Mama Bliss

Hi all! Today I am honored to be taking part in the "Bliss Filled Mama Blog Tour" presented by Kathy of Bliss Beyond Naptime.

Among my many "talents" and abilities is bodywork. And as a body worker, I have found the the most complained about area of the human body (outside of back pain) is the feet. We beat, batter, bump, and bruise our feet on a daily basis and very rarely do we offer them the thank you of pampering. It is usually only on a special occasion  that we get our feet rubbed and scrubbed and treated with some love. This is not good!

Our feet carry us, and as mama's our children, every where we need to go. So as a thank you to our hard working, unsung, feet, here is a recipe for a homemade foot soak and foot cream from Natural Foot Care by Stephanie Tourles...

De-Stressing Foot Bath

Items you will need:

foot tub

German chamomile flowers (any organic or whole food store should have these in bulk herbs)

enough water to fill foot tub ankle level

1/4 cup (60ml) Epsom salts

1/4 cup (60ml) baking soda

1 tablespoon (15ml) borax  (click on the word borax for information on it)

3-5 drops lavender, German chamomile, geranium, or clary sage

Yield: 1 treatment

To make:

1. Use 1/2 cup (120ml) of dried German Chamomile flowers for each gallon of water. Boil the water, remove from heat, and add German chamomile flowers. Cover and steep for 5 - 10 minutes. Strain and cool until comfortable.

2. Pour all ingredients into foot tub and swish with feet to dissolve salts. 

To use:

Soak feet for at least 10 minutes. Pat dry. If you know how do a mini reflexology session or massage (or get someone you love to help you with this...I will try to post a good reflexology session in a few days). Reflexology is best practiced on dry feet.

Vanilla Foot Butter

Items you will need:

4 tablespoons (60ml) almond, olive, jojoba, soybean, or calendula oil

1 vanilla bean (can buy from trader joe's for a less expensive price), chopped into 1/4 inch (.6cm) pieces 

1 tablespoon (15ml) beeswax

2 tablespoons (30ml0 cocoa butter

1 tablespoon (15ml) anhydrous lanolin (click the word lanolin for a link)

20 drops geranium, rosemary, or peppermint essential oil

Yield: approximately 1/2 cup (120ml)

To make:

1. In a small saucepan warm the oil over low heat.

2. Add the chopped vanilla bean, cover, and allow to steep for 1 hour.

3. Remove from the heat and strain. It's all right if you see tiny brown specks in your oil. That's just the vanilla bean seeds - they're harmless. Save the vanilla bean for other uses.

4. Add the oil back to the pan and add the beeswax, cocoa butter, and lanolin and heat until just melted.

5. Remove from the heat and stir in essential oil if you desire. If left plain it will smell like white chocolate!!!

To use:

Scoop out approximately 1 teaspoon (5ml), rub between your palms to warm and improve spreadability, then massage into eachfoot as necessary to keep them wonderfully moisturized and smooth.

Storage:

Store in a 4 ounce (112g) jar...preferably glass. No refrigeration is necessary. This butter may harden in cold weather, but will soften upon skin contact.