One day before Christmas, I was writing a blog at Waterside in Vineyard Haven. I had two hours from when I dropped my son off at Montessori and when I had to go back for his holiday party.
Not much you can get done in that time, but I write when I can. Along came beside me another Montessori mom and friend, Annie Sylvia, who was filling her two hours as well. But unlike me, she was grabbing a coffee and heading to Integrated Health Care for a detox foot bath.
Immediately intrigued, for I certainly need to detox, even more so now after an epic holiday week, I had to know more. Apparently, you take this special, super relaxing foot bath that removes impurities from your body. The most interesting part was that the water begins clear and ends a certain color – which indicates what toxins are ailing you.
Annie said they were amazing and she has seen the benefits. So, why not give it a try?
Does It Work?
I am a skeptic in a lot of ways, though have been thinking that I need to be doing more good things for myself, mentally and physically. So I decided to schedule an Ionic Detox Foot Bath at Integrated Healthcare which I felt comfy doing, since I know two of the people who are a part of the team – Dr. Dardanella Slavin and Allyson Cook Metell.
The appointment was easy to make and the duration is about half an hour, which means you can do it during lunch, if you don’t have a lot of free time.
You sit in this super comfy chair, and place your feet in a warm tub of water. In the water, you’ll find a module that emits electrical current. Also a scoop of salt is added to help with the process.
While your feet are in the water, positive and negative ions are emitted by the foot bath system. Integrated Healthcare uses the EB 305 system, not that I know much about it. The ions re-energize the body and red blood cells. It helps eliminate toxins that are stored in our fat, kidneys, liver, bowels, and skin.
As I had mentioned before, the water will change color, depending on your individual toxins. There’s a handy-dandy card you can use to decipher your personal water color. When reading the list, you see that you can have actual flakes appear in the water. What? Sounds impossible right.
During my super relaxing foot bath, I would peek at the water and was a little surprised at what I saw. First I saw black flakes! Magically appearing from nowhere. This is a sign of excess heavy metals in my body, according to detox score card. I learned that this is most likely from the tap water I drink. Hmmmm, I think it’s time for a new filtration system.
Then, I was not so surprised when the color of my water was a brownish hue. The detox score card suggests this indicates a detoxing from my liver, tobacco (N/A) and cellular debris. I guess I need to give my liver a break and stop using my phone so much, which is tough because so much of my life is spent online with social media.
The Aftermath
So, I felt relaxed and had soft feet, but what else could happen from this seemingly simple foot bath. Boy was I in for a treat.
Surprisingly, my feeling of relaxation continued through the night. I felt more balanced, and just better. I can’t explain it. A friend even told me I looked relaxed, and I took that as a serious compliment, since I am one of the most tightly wound people you’ll find on the East Coast.
I also was exhausted and slept like a baby. I went to bed at 10:00 p.m. and woke up at 7:00 a.m. (the hubby let me sleep in which was such a gift).
For me, I felt like it was a beneficial experiment. I look forward to doing another one soon. Perhaps this is a once or twice a month gift to myself, to help achieve a little balance. The other best part of this little experiment was that it only costs $25!
I
t was a bit of an eye-opener. The flecks, the color that resulted. It caused me to think about what I’ve been doing lately, how little I have focused on doing good things for myself. I know everyone gets on the weight loss-exercise, eat-better routine because it’s a new year, but do one of these and you really feel like you need to make a change or two. It’s almost more compelling then your jeans being too tight.
With this experience going so well, there may be other blogs in the future about interesting alternative health practices. I know there are a lot more things to try, not only at Integrated Healthcare but at other places around the Island.
And speaking of the new year, please consider voting for Point B Realty for Best of the Vineyard Best Real Estate Company 2016. We hope you’ll vote for us again. Click here to do it today!
Thanks for reading the On Point Blog. You can learn more about Integrated Healthcare on Facebook. And speaking of social media, don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, Linked In, Google+, Pinterest and Youtube.