificial ingredients for aroma or effectiveness. Daniele Ryman, who practices Aromatherapy for about 40 solid years trusts that essential oils are effective and have proven remedies, especially for anti-ageing problems. The best Ayurvedic essential oils for perfect beauty are:

1. Ayurvedic essential oils for hair care: Martin Luther rightly said that ‘The hair is the richest ornament of women’. Numerous hair care products in the market steal the show with attractive advertisements and false claims. There are thousands of problems associated with hair and the most predominant one among them are dry hair, oily hair, rough hair, split hair, dandruff, lice and hair fall. Ayurveda suggests numerous natural remedies to put an end to your hair problems. Ylang Ylang oil has been used in hair care treatments since the prehistoric period.

Tea tree oil is considered as the best oil to treat dandruff, lice and hair fall problems. Few other essential oils for controlling dandruff are Lemon essential oil, Rosemary essential oil, Cedarwood essential oil and Thyme essential oil. You can use these oils as a blend with borage oil, jojoba oil or coconut oil.

The best combination of essential oils for stimulating hair growth naturally is Lavender essential oil, Myrtle essential oil, Cedarwood essential oil, Tea tree essential and Rosemary essential oil blended with virgin Olive oil, promotes hair growth and acts as a good hair tonic for treating various other hair damages.

2. Ayurvedic essential oils for your face: ‘Face is the index of the mind’ and your clear, spotless, blemish-free, young looking facial skin speaks before you could speak. The trustworthy Ayurvedic essential oils for your face are Frankincense essential oil, Lavender essential oil, Tea tree essential oil, Rosemary essential oil and Ylang Ylang essential oil. These oils help in nurturing your facial skin and aid you in maintaining your beauty at its best.

3. Ayurvedic essential oils for skin care: Ayurveda suggests numerous simple practices for maintaining a healthy skin. Nothing other than Turmeric essential oil can pamper your skin profoundly. Yes! This age old beautifying oil is trusted to assist you in innumerable skin problems like pimple, cuts, wounds, eczema, psoriasis, wrinkles, burns, acne, skin infections, skin pigmentation and much more with its anti-bacterial, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, anti-spasmodic and stimulant properties. Few other skin-friendly oils include Lavender essential oil, Rose essential oil, Roman Chamomile essential oil, Tea tree essential oil, Frankincense essential oil and Geranium essential oil.

4. Ayurvedic essential oils for weight loss: Oh! Those extra pounds often make you dull and gloomy. Standing upside down cannot end up your excess weight woes. The safe and the effective way to assist your weight loss campaign is to use Ayurvedic essential oils like Grapefruit essential oil, Lemon essential oil, Peppermint essential oil and Bergamot essential oil. Along with this, the use of Ayurvedic herbs like Triphala, Tulasi, Rhubarb, Garcinia etc can help you go on a great way towards your weight loss mission.

Every single thing related to the human body is associated from within. Just the external use of these essential oils cannot serve the purpose on a full swing. To hit the nail on the head right, you need to do yoga, meditation and follow an Ayurvedic routine to remain beautiful from within.

Thought for the day:

A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.
-John Keats

Suggested Reading:

  1. Daniele Ryman’s Secrets of Youth and Beauty: Aromatherapy for Natural Rejuvenation By Daniele Ryman
  2. Absolute Beauty: Radiant Skin and Inner Harmony Through the Ancient Secrets of Ayurveda By Pratima Raichur, Mariam Cohn
  3. Ayurvedic Beauty Care: Ageless Techniques to Invoke Natural Beauty By Melanie Sachs
  4. The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Over 600 Natural, Non-Toxic and Fragrant Recipes to Create Health – Beauty – a Safe Home Environment By Valerie Ann Worwood

Reference links:

  1. The secret of natural beauty: Essential oils that will keep you looking younger for longer by Mail Online
  2. Liposuction by Wikipedia
  3. 7 Ayurvedic Skin Care Tips for Healthy & Glowing Skin by MindBodyGreen