Heel that sole! (Reflexology)

Member Name: Vicki H

Product:	Reflexology
Date:	28/05/02 (1031 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cure yourself, Cure others, Relaxing

Disadvantages: None

I recently became interested in reflexology and it has transformed my life! Here I hope to share with you the benefits that I have found in both practising it and receiving it. Hopefully if you don?t know anything about reflexology you will have more of an idea after reading this op.

How did I discover it?
Well my Mum is a bit on the nutty side when it comes to spiritual healing etc. One day she dragged me along to a holistic health fayre. I have to admit it was interesting if not a bit strange with eerie music and the smell of incense wafting around! At these fayres you can usually have a taster session of different therapies which cost just a fiver. I went for the Indian Head Massage which was totally relaxing and I must do an op on it in the near future. My Mum went for the reflexology which she said was very painful but insisted that I should try it. Well as you can imagine I wasn?t all that keen having seen the tears in my old Mum?s eyes. Thankfully the woman was fully booked that day and so I opted out. My mum went on about it so much that I went to another of her health fayres and this time opted to try reflexology. It was certainly a relaxing experience and pleasurable and I decided I would like to know more.

A few weeks after my own experience of reflexology I saw an advert in the paper. The local college were running a free course in reflexology. I decided to enrol.

College Course

The college course that I am enrolled on lasts for ten weeks in total. I have got to admit that I found it quite frightening going along on my own (Mum couldn?t make it that night!) but it was one of the best moves I have ever made. Although some people had gone along with friends or family there was the odd Billy No Mates like myself.

I attend every week for 2 hours and it is the highlight of my week. On some courses you need to wear whites etc but this course is very much just an introduction and you wear
whatever you like. You need to take a pillow and a towel to make your client comfortable and I would advise on taking baby wipes too in order to freshen up your feet.

Basically you work in twos and observe the tutor before having a go yourself. The atmosphere is so friendly and it is quite surprising how quickly you get to know strangers when you are working on their feet!

What is reflexology?
Basically reflexology is a map which connects points on the feet and hands with the rest of the body. Every area on the foot and hand relates to another area on the body. Using reflexology can have positive effects on the other body parts. The feet can give us clues to health problems which may arise and allow us the chance to prevent these through reflexology. Even if you don?t believe this (which incidentally I didn?t) reflexology is totally safe and if nothing else it can provide relaxation and make your feet tingle!

The technique

Reflexology involves putting pressure on certain areas a little bit like acupuncture. This pressure is usually placed by use of the thumb. A forward and backward motion is performed over the area being worked on. In cases where there is an injury, a bubble can usually be felt underneath the skin. These bubbles need to be worked on in order to break them down and promote healing. A foot massage is given initially to relax the foot, this is most pleasurable. Some reflexologists use oil, others talc though I have been trained not to use anything at all in order to work deeply without slipping.

I?m Cured!

For a number of years now I have had a bad hip. I have received weekly physio to no avail and baffled doctors continuously. A few weeks ago I had to take time off work due to my hip problem I mentioned this to my tutor who started to work on my hip through my foot!!!! I have to admit I was sceptical to say the least. The area on my foot was very tender and this is usually the
case when working on an associated area. Then I got real pain in my hip. This was worked on repeatedly until the pain subsided and I got a warm feeling in the hip area. Apparently this meant that the healing was taking place. As I stood up from my treatment my hip gave a loud crunch as it moved back into place ? the whole class heard it! I have had little pain in it since and it is worked on each week in order to discourage the pain from returning. I have to admit I did think that it was a load of rubbish. Call it mind over matter as I don?t know why it works but the thing is it has worked!

I have cured others!

I have had a number of success stories over the last couple of weeks which have quite honestly frightened me to death! My colleague was suffering with an abscess on her gum and her face was badly swollen. I offered to try reflexology on her over lunchtime and the results were quite astounding. As I worked on her foot she felt toothache down there and then got the pain in her tooth worse than before. As I continued to work the area became warm until the swelling in her face visibly reduced. At the beginning of the treatment she was unable to touch her face at all whereas at the end she could eat again! She was totally amazed and so was I!

I have also worked on 2 bad necks with success. Each felt the pain in the neck as I worked on the foot and as described I worked on the affected area until a warmth was felt. Both individuals felt much better as a result of just one treatment.

Give it a go!

I would say if you have tried other treatments and nothing has worked you have nothing to lose from trying reflexology. Build up a good relationship with the person performing the treatment as you need to communicate with them in order to guide them as to how deeply they may treat you. Obviously when my Mum received reflexology and it hurt, she was being treated too vigorously. The pain should not be severe an
d you need to state your pain threshold level to whoever treats you.

If you are thinking of studying reflