Essential Oil Foot Spa Ritual – a Must-Try Baliba Spa Ritual!

Use this ritual with or without essential oils. You’ll be amazed at how relaxing and calming it is!

Recently, I was certified as a Yoga Instructor.

I’ve been around exercise my whole life and was a NZ rep athlete decades ago, taught high impact aerobics back in the day then migrated to personal training.

I did not ever consider taking up yoga.

I always saw yoga as stretching routines. Not my thing.

In fact, my friend talked me into doing the certification course with her, because it was able to be done online due to the pandemic. Usually, you have to go to the school in India (which is now totally on my list post-covid).

I didn’t think I would enjoy it.

I was wrong.

Yoga is all about creating a sense of calm in your life.

Clearing energy channels.

Using breath (prana) to calm the central nervous system & proactively reduce the impact of stress.

Making space in your head.

Retaining energy & building life-force within yourself.

It’s really empowering and not at all about stretching your limbs into impossible contortions.

However, I am not writing this to sell you on Yoga.

I wanted to share something that I found really interesting – the zone of overlap for yoga and aromatherapy (or one of them).

Yoga daily routines usually involve meditation of some sort. Before entering this meditative zone, one should cleanse – and in particular, cleanse one’s feet.

I thought this was ridiculous, until I tried it.

Cleansing your feet – is incredibly relaxing.

Now I can’t do yoga without cleaning my feet (& teeth) first.

Then I remembered learning about foot treatments for aromatherapy & it makes perfect sense to combine the two therapies.

So I did, and here it is – the essential oil foot spa from bringing stress down a few notches and bringing energy up a few.

I recommend doing this before bed & you’ll not only sleep better, you’ll never put dirty feet onto bed sheets again!

I’ve created two versions of the foot spa:

If you have no bath or bowl large enough to do this, use hand towels and soak them in a hand basin, wring them out and wrap your feet in them wet. Also note, if you have no essential oils on hand, you can definitely perform this ritual with just warm water.

Part fill a basin or bath with warm water – not hot. You will need it to be deep enough to get your feet submerged, ideally over your ankles.

Place a chair beside it to sit on, and a clean (ideally warm) towel next to you.

Add 4 – 6 drops of essential oil to warm carrier oil. Almost any carrier oil will work for this for Version A, but if you go with Version B, jojoba oil or sweet almond would be best – apricot kernel oil or macadamia nut oil if your skin is super dry).

Version A low levels of stress, more fatigue than anxiousness:

• Blend 4 – 6 drops of your chosen blend or essential oil into about 1/4 cup carrier oil.

• Pour it into the warm water & agitate the water to blend it in as much as you can.
• Place your feet in the water and submerge them for at least 5 minutes, focusing on breathing deeply into your stomach as you do so – inhale through the nostrils and exhale/release the air gently through the mouth.
• After your 5 minutes (this feels like forever – definitely use a timer), dry your feet carefully and thoroughly with a clean (ideally warm) towel.
• Dry each toe separately, giving each a little focus – one at a time.

Version B for people feeling moderate to high levels of stress:

• Blend 4 – 6 drops of your chosen blend or essential oil into about 1/4 cup carrier oil and massage the oil into your feet, toes & ankles. Include the calves if you feel like it.
• Work the oil into each of the toes and the space between the toes as well as the foot, ankles & calf.
• Drop any remaining oil into the warm water and agitate as above.
• Place your feet in the warm water and relax – breathing as above (slowly inhaling through the nose and exhaling gently through the mouth.
• Dry your feet and toes as above.

Once you have finished your 5 minute foot soak & have dried your feet as above:

• Find a place to sit with your legs out in front of you – on the floor or couch.
• Place your hands beside your hips, hands pointing toward your feet, with your arms partially supporting your weight so that you are sitting upright.
• Bend your toes slowly toward you – all 10 of them together (inhaling as before).
• Push them away as you exhale.
• Repeat 10 times
• Next, flex your ankles – pulling both feet toward you (inhaling) & point your feet away from (exhaling).
• Repeat 10 times.

There is more to this ritual, but just this should get you feeling calmer and more in control. I recommend trying this right before bed. If you have any remaining oil on your feet (or if you massage more in after the routine), just put some cotton socks on to avoid getting oil on your sheets.