Case study IV
Client E had a big toenail that was split right through in three places. I was somewhat astounded as I knew this woman to be a pillar of her church and actively involved on the church council, but her nail indicated a split in her relationship with her creator. She had had a traumatic childhood. Her father had questioned her paternity and she had always felt rejected by her mother. Never knowing the love of parents, from a very young age she had questioned God. As an unwanted and unloved child she felt that she was being punished for a sin that she had not committed. Having been raised in the church she was terrified by her own perceived audacity to question God; hence as atonement she had ‘drowned’ herself in the church. Her belief system, however, was not unified. Unfortunately this was one of the rare cases which I was unable over a period of time to follow up, and do not know if she managed to find peace and spiritual healing.

Case study V
An elderly gentleman of 88 was brought to see me by his daughter. She was special to me because she had been my very first client. I soon became good friends with her father, and even now, many years after his passing, I still feel his warmth, his love and his wonderful wisdom. His right heel was in a terrible state, with an extremely thick and sore callus, which had cracked wide open and was bleeding. He could hardly walk. His family had tried all kinds of remedies. I started to guide him along his footpath to discover the emotional origin of his painful feet. Pain often represents guilt, while bleeding symbolises the draining of energy – resulting in exhaustion. I briefly explained the relevant properties of the Chakras to him. To my joy he was already quite familiar with them. There was a long pause and silence after I said, “Now that I have suggested the possible meanings of your painful calluses, does anything I have said resonate with you?” “Oh yes,” he said after a while, “I now understand the cause.” He had a sister living in England, who was very religious. He, however, had developed his own philosophy and was living his life accordingly. The sister had never forgiven him for ‘losing the faith’ and had broken all channels of communication with him. At 88, in the twilight years of his life, he felt very frustrated and did not know what to do about his sister. “Write a letter”, I suggested. She would not read the letter. “Phone?” She would not speak to him. I sensed quite a bit of anger and frustration and suggested that he should write the letter anyway, as it would be therapeutic for him. I suggested that the letter be detailed and that he should get everything off his chest. By writing the letter, he manifested the thoughts, which had lodged in his subconscious for so many years. Letting go of those old, guilt-ridden memories enabled him to make peace with himself – the cracks on his heels healed in a few days.

Case study V
A creative young man of 26 came to see me. Looking at his feet I realised that on his right foot, the third toe was rigid and permanently at an awkward angle. I asked him what had happened to his toe. He explained that he had broken his toe when he was seven or eight. I asked him what of significance had happened to him during this period of his life. He told me that when he was seven his father was transferred to Pretoria. In spite of being a good scholar with excellent reports when his mother tried to register him at the local school, the headmaster, after noting from where they were being transferred, tried to put him back a grade. The mother argued his case and the headmaster recanted and said that they ‘would try him’ in the grade for which he was registering. He passed the grade with flying colours, but the headmaster insisted that he repeat the year. It was at this time that he broke his middle toe, which is the toe connected with the Third Chakra and self-esteem. At 26 his self-esteem was still damaged and he had never reached his full potential.

Case study VI
As the client entered my rooms, she immediately started relating to me her extensive medical history. Baring her background information in mind, I expected to see deeply marked and hurting soles, however her feet were immaculate, smooth, unmarked - a blank sheet. It was astonishing given her history, how was this possible? I had never witnessed something like this before. Had this woman never allowed ‘happenings’ to penetrate into her emotional/inner world? Had she lived outside herself?  I suggested a course in Reiki for her to get in touch with herself and her body. She thought this was a great idea. I lost contact and do not know what happened, but I will never forget those startlingly ‘immaculate’ feet and I am thankful that they were not mine, because she was missing out on life. This woman had created an emotional shield. All her illnesses must have been imaginary because otherwise they would have left some emotional imprints behind. She was emotionless or lacking in emotional intelligence.

Case study VII
A client in her fifties presented with a plantar wart on her right foot on the border between Chakras One and Two.  She told me that she had had the plantar wart removed on a number of occasions, but it always re-grew. I told her the piloting story. It took a while for her to recall a traumatic experience at about six or seven years of age. I held my thumb on the area where I could sense the energy pulsating the moment she made the connection. She recalled that she had been sexually abused as a six year old. She did not want to discuss it, but I suggested that she recall the experience in total. I kept my thumb on the spot and was suddenly aware that the pulsating had stopped. I asked her if she had completed her reliving of the memory. She indicated that she had. As this was a very recent case I have asked her to inform me if the wart now disappears.

