Foot Soaking

Another home remedy for winter is foot soaking

The most important acupuncture point on the bottom of the foot is Yong Quan

This is the lowest Acupuncture point on your body and the first point of the Kidney channel (KD-1; 湧泉穴)  Therefore, the entire bottom of the foot is governed by the Kidney channel.

Soaking the feet in hot water warms the Kidney channel, relaxes the body, and encourages mental calm.

Epsom salts can be added to the water as salt is the taste and mineral associated with the Kidney. An alternative to Epsom salts is to boil sliced ginger root in water and then, when cooled down a bit, used as a hot soak. Since ginger is warming and moving in quality, this ginger water soak is better for pain conditions.

The third option for a foot-soak is hot water with a few drops of sandalwood essential oil added in. Sandalwood has a calming and centering quality, which is why sandalwood incense is used as a traditional meditation aid. This rare fragrant wood encourages the Qi to move into a state of storage internally and is thus quite appropriate for use in winter.