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BOF — Bottom of Feet, and its four sides
Heel towards knee, in three positions — turn the patient, not the leg
It is written in short as BOF. It is a wonderful example of Guruji's unique way of thinking. In this, the muscles and nerves are drawn away from the heel, towards the knee. Prone Side-lying Right Left
There must be 1½ pillows under the legs. This treatment is done in three positions. Begin with the right leg and finish with the left.
- 1. If possible, give 1½ pillows under the patient's chest as well; ask them to keep the forehead facing down and relaxed; and, placing the soft part of both your soles near both their heels, walk alternately along both calves, pressing in such a way that their muscles are drawn upward.
- 2. Then lay them on the right side and do the sides of the legs.
- 3. Then lay them on the left side and do the other side.
This treatment is excellent for numbness, pain, burning or any kind of problem from the toes, the soles and the heel up to the calves. Note that it is essential to turn the patient onto both sides in turn; merely angling the legs will not give the full result. For an ordinary patient, three aspects are enough.
| Patient's position | Three positions in turn — face down with 1½ pillows under the legs (and, if possible, 1½ pillows under the chest), the forehead facing down and relaxed; then laid on the right side; then laid on the left side. Begin with the right leg and finish with the left Prone Side-lying |
|---|---|
| Where the feet are placed | The soft part of both soles near both heels, walking alternately along both calves, pressing so that the muscles are drawn upward — away from the heel, towards the knee |
| Duration and repetitions | Worked in each of the three positions. For an ordinary patient, three aspects are enough. It is essential to turn the patient onto both sides in turn; merely angling the legs will not give the full result |
| What it is for | Numbness, pain, burning or any kind of problem from the toes, the soles and the heel up to the calves |
One pillow instruction is compulsory and one is conditional, and students reverse them. There must be 1½ pillows under the legs — unqualified, and it is what lifts the calves clear so a sole can travel along them. If possible, 1½ pillows under the chest as well. And the forehead facing down and relaxed is written into the first position, not left to be assumed.
The direction is away from the heel and towards the knee, and the whole treatment is that idea repeated in three positions. Note it against the calf ghisai of a a little earlier, which runs the other way. "Walk alternately along both calves" describes a gait: the soft part of each sole starts near a heel and you walk — left, right, left, right — up along the calves, both legs under you at once. And "begin with the right leg and finish with the left" is the opposite of the order used elsewhere in this article — Knee Cap Free begins with the more troublesome knee, Pradeep with the left. Each entry names its own order. Do not carry one across. (Figure 23.5)
Three positions, and why angling will not do
It is essential to turn the patient onto both sides in turn; merely angling the legs will not give the full result.
The atlas states this as a rule, not a preference. Turning the patient and turning the leg are not the same movement and do not present the same tissue.
The lower leg is a set of separate compartments arranged around its two bones, like segments round the core of an orange. Pressure from directly behind reaches the big superficial calf and nothing else; the deep and outer compartments come under your sole only when the whole limb is rolled, so a different face of the leg is turned to the ceiling. Angling the leg at the hip turns the foot outward and changes almost nothing about which compartment is on top.
So the three positions are three treatments of three territories. Turn the patient.
"For an ordinary patient, three aspects are enough." An aspect is one of the faces of the leg reached by one of the positions — behind, and the two sides. The sentence says two things at once: three is the standard course; and "ordinary" implies that some patients are not ordinary and need the fourth. The atlas then names exactly who.
BOF — ALL 4 SIDES, for sprain
But if someone has had a sprain, the following treatment is also to be given. Lay the patient straight (supine), and with your heels, or with the soles of your hands, giving pressure at closely spaced places, push the tissue from in front of their heel upward, from below towards the knee. Do this three times. The relief will be so immediate that it will be hard to believe. Supine × 3
| Patient's position | Laid straight (supine) — the fourth aspect, added to the three of BOF Supine |
|---|---|
| Where the hands or feet are placed | The heels, or the soles of the hands, at closely spaced places, pushing the tissue from in front of the heel upward, from below towards the knee |
| Duration and repetitions | Three times × 3 |
| What it is for | Sprain — "the relief will be so immediate that it will be hard to believe" |
This is the fourth side, and it is the front of the leg. Behind, right side, left side, and now the front — the circle round the leg is closed. It is given in addition to the three, not instead of any of them, to somebody who has had a sprain, and its starting place is precise and is not the heel itself: from in front of their heel, upward, towards the knee, at closely spaced places, three times.
The claim attached to it is unusually loud. The relief will be so immediate that it will be hard to believe. Give the treatment exactly as written and let the patient judge — but do not put that sentence into her ears before you begin. A patient told to expect a miracle has been handed a ruler to measure you with.
BIG TOE GAS
Stand with your heel on the patient's big toe. You may stand on both feet together, or on one foot at a time. Normally you may stand for 6 or 12 seconds. But place your foot in such a way that it does not pinch the patient's skin. This is very good for the trouble of gas in the stomach. 6 sec Both sides ▲ Take care
| Patient's position | Lying; the therapist standing, supported on the chairs |
|---|---|
| Where the feet are placed | The therapist's heel on the patient's big toe — on both feet together, or on one foot at a time Both sides |
| Duration and repetitions | Normally 6 or 12 seconds 6 sec |
| What it is for | The trouble of gas in the stomach |
The tool is the heel and the site is the big toe — the toe itself, not the ball of the foot behind it. Both feet together, or one foot at a time, are both given and neither is preferred: both feet means both of the patient's big toes at once, one under each of your heels. And the count is six or twelve seconds — the therapy's own unit and its double. Not a range meaning somewhere between: six, or twelve.
Why a toe, for a belly? Say what can honestly be said: strong sensation delivered at one end of the body changes what the gut is doing at the other — the same ordinary reflex wiring by which a cold shock makes you gasp. What the therapy claims is that the effect can be aimed, by place and by count. What you can promise is that you will give it as taught and that she can judge the result herself in ten minutes. (Figure 23.6)