Foot Massage Made Easy

Ingvor Wurmbrand, owner of the Feline Spa on Manhattan's Upper West Side, invited Spa Finder to see how the pros pamper two of the most-neglected parts of the human body. Staffers Rosa Calcano and Victoria Doherty, who've both been with the spa for most of its 20-year history, say their clientele (almost equally male and female) love their foot massages, which, at Feline, last up to 90 minutes and can be an option with a pedicure.

At home, they recommend that the massage be preceded by a foot soak in warm water mixed with ordinary table salt. Use a pan or a bubbling foot spa and keep the feet immersed for 15 to 20 minutes. Then dry them thoroughly.

Place a pillow or folded towel in your lap topped with a hand towel. Apply cream to your hands, rubbing them together briskly to warm them. (Don't use oil: When hands get slippery, applying pressure is difficult.) Have your partner in a relaxed position, knees bent, feet in your lap. The four techniques described below may be repeated as desired, with one hand on each foot or with two hands on one foot. (When you work on one foot at a time, keep the other warm by draping it with a towel.)

Calf massage
Place your hand under the knee, squeeze gently on the calf, then slide hand down to the ankle, squeezing five times along the way. Repeat the action on the front of the leg from knee to shin. Repeat, increasing pressure.

Foot pad and arch massage
Place fingers lightly across top of toes, thumb against the sole. Use your thumb to press in a circular motion. Continue the circular motion as your hand moves across the foot in a horizontal path. Removing your fingers from the top of the toes, slide your hand slightly closer to the arch and repeat the side-to-side massage. Continue until you have massaged the area under the instep.

Toe massage
Rub each toe between fingers and thumb, pulling up gently, then press the flesh between the toes.

Heel and ankle massage
Support the heel with your cupped hand and move your thumb in a circular motion around the heel pad, applying increasing pressure. Finish by pinching behind the ankle several times. Run your fingers along the top of the foot, then stroke the entire area from foot to knee. Repeat, more gently each time, until done.