PDF Reflexology is a form of acupressure based on the principle that there are special places mapped out on the surfaces of the feet, hands and ears which relate to every organ, gland and system within the human body.It is performed by using thumb and finger techniques, called ‘thumb walking’. A reflexologist will use these techniques and other massage-type relaxation techniques to apply gentle pressure and motion to these very specific mapped out points, called ‘reflexes’, hence the name – reflexology. You may know some of this already, and you may have seen reflexology ‘maps’ online – you may even be the proud owner of a pair of those curious reflexology socks! What you may not know is how useful reflexology is in everyday life, how you can apply easily it to yourself and help other family members, learn some true reported benefits of a session and how really, really good having a reflexology session can feel!
I didn’t realise that reflexology would be on my healing path until I was in my mid-thirties. It was the summer of 1998 and I was in a beautiful pub in the South of England with an old friend of mine (I’m from the UK originally). A friend of hers wandered across the pub and almost immediately engaged me in a strange conversation. He said “You should do reflexology, you know, you’d be really good at it!” I was a little taken aback, but had heard a little about reflexology, so listened to what he had to say. I had stayed over at my friends’ house, so the next morning we were relaxing over a cup of coffee when her friend appeared at the back door! He said “I hope you don’t think I’m forward, but I’ve brought this book I had as a gift.” I was surprised and delighted to receive such a spontaneous gift. When I got home, I spent some of the weekend leafing through the book, then added it to the bookshelf. The book is called ‘Hand and Foot Reflexology, Do it Yourself Treatment and Rejuvenation’, by Roman P. Palma M.D. I have the book to this day.
A few months later I was suddenly struck with a terrible toothache. It was the weekend and I had just moved to a new area, so there was no chance of finding a dentist in a hurry. It was really agonizing toothache. In desperation, I took down the reflexology book and worked the reflex point for the tooth in question (all over my right big toe, since the tooth was one of my lower front teeth). The relief was almost immediate and lasted 3 days or so, long enough for me to get to the dentist and have the problem fixed.
It wasn’t until the summer of 2002 that I realized I needed the help of reflexology once again. I was newly married and 3 months pregnant, living in Virginia Beach, VA whilst my husband was away for 6 months or so with the US Navy. Stress levels started to rise and my OB doctor noticed that my blood pressure was rising also. As an older mother (37 at the time) it was cause for some concern. I was determined to have a drug-free pregnancy and birth, so searched around for a non-invasive approach that could help me. Luckily, I was living close to the A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightenment). They have a wonderful massotherapy school. I engaged the services of the reflexology teacher and practitioner at the Cayce-Reilly School of Massotherapy there. I had regular treatments right up until I had my first baby. The reflexologist even came to the hospital after the birth to give me a treatment. The blood pressure issues disappeared, I avoided the scourge of swollen ankles and she incorporated a different form of acupressure work to help the baby come within a week of the due date, since my husband could only return from deployment during a two week window.As I had desired, I had a drug free labor and birth. I became so interested in the results of reflexology that I took two reflexology courses at the A.R.E. school whilst I was still pregnant.
Whilst my first child was still very young, we moved to Lemoore, CA, where my second child was born, and then on to Southern MD. It took me 8 years to get the message from that guy in the pub (who was speaking on behalf of the universe, I suspect), but finally 9 years later I became a State Certified Reflexologist in the State of Maryland. Since then I’ve had the opportunity to work with some wonderful clients using reflexology, and used this wonderful modality to take care of myself and my family. I know I’ve been fortunate to have professional training through the Baltimore School of Reflexology in MD (thank you, Catherine, my teacher, you know who you are!). However anyone can learn this skill in order to help their own health and the health of others. I maintain that giving my children reflexology sessions when they’ve been sick with a virus or the ‘flu has helped any infections clear up more quickly. My youngest will cheerfully stick her feet in the air in the hope that I will work them for her. My oldest has already learnt some of the hand movements and knows that it can help her…she’s suffering from Spring allergies at the moment and a quick work of the sinus reflexes comforts her at bed time.
So how can you help yourself and your family easily? Pick up a book on reflexology, there may even be one available to borrow at your local library. Learn to work on your own hands as well as others’ feet (the Baltimore School in Southern MD now offers a hand reflexology certification). The hands are easier to reach than the feet when helping yourself. Hands can also be worked instead of feet should a person have foot problems which prevent healthy access. Even if you don’t get all the techniques down initially, just work the areas required as best you can and notice the results. Please also bear in mind that women in the first trimester of pregnancy, people taking blood thinners or having a history of blood clots, and those people with cracked skin and active fungal infections on their feet should avoid reflexology. Working with your own family members’ hands and feet can be a fun and bonding experience. And who knows, if you manage to stave off a cold or reduce allergy symptoms for yourself or others, you may be saving yourself a trip to the doctor’s office. That reflexology book will have paid for itself already!
Dr Oz Mendendez, a top heart surgeon in the US and host of his own show on national television, has said in the past that the majority of his patients who come for heart surgery have a ‘reflexology type treatment’ before surgery, because he believes that the surgery goes better and the person recovers better. If you need to find out more about the scientific confirmation of the practice of reflexology, check out the second link below. If, like me, you know that having your feet or hands feels really, really, good, and has health benefits even simply from the power of touch, then go ahead and buy or borrow a book. As my reflexology teacher says, people know it feels good, since once you begin practising, “the feet will rise to meet you”!
Reflexology Mom story by Barbara and Kevin Kunz http://www.reflexology-research.com/mompower.html
Controlled studies on application of reflexology http://www.reflexology-research.com/control.htm Baltimore School of Reflexology http://www.baltimoreschoolofreflexology.com/
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