What is Reflexology?
Reflexology
is a method for activating the healing powers of the body. It is both old and new. From ancient texts, illustrations,
and artifacts, we know that the early Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Russians, and Egyptians worked on the feet to promote good
health. Today many of these same techniques have been developed into a modern scientific method called reflexology.
What joins the ancients with the moderns is the long-established principle that there are energy zones that run throughout
the body and reflex areas in the feet that correspond to all the major organs, glands, and body parts.
In the early years of the twentieth century, Dr. William Fitzgerald developed the modern
zone theory of the human body, arguing that parts of the body correspond to other parts and offering as proof the fact that
applying pressure to one area anesthetized a corresponding are. Dr. Edwin Bowers, Fitzgerald's colleague, used a
dramatic demonstration to convince others of the theory's validity. He showed that he could stick a pin into a volunteer's
face without causing pain if he first applied pressure to a point in the person's hand which corresponds to that area
of the face.
In the 1930s, Eunice Ingham, a physiotherapist
for Dr. Joseph Shelby Riley, who was also a student and advocate of the theory, used zone therapy in her work with patients.
She concluded that since the zones ran throughout the body and could be accessed anywhere, some areas might be more accessible
and effective than others. She was right. The feet were the most responsive areas for working the zones because
they were extremely sensitive. Eventually, she mapped the entire body onto the feet and discovered that an alternating
pressure on the various points had therapeutic effects far beyond the limited use to which zone therapy had been previously
employed, namely, reduction of pain. And so reflexology was born.
Modern
reflexology is both a science and an art. As a science, it requires careful study, faithful practice, a sound knowledge
of the techniques, and skill. And yet as one of the healing arts, reflexology yields the best results when the reflexologist
works with dedication, patience, focused intention, and above all, loving care.
Benefits of Reflexology
Reduces
stress and induces deep relaxation
Stress cannot be
avoided. We live with it and in it everyday. In itself, stress is neither good nor bad. Playing tennis or
giving a dinner party is stressful and yet exhilarating and fun. Stress becomes a problem, however, when we fail to
manage it well, especially the stress that results from problems, frustrations, overwork, and worry. When we don't
handle stress well, the body's defenses break down and we become more susceptible to illness and disease. It's
been estimated that over seventy-five percent of all illness is stress-related. Reflexology reduces stress by generating
deep, tranquil relaxation. Many clients routinely fall asleep during a reflexology session and testify on waking that
the thirty or forty minutes of sleep were more beneficial and restorative than a full night of restless sleep. We all
know how good it feels to lie down in the middle of a busy day. But lying down is just the first step. Beyond
that lie in the deep realms of relaxation and peace that help the body balance itself and allow healing energy to flow smoothly
and gently throughout.
Every part of the body is operated
by messages carried back and forth along neural pathways. Stimulation of sensory nerve endings sends information to
the spinal cord and brain. The brain and spinal cord send instructions to the organs and muscles. The neural pathways
are both living tissue and electrical channels, and can be impinged upon or polluted by many factors. When neural pathways
are impaired, nerve function is impeded - messages are delivered slowly and unreliably, or not at all, and body processes
operate at less than optimum levels. The reflexologist stimulates more than 7,000 nerves when touching the feet, and
encourages the opening and clearing of neural pathways.
Reflexology Improves Circulation
We all know how important it si for blood to flow freely throughout the body, carrying oxygen and nutrients to all the cells
that make up the tissues fo the body and removing waste products of metabolism, and other toxins. What many of us aren't
aware of is that the blood vessels contract and relax in this process and that their resiliency is most iimportant for proper
functioning. Stress and tension tighten up the cardiovascular system and restrict blood flow. Circulation becomes
sluggish. By reducing stress and tension, reflexology allows the miles of cardiovascular vessels to conduct the flow
of blood naturally and easily.
Reflexology
Cleanses the Body of Toxins and Impurities
The
body has built-in mechanisms for cleansing itself, mainly the lymphatic, excretory, and integumentary systems. If these
become blocked or funciton inproperly, toxins and waste matter build up. A healthy body is like a healthy home: You
have to take the garbage out regularly. By deepening relaxation, reflexology causes all the systems of the body to function
more efficiently, including those that eliminate waste products.
Reflexology Balances the Whole System
The technical term is homeostasis - and it means being in a dynamic state of balance. To me it means togetherness and
centeredness. The thousands of parts and areas of the body, each functioning according to its own laws and purposes,
together make up only one body. For the body to be healthy, everything must work together. If one part is out
of whack, other parts suffer. To keep the body running harmoniously, a tune-up is often needed. As after a motor
tune-up, the end result is a machine that runs smoothly, with all it parts contributing synergistically.
