If you haven’t been living under a rock these last few years, you will probably have indulged in a foot spa treatment at least once.
I hope the experience involved soft lighting, classical Indian music, and a smiling woman redolent with tangy demureness aiming to please…no, I didn’t mean that kind of pleasure, but I’m sure you get the general idea.
The question is, why don’t more people head to a foot spa when they’re depressed or down in the dumps? Women have the prerogative of getting a facial or a haircut when they’re feeling down, but most men just slump on a couch as close to the television set as possible, hoping that inane channel surfing will numb the pain.
But it never really works, does it? Time might be the ultimate healer, but time works like ayurvedic medicine. You take the tablets everyday, but try to forget about the illness and hope that the symptoms don’t show up again. But what do you do while waiting for time to cast its spell upon you? Don’t stuff yourself, or you will soon be both fat AND depressed. Don’t feel sorry for yourself; that’s an emotional vortex that sucks you further down into the dumps. Don’t try to drink or smoke the pain away; it returns with a vengeance when you wake up with a hangover the next morning.
Instead, try a foot massage. Either that or go for a jog. Because they say action determines emotion, so you have to get off your lazy behind and do something. But a spa massage does more than simply help you forget. Here are some reasons why a foot massage helps you get over a bout of the blues:
1. Because a foot massage is a feast for all five senses
A foot massage at a designated foot spa parlour is all about sensation. A comfortable armchair– check. Soft music– check. Earthy-scented room– check. Subdued lighting and an unworldly absence of city sounds, almost like you’ve been whisked away to a tropical island– check. Sweet ginger-and-thyme tea to calm your nerves– check. And the massage hasn’t even begun yet!
2. Because the soles of your feet have a denser concentration of nerve endings (more than 2,00,000) than any other part of your body
What’s more, your soles are an erogenous zone, which means that just having your feet bathed and cared for makes you want to purr in happy contentment. But that’s just the beginning. There’s scented cream, and eucalyptus oil, and baby powder…all for the part of our anatomy that we pay the least attention to!
3. Because foot therapists really know about the pressure points
And for one blissful hour, you surrender control of your body to her expertise. This is as close to an experience of the divine as one can possibly get. No strings attached; all you do is sit back, relax, and feel the worry drain away as the therapist’s fingers work their magic on every bone, muscle, and tendon.
4. Because very few forms of pure, hedonistic pleasure are still legal
Comfort foods sound girly, and evidence suggests that they’re a myth. Anyway, who doesn’t like being pampered? And when we’re depressed, we tend to need some tender loving care. Just having a curtseying attendant concentrate all her attention on you will make you feel like royalty, literally whisking you back into a time when harems and other related indulgences were considered a man’s right instead of being frowned upon as a neurotic craving to be ashamed of.
Most foot massages end with a ten minute kneading and caressing away any remaining anxiety in your neck and shoulder muscles. If you haven’t melted into the attendants (ch)arms yet, you will now.
Don’t take my word for it. This one has to be experienced to be believed. You can thank me later.
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