All information about the current position of the body and current nutrients available for use by the body is assessed from moment to moment and second to second. Directions to make further movements possible are accomplished through an ongoing system of feed forward information, the brain sending instructions to body parts to maintain a basic operating tone in movement. The foot has a role not only in movement but also in intelligent movement. So important are these feed forward messages that Russian reflexologists see illness as the result of incorrect instructions being sent to the organs by the brain. A stomach ulcer, for example, is viewed as correctable by interrupting the feed forward of reflexive nervous system signals from the brain to the stomach.
Every footstep is preprogrammed and the result of a lifetime of learning.
Not only the movements themselves but also the ability of the body to fuel movement occur because of the setting of an operating tone throughout the body. The need for the body to act as a whole. To respond appropriately to a saber-toothed tiger or bed time, requires putting together of information to create a united response to the situation. Such integration of somatic-autonomic information takes place on many levels of the brain but the core of the brain stem is the final common pathway for instructions from various parts of the brain to the body. To be able to do its job, the foot is fed forward information relevant to its role.