Britain's first barefoot park - Times Online

Britain's first barefoot park - Times Online

© OndagoArts Name. Image from BigStockPhoto.com

The article was in the Times of London. It was on Britain's first barefoot park. These parks are common throughout Germany. They are really sensory pathways with a variety of materials like grass, mud, straw and pine cones. These pathways frequently take you through water. The Germans also have really cute pathways for children in the shapes of different animals like snails. The paths do have a connection to reflexology but not in an overt way.

But as I am reading this article there is the most astonishing statment by Open University.

"Of course, there are those who refuse to accept reflexology as a valid concept. 'The notion that there are connections between the feet and other areas of the body have no foundation in anatomy or physiology,' says Dr Hilary Macqueen, a senior health lecturer at the Open University. 'You can't underestimate the power of placebo. If you believe something will make you feel better, it will, as the body has huge recuperative powers.' London Times

This is one crazy statement. But it is also an eye opener. Open University really believes that there is no connection between the feet and other areas in the body. Sorry, Dr. MacQueen but the placebo effect doesn't account for locomotion and the attending parts of the body necessary to make movement possible. That includes the internal organs that help provide fuel to make walking, running and other bipedal activities possible. And yes, the brain is also involved.

What dawned on me after reading Dr. MacQueen's profoundly ignorant statement is that in fact most of Western science and medicine do not get the connection between the feet and the rest body. Feet are like wheels on a cart to them. The feet aren't connected to anything but the leg. The feet do not integrate their activities with other parts of the body. They just don't interact with any other part of the body.

So there you have it. Like Donovan's brain the feet are disconnected from the rest of the body having little or no impact on the body's sensory or motor functions. Donovan's Feet?

I feel really good that I have a handle on what these "scientists" are thinking. Rubbish.

Kevin Kunz