Feet can be a strange concept and people I meet nearly always find it fascinating that I have taken it upon myself to work with feet. I often hear questions like; "What if the person is ticklish?", "Does reflexology hurt?" and "I don't like people looking at/touching my feet"
Every reflexologist has their own unique way of touching, holding and working with the feet. These are my solutions.
TICKLISH FEET:
As somebody who initially was so ticklish I couldn't bear the thought of someone even looking at my feet, never mind touching them, I feel I am sufficiently equipped to explain how reflexology deals with this.
I feel that trust is a massive factor when it comes to clients with ticklish feet. I have had a number of clients with ticklish feet and I generally found that the psychological outweighs the physical, in that, they were so in anticipation of the 'tickle' that they were feeling it before I had even touched them. Clients with ticklish feet will generally find the initial touches a little uncomfortable, however as soon as they realise that the pressure is firm they begin to trust and relax. The more they relax the less ticklish they become.
As the reflexology treatment progresses there are certain areas of the feet which, typically, are more ticklish than others e.g. in between the toes. Certain areas like this can be avoided in the initial treatment if it becomes too disruptive to the individual. In all of my experiences with clients and their ticklish feet, including my own, I have found that over a number of treatments the tickle completely subsides. It is said that people who initially have ticklish feet come to love reflexology all the more as they are more sensitive to the subtleties of movement and pressure and so can sometimes find the treatment more profound than others. I can honestly put my hand up now and say that I no longer feel any tickle at all when receiving reflexology, even between the toes!
SORE FEET
People often ask, is reflexology painful to receive? This is a very subjective question and one that is difficult to answer but I will attempt to. In my personal opinion, reflexology is not painful to receive and if for any reason it becomes painful to the individual the pressure should be reduced accordingly. I believe, and there are many others who agree with me, that in order to fully stimulate the reflexes strong pressure is not always necessary.
I have received reflexology in the past that was painful and even a bit rough at times but this is not something that is common to all reflexologists. If it is a concern of yours, feel free to ask the therapist prior to making that initial appointment.
All of that said, when there are energetic and physical imbalances in the body, these are reflected on the feet and often the areas on the feet which correspond to the imbalance are tender to the touch. They can feel 'bruised' and as the reflexologist presses on these they can feel uncomfortable. Generally the reflexologist will be able to discern what these areas are and adjust the pressure accordingly.
I feel that it is imperative to have clear communication with my clients so that they feel free to discuss these issues with me and draw my attention to if and when they feel discomfort. Although the pressure I use in my treatments is firm and deep I vary the pressure as I work across the foot and the majority of my clients actually fall asleep. I think relaxation is paramount to the treatment's success and depth of healing and therefore would not like any of my clients to be in pain or discomfort during as I feel this would detract from the benefits of reflexology.
PODIAPHOBIA (Strong aversion to feet):
Some people have heard of the benefits of reflexology and long to try it out but as soon as they learn that it involves the feet they are disgusted. Some people genuinely have a fear of feet or podiaphobia, others just have a very strong aversion to feet. I am sometimes asked what can be done in these situations.
I believe that if somebody is having such a strong reaction it is wrong to force them to confront it face on unless you are a specialised therapist in that area so I don't encourage people to jump in at the deep-end with a reflexologist. In the case of a potential client having this fear I merely offer hand reflexology as an alternative. Hand reflexology (believe it or not) can be just as profound and relaxing as foot reflexology. Hand reflexology can also be a great option in situations where there is impaired mobility, injury or if the feet are inaccessible for any reason.
I will be writing more about hand reflexology and its benefits in upcoming posts.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
WHY IS MORE THAN ONE TREATMENT OFTEN RECOMMENDED?
If you have been to any complementary health practitioners you may be familiar with the concept of needing to return for a certain number of treatments. The reason for this is, generally, unlike Western medicine where a prescription medication is designed to stop or suppress certain symptoms, the complementary approach is to kick-start your body's own innate healing mechanisms. In comparison to Western medicine this can sometimes be perceived by people as 'the hard way' but when successfully applied is also the most healthy and ideal path to wellness. Often with more chronic illness, over time medication starts to lose its effect and it is only then that it becomes apparent that restarting your body's own innate healing mechanism is paramount to your well-being.
