Four weeks ago, I hoped that the election stress was about to go away and that I could avoid writing this series of posts. I admit that I was fairly caught up in the drama of the situation and experienced the stress it created first-hand, as well as second-hand through my clients. But I thought it would end by November 9, and we could go back to life as usual.

Unfortunately, the stress caused by the elections has not gone away. For many of us, it has increased. With stress come various physical and emotional symptoms that I am witnessing in clients, friends, and family. The symptoms vary, but there’s a lot of overlap.

Many people are experiencing sleep trouble. For some people, the problem is in letting go, going to bed on time, and / or falling asleep promptly. For others, the challenge is to sleep through the night, or to get truly restful, restorative sleep.

There are numerous herbs that can help with this, and, of course, the choice depends on the specifics of the person and the full complex of symptoms. Shiatsu can help enormously. I also have a few favorite qigong practices for sleep.

One of my favorite ways to address sleep trouble is with an herbal foot bath. Herbal foot baths can help the entire person, not just the feet. The can address chronic health problems and emotional issues. To make an herbal foot bath, first choose a vessel, preferably made of an inert material, such as steel. Many of my clients use pots or steel mixing bowls.

Put a handful of dried linden leaves or flowers into the vessel together with a handful of Epsom salts. Put enough water to cover your feet into your kettle and bring it to the boil, and then let it cool for a couple of minutes. Pour it over the herbs and salts, and then cover for 30 minutes if you can, or less if you can’t.

When it cools off enough to be tolerable to the touch, start soaking your feet. Keep them in the bath until it cools too much for comfort, and then either reheat or pour into a jar to store in the fridge. Keep the herbs in the foot bath; they will let the bath grow stronger. You can keep reusing your foot bath for up to a week.