Reflexology Revitalizes Energy
Energy is very personal. We all experience it in our own ways. You know
when your "juices are flowing" and when they're not. Sometimes energy is exciting andinvigorating; at
other times it is calm and restful. We each experience our energy levels in personal and subtle ways. But one
thing is certain: Energy flows. It circulates consciously and unconsciously throughout the body on a physical, emotional
and mental level. There is also an energy of the spirit that is just a crucial to overall well-being as physical or
mental energy. Like the old metaphysical issue of the One and the Many, there may be only one source of Energy in the
universe, and each type we experience is an expression of it. Be that as it may, energy needs to be revitalized periodically.
According to polarity theory, it must also flow unimpeded between the negative and positive poles that every atom and cell
contains. Or in Oriental thought, the yin and yang energy currents must complement each other. In whatever terms
make sense to you, feeling good and alive requires sufficient energy. By relaxing and opening up energy pathways, reflexology
revitalizes the body and supplies it with energy on all levels.
Reflexology is Preventive Health Care
Preventive health care is becoming more important as we realize the health-threatening dangers of our environment: stress,
fatigue, chemical additives in food, polluted water supples, radioactivity, and poor air quality, to name only a few. The
added strain on everyone's immune system today should warn us to find time to unwind and relax, because the immune system
functions at its peak only when a person successfully manages the stressful situations of daily life. The immune system
also responds synergistically, relying on other bodily processes to maintain its own lines of defense. Only when the
body is well balanced is a person in good shape to ward off illness.
Reflexology Stimulates Creativity and Productivity
Very few of us can perform at our best if we are sluggish and tired. Like exercise, reflexology
restores mental alertness and improves the attention span. By reducing tensions and calming the mind, we are free to
think best thoughts, come up with our best ideas, and work longer and with greater clarity at difficult tasks. Each
session provides the quiet time so necessary to let new ideas gestate. As a pick-me-up in the middle of the day or in
the late afternoon, reflexology can send you back to work of into the evening with the mental energy you need to be creative
and productive.
How
Does Reflexology Work?
Since ancient times, healers have
employed various methodologies to strengthen and balance energy flow. Many of these systems, including acupuncture,
shiatsu, and reflexology, agree that this energy flows in zones or meridians throughout the body. Reflexologists specify
that there are ten energy zones that run the length of the body form head to toe - five on each side of the body ending in
each foot and running down the arms into the tips of the fingers. Not only do these zones run lengthwise, but they pass
through the body, so that a zone located on the front of the body can also be reached from behind. All the organs and
parts of the body lie along one or more of these zones.
Each
zone can be considered a channel for the intangible life energy, called chi or qi in oriental medicine and martial arts.
Stimulating or "working" any zone in the foot by applying pressure with the thumbs and fingers affects the entire
zone throughout the body. For example, working a zone on the foot along which the kidnesy lie will release vital energy
that may be blocked somewhere else in that zone, such as in the eyes. Working the kidney reflex area on the foot will
therefore revitalize and balance the entire zone and improve functioning of the organ.
The actual physical mechanism that controls the ten zones in the body and feet is not fully understood.
That is works is proven everyday, but exactly how it works is still a mystery. There are sound, reputable theories,
however, suggesting that good health depends on balance, equilibrium, the natural functioning of all the body systems -
that we call homeostasis. Excessive stress disrupts this balance. In fact, the stress reaction is a very primitive
response to a situation perceived as dangerous or threatening. It has been called the "fight or flight response"
because our spontaneous reaction is to gear up the body and emotions either to fight off the attacker or run for our lives.
The problem for contemporary people living in our modern civilization is that it isn't considered civilized to fight and
there's no place to run! Unfortunately our adrenal glands don't know this, so the heartbeat becomes more rapid,
the digestive system shuts down, and a chain of other physical reactions occur to prepare us for the looming "catastrophe."
But often we do nothing except bottle it up and repress it. Eventually, the stress buildup "explodes" internally
by knocking some part of our system out of balance.
Reflexology
alleviates the effects of stress by inducing deep relaxation, placing us in a "safe place," and allowing the nervous
system to calm down and function more normally. Circulation proceeds smoothly, blood flow is improved, and oxygen reaches
all the cells. We are no longer activated for fight or flight. The body seeks homeostasis, and healing can take
place. Ther person experienes a sense of well-being at all levels.
As
in acupuncture or shiatsu, energy pathways are opened up, and the subtle energy that accompanies neurological and circulatory
functioning can do its work. Order and harmony are restored. The body is normalized as the seven energy centers,
known in Eastern medicine as the chakras, are unblocked. The body returns to its natural rhythms. Energy flows.
The body, mind, and spirit are brought back into balance.
(Taken
from Feet First: A Guide to Foot Reflexology by Laura Norman with Thomas Cowan.)
