WHAT IS REFLEXOLOGY

Reflexology is a complementary therapy based on the principle that there are points on the feet which correspond to organs, systems and structures in the body. By using special pressure techniques, a reflexologist can stimulate the points on the feet to encourage the body to function more efficiently and help the body to mobilise its own self healing ability.

Following injury, stress, illness or disease the body is in a state of imbalance, and vital energy pathways are blocked preventing the body from functioning effectively.

A reflexologist can detect tiny deposits and imbalances in the feet, and by working on the reflex points, the blockages can be released and the free flow of energy can be restored.

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM REFLEXOLOGY

Most people can benefit in some way from reflexology, but it has been shown to be especially effective for:

Respiratory disorders
Back pain
Stress related conditions
Digestive problems including IBS
Sleep disorders
Emotional and hormonal imbalances
sports injuries
preventative therapy

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GO FOR A TREATMENT

On your first visit I will take a medical history and a lifestyle consultation will be completed – this will normally take between 15-30 minutes. The treatment itself lasts for around one hour. I will then begin to work on your feet noting problem areas. The treatment will begin with some massage, then the reflexes of both feet will be worked. You may experience some discomfort in places, but it will usually only be brief, and is an indication that there is either congestion or imbalance in a corresponding part of the body. Most people find a reflexology treatment pleasant, soothing and deeply relaxing. The treatment will conclude with more foot massage. A course of treatment varies in length depending on your body’s needs. This will be discussed with you at your first session, but as a guide, a course of 4-6 treatments at weekly or fortnightly intervals is normally recommended, after which maintenance treatments may be recommended at monthly intervals if desired.

HISTORY OF REFLEXOLOGY

It is thought that some form of hand or foot massage was carried out in India and China as long as 5000 years ago. Although the treatments would likely have been quite different to those carried out today, they appear to have been based on the idea that massage or applying pressure to the feet or hands can affect the whole body. In more recent times, it was 1913 when Dr William Fitzgerald noted that pressure on specific parts of the body could have an anaesthetising effect on a related area. Developing this theory, he divided the body into ten equal and vertical zones, ending in the fingers and toes. He concluded that pressure on one part of a zone could affect everything else within that zone. Dr Joe Shelby Riley, who learnt zone therapy from Fitzgerald, then refined the theory further beginning to locate specific points on the feet and ears and added four horizontal zones to the feet. But it was in the 1930’s that Eunice Ingham, a physiotherapist who worked with Dr Shelby Riley, further developed and refined zone therapy into what is now known as reflexology and “mapped” the feet with the various reflex points that we use today.