A hands-on job rubs right for massage guru

Foot massage joints are as ubiquitous as haircut places in the city. Bai Yingchun, a 27-year-old native of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, has spent five years in Beijing coaxing people into a healthy state of relaxation through their feet.

METRO: We've all seen the large diagrams in massage parlors showing which part of the foot corresponds to which bodily organ. Can you really tell what's wrong with someone by touching their feet? Would you do a voodoo doll move by getting hold of a foot?

A: If you place two feet together their combined reflexes, or pressure points, represent all the organs in the human body. There are different types of foot massage, for example, ruo shi and tai ji. Take the spot between your left pinkie and fourth toe - that corresponds to the heart. I'm not a doctor and I can't diagnose your illnesses, but from pressing your feet and finding where you feel jabbing pains I can tell you which organs are in trouble. But don't worry, I can't just push your left foot and cause you heart pains!