(In the case of illness always consult with your doctor first. It is also worth mentioning here that Reflexology is 'complementary' which means that it can be used safely alongside conventional Western treatment and is not designed to contradict it.)
How you can begin to tap into this is to start 'listening to your body'. Sometimes it can be difficult to tune into the subtle messages that our bodies send us but sometimes even when we hear those messages we refuse to listen. Not listening to our bodies and not fulfilling the body's needs ultimately results in some form of dis-ease e.g. when we are tired and refuse to rest, we may get a headache or pain or in the long-term we may start to experience chronic fatigue. Apart from some genetic illnesses a lot of the day-to-day maladies that we experience could be prevented if this communication could be restored.
Reflexology works on the premise of reflex points and zones within the feet that communicate with the systems of the body. Reflexology, like other complementary therapies reunites the individual with their innate ability to self-heal. For the most part, dis-ease and illness are a culmination of years of negative patterns and negative lifestyle. These patterns are not always apparent to the individual, they may have been instilled in them from a very young age. If a negative pattern is not corrected it can influence and spawn another negative pattern and so the web thickens. These patterns can be physical, emotional or even mental.
When a person starts on the path to self-healing they must be willing to truly look at themselves from an objective viewpoint. How you interact with yourself, others and the world around you. Often the symptoms a person may present with are not the problem at all but on further investigation a 'root cause' becomes visible. As it takes years to develop these negative attitudes and patterns, often out of a place of survival rather than a desire to be negative, it in turn, also takes some re-conditioning to straighten them out.
On an initial treatment, one is dealing predominantly with the symptoms which are essentially just the 'crust' of the problem. This is what the world sees, this is how you are. In the initial treatment, a therapist will most likely be able to determine whether or not there is a deeper issue present. If this is the case, then further treatments are recommended to help the person to come to terms with the root cause. To acknowledge it and to begin to take steps to alleviate it.
Persistently working only on the symptoms will not solve the problem and the symptoms will simply keep re-occurring. (When you weed your garden you need to pull out the roots or the weeds will simply grow back when the conditions allow.)
In the same way, aside from the root cause of the issue there are most likely certain conditions in one's life which perpetuate the symptoms of their malaise. These conditions may involve the presence of negative people or environments. It is not the place of the reflexologist to act as a psychotherapist or counsellor and if it becomes apparent that that is what the client needs then they should be referred onto the relevant party. A reflexologist is not going to probe into your personal life to try and find out why you act the way you act, or do what it is you do but by helping you to create better communication within your body a reflexologist can help you to gain a greater self-awareness so that you may start to explore these issues for yourself.
Like anything in life, the body needs a certain amount of repetitions before it is trained to do something, like typing or knitting. Reflexology can help to build that system of communication where you can start to feel imbalance in your body before it is manifest as illness. This is unlikely to happen after just one treatment. After years of giving and receiving reflexology I now find that my feet will tell me that something is about to occur in my body before it actually does. This gives me the space and time to do something about it. I may need to take more rest, drink more water, change my diet, get some exercise, have my spine or joints re-aligned. There are many possibilities.
It is not essential for you to have years of experience however to benefit from this form of communication. I have clients who tell me that they are now much more aware of their feet and they too take special note when they feel discomfort or sensations in any one area of the foot. On further investigation it becomes apparent to them what they need to do.
I believe that the concept behind multiple treatments is to firstly help the body to fully detox from a presenting ailment, secondly train the body and thirdly teach the individual how to read certain signals so that they may live a more balanced and healthy life.
(In the case of illness always consult with your doctor first. It is also worth mentioning here that Reflexology is 'complementary' which means that it can be used safely alongside conventional Western treatment and is not designed to contradict it.)
How you can begin to tap into this is to start 'listening to your body'. Sometimes it can be difficult to tune into the subtle messages that our bodies send us but sometimes even when we hear those messages we refuse to listen. Not listening to our bodies and not fulfilling the body's needs ultimately results in some form of dis-ease e.g. when we are tired and refuse to rest, we may get a headache or pain or in the long-term we may start to experience chronic fatigue. Apart from some genetic illnesses a lot of the day-to-day maladies that we experience could be prevented if this communication could be restored.
Reflexology works on the premise of reflex points and zones within the feet that communicate with the systems of the body. Reflexology, like other complementary therapies reunites the individual with their innate ability to self-heal. For the most part, dis-ease and illness are a culmination of years of negative patterns and negative lifestyle. These patterns are not always apparent to the individual, they may have been instilled in them from a very young age. If a negative pattern is not corrected it can influence and spawn another negative pattern and so the web thickens. These patterns can be physical, emotional or even mental.
