Should you name your toes? You might wonder why I would ask such a silly question.
A few years ago, I developed a true affection for my toes, after having sought an Ayurvedic evaluation for difficulty sleeping. Because I did not want to take sleep medication, I decided to seek the counsel of Dr. Rosie, a long-time practitioner of Ayurveda. She suggested that my sleep might be improved if I were to massage my feet with organic sesame seed oil prior to retiring to bed each night. She observed that most of her clients with sleep issues were helped by this simple measure.
Considered a CAM, which stands for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the U.S. and parts of Europe, Ayurveda is according to the National Institute of Health, “one of the world’s oldest holistic health systems” and was per WebMD developed, 3000 years ago in India where it is still widely practiced.
As I started my daily routine of sesame oil massage, I became more curious regarding my relationship to my toes. I was chagrined to think of how unappreciative I had been over the last half century of their unheralded support. All my miles of walking, climbing, running and dancing would not have been possible were it not for these ten little appendages. Even the term appendages seemed a bit of an insult to them. Their assistance was not just an ancillary part of my being able to move freely but was in fact integral to the processes of movement.
To make up for my unthoughtful ways, I decided to add my toes to my already established daily gratefulness routine. On awakening each morning, I start to mentally list the things for which I am appreciative. (Some might think I am stalling so that my husband will rise to make coffee ☺ but I deny their suspicions). As I began my daily toe appreciation, while scrubbing in the shower each morning, it seemed wrong to address them in the collective as toes, e.g. “Good morning toes, thanks a bunch for helping me effortlessly bipedal about my day.” After all, there were ten of them each adding their independent support. I decided that could be remedied if I gave a name to each one.
Meet my happy, appreciated crew of toe buddies:
- Left great toe (Toe-tal, pronounced total), second toe (Toe-by, pronounced Toby), third toe (Toe-do, pronounced Todo), fourth toe (Toe-Fu), fifth toe (Toe-ga, pronounced Toga).
- Right great toe (Toe-main, a nod to the name of the poison, ptomaine which has a putrid smell), second toe (Toe-jam), third toe (Toe-ken, pronounced Token), fourth toe (Toe-ny, as in Tony), fifth toe (Toe-toe, as in Toto).
If you decide to name your toes in appreciation for their daily efforts on your behalf, you are invited to use your imagination, or you may borrow my crew’s names. They won’t know, they don’t get out much.
(If you are interested in knowing more about Ayurveda, please seek reputable sites, which discuss the pros and cons of this alternative medical approach, one of which is https://www.nccih.nih.gov)