Case study IIX
During a workshop I had a heated conversation with colleagues about what comes first – the mind or the body? I was convinced that the mind rules the flesh and only if we change our mind will the body follow - the ‘mind-over-matter’ theory. Soon after this debate my belief was put to the test and found wanting! While observing the feet of a new client I was fascinated by some scars on her foot. She told me that she had had a bunionectomy (the surgical removal of bunions) on both feet. I was intrigued. “Are you one of those people who just do not know when to stop and push yourself mercilessly and without regard for your own well-being?” She looked at me with big eyes, “I was exactly like that before my operation, but surprisingly, without consciously trying, since the operation I have mellowed, and am kinder to myself.” My mouth fell open - here was the answer to the ‘mind-over-matter’ or ‘matter-over-mind’ debate. The mind-body interaction, as I was taught can also have a body-mind influence.
A young woman in her early 20s also had a bilateral bunionectomy, but on the left – the ‘present’ foot – a new bunion was forming - while the right foot was perfect. Contrary to the previously discussed client she had not changed her habits. She was still pushing herself unmercifully. I saw her again about three years later; she had changed her life style and the bunion had not grown any bigger.

Case study IX
I recall another client who had a tiny liver mark on the top of her left foot (symbolically representing the present life and once again the back of the body). I commented that it looked like a small stab wound. I was astounded when the woman acidly replied, “Yes, that must represent my husband’s girlfriend who is always trying to stab me in the back.”

Case study X
Quite some years ago I had a client who just could not connect at all with any of the huge variety of choices I gave him – and then all of a sudden it dawned on me; he was not ‘stuck’ because of too much to do, no, it was the opposite, he was utterly frustrated and bored with the work he was doing and the situation he was in. When I pointed this out to him, he was totally convinced that he had to do something about the situation. Now comes an interesting point!   At a social gathering a month later I met the man. When he saw me, he walked straight towards me, “It is amazing that I meet you again tonight”, he said, “Today I went for an interview for a very interesting job-offer, which I most probably would never have done if you had not made me realise how bored I really was.”    

Case study XI
Client J came to see me about a year ago. For months she had suffered chronic digestive problems. Ultimately she was admitted to a local hospital. A plethora of tests were done; the results revealed very little. She was discharged, unhappy and still unwell. She was told to return in a month for more tests, amongst others a Barium meal and enema. At this point she booked an appointment with me for a Footology session. It turned out to be an extremely interesting encounter. What caught my eye first was a very deep indention on the lower outside part of her left instep – ‘very interesting’, I thought. I gave her the pilotage story about that area of the foot. “The indention has to do with pressure. The area on your foot where the indentation appears is related to the lower part of your colon, which could indicate that you are holding issues back or not letting go of them. The location of the feature also lies in the second energy centre or chakra. In this regard I am going to suggest that there is the possibility that this problem could be connected to a relationship or security issue. In addition this area is associated with the desire to be ourselves.” I saw enlightenment on J’s face (often one can see by the client’s facial expression that they have ‘stumbled’ over the meaning of the blockage). When I asked if she would like to talk about the incident, she shook her head. I explained to her that if she did not want to talk about it, she would have to relive the situation or the event ‘internally’. I informed her about how important it was to relive the situation fully; with all the sounds, smells and conversations associated with it.

I held her feet to give her ‘energy’ support while she relived the memory and worked through the process. Once she indicated that she was ready to continue, I gave her the balancing foot-massage and she fell asleep. When she awoke the indention had been ‘edited’ off her foot. I phoned her the next day; she was feeling well and did not have to return to the hospital. The process of healing is subtle, gentle and relatively untraumatic – no invasive surgery, no medication or drugs. That is one reason why I phone my clients the following day, to ask them how they are, to make them aware of the changes that have taken place.

Case study XII
A young woman, in her thirties, came to see me because she had difficulty in falling pregnant. She had already had three artificial insemination procedures performed, without any results. I made suggestions of possible interpretations, from which she could choose, for some of the features evident on her feet, and then I looked at the area on her foot associated with her vagina. I was astonished by what I saw. “It might sound very weird to you, but this is what your feet are telling me. The message your feet are conveying is, that you do not want to fall pregnant!” I said with some trepidation. I waited in anticipation for her reply. One could have heard a pin drop. And then the answer came, “You are absolutely right. Now that I think about it, it is amazing, you are right. I don’t know why, but deep down I don’t want children.” I led the conversation to her mother and discovered that she had had five children and a very tough life, without money, pleasure or support from her husband. I advised her to write subconscious letters to find some answers (see Homework section in this chapter), or to consult with another therapists to do regression work, but I also made her aware that perhaps she, or even her husband for that matter, was not supposed to have children in this present life. She left the session knowing that it was not her body preventing her from having children, but her mind.