When a person starts on the path to self-healing they must be willing to truly look at themselves from an objective viewpoint. How you interact with yourself, others and the world around you. Often the symptoms a person may present with are not the problem at all but on further investigation a 'root cause' becomes visible. As it takes years to develop these negative attitudes and patterns, often out of a place of survival rather than a desire to be negative, it in turn, also takes some re-conditioning to straighten them out.
On an initial treatment, one is dealing predominantly with the symptoms which are essentially just the 'crust' of the problem. This is what the world sees, this is how you are. In the initial treatment, a therapist will most likely be able to determine whether or not there is a deeper issue present. If this is the case, then further treatments are recommended to help the person to come to terms with the root cause. To acknowledge it and to begin to take steps to alleviate it.
Persistently working only on the symptoms will not solve the problem and the symptoms will simply keep re-occurring. (When you weed your garden you need to pull out the roots or the weeds will simply grow back when the conditions allow.)
In the same way, aside from the root cause of the issue there are most likely certain conditions in one's life which perpetuate the symptoms of their malaise. These conditions may involve the presence of negative people or environments. It is not the place of the reflexologist to act as a psychotherapist or counsellor and if it becomes apparent that that is what the client needs then they should be referred onto the relevant party. A reflexologist is not going to probe into your personal life to try and find out why you act the way you act, or do what it is you do but by helping you to create better communication within your body a reflexologist can help you to gain a greater self-awareness so that you may start to explore these issues for yourself.
Like anything in life, the body needs a certain amount of repetitions before it is trained to do something, like typing or knitting. Reflexology can help to build that system of communication where you can start to feel imbalance in your body before it is manifest as illness. This is unlikely to happen after just one treatment. After years of giving and receiving reflexology I now find that my feet will tell me that something is about to occur in my body before it actually does. This gives me the space and time to do something about it. I may need to take more rest, drink more water, change my diet, get some exercise, have my spine or joints re-aligned. There are many possibilities.
It is not essential for you to have years of experience however to benefit from this form of communication. I have clients who tell me that they are now much more aware of their feet and they too take special note when they feel discomfort or sensations in any one area of the foot. On further investigation it becomes apparent to them what they need to do.
I believe that the concept behind multiple treatments is to firstly help the body to fully detox from a presenting ailment, secondly train the body and thirdly teach the individual how to read certain signals so that they may live a more balanced and healthy life.
WHAT IS REFLEXOLOGY?
Reflexology is a therapy that can be effectively used to help reduce stress, lower blood pressure, increase circulation and movement of lymph, helping you to detox and also helps to aid relaxation. The reflexologist works mainly with the feet, and occassionally with the hands and ears, massaging and stimulating certain points and sometimes meridians that correspond to and run through the main systems of the body. In essence, it is believed that the feet represent a microcosm of the body and all of its systems. These systems e.g. the circulatory system, lymphatic system, digestive system, nervous system etc. can be aided through reflexology in many ways. Increased circulation can mean that, on a cellular level, the organs of your body receive a larger amount of oxygen and nutrients and rid themselves more easily of toxins and waste. Increased circulation can also aid respiration, allowing a person to breathe more deeply and thereby relax. Increased lymphatic flow means that the body can more quickly rid itself of these toxins.
The definition of 'toxin' is '...
A poisonous substance, especially one produced by a living organism. Toxins can be products or byproducts of ordinary metabolism, such as lactic acid, and they must be broken down or excreted before building up to dangerous levels.' www.dictionary.com
When toxins build up in the body some of the results can be: impaired liver and kidney function, skin breakouts, headaches, dehydration, tiredness, aches and pains, lowered immune response. Toxins in the body can be caused by pollution, smoking, alcohol, junk foods, stress and environment.
In your first visit to a reflexologist they will conduct a full medical and lifestyle consultation with you so that they can adequately assess your needs as a complete individual. The reflexologist may be able to suggest certain lifestyle or dietary changes or refer you to a different type of therapist which will complement the reflexology session and put you on your path to wellness.
It should be noted that a reflexologist is not medically trained and their advice does not outweigh or interfere in any way with that of your doctor.
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