# Feet Sleep by the River -- odd?



## JDenver (Jun 1, 2009)

When doing my practice (what else? Zhan Zhuang), I recently discovered that, regardless of footwear, when I stand on a cracked clay ground beside a receded river, my feet tingle to the point of possibly sleeping.  Happens nowhere else that I practice; not the backyard, park, cement basement or hardwood floor.  It got so odd that I switched to a pair of leather shoes with a different sole and it was still happening.

I suppose my next step will be to practice barefoot to really 'test' this.

Any theories or ideas?  Seems very odd to me.


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## mograph (Jun 2, 2009)

Neat. 

But just to be clear, we're not talking about sleeping feet, which is _neurapraxia_, where you _lose_ sensation in the feet, and the feet feel like dead meat. You're talking about the tingle that happens when sensation _returns_ to the feet, right? Just so we get our terms straight. 

Anyway, maybe you're really sensitive. I'd relax and observe the sensation without trying to resist or embrace it. Just a thought.


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## JadecloudAlchemist (Jun 6, 2009)

I had to think about this.

I think your feet are rooting more in the mud which makes your weight go down more on the ankles and heels which can cause you to feel your feet go to sleep. 

LOL A more esoteric answer is Kidney 1(Yongquan) is Yin,water is Yin so you are absorbing the Yin energy thru the Yongquan and you are feeling it bubbling(Yongquan is called bubbling wells) as it goes up the Kidney channel. I am half joking of course. LOL I think someone is going to write this down and try it.


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## JDenver (Jun 6, 2009)

hahaha!

Yeah JadeCloud, I also think the softer soil has me sinking more, or unconsciously putting my weight further back on my foot, though I'm very particular about my posture.

I haven't been able to re-visit the river because it's been very cold, but I wanna try it again.......I dunno, it's almost a silly little thing.


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## Quotheraving (Sep 18, 2010)

Just thought I'd resurrect this thread as I've experienced unusual sensations in my feet a few times myself as I've gotten more dedicated in practising Yiquan, including tingling, numbness and heat. When I asked my teacher about these he said that they can be down to a few different things.

Numbness and tingling can be caused by restricted circulation through excessive pressure on the arches of the feet. This can be caused by fallen arches (standing loads can do this) or by standing on soft ground. 
Typically the way to deal with this on solid gound is by moving the ball of the foot back a bit in order to pull the arches of the feet up, maintaining a feeling as though you had cotton wool balls under them.

If it is a burning heat type tingling then this can be down to the capiliaries in the feet opening, though why that would only happen on clay is beyond me, so it seems likely that it is pressure on your arches.

Anyhow hope this helps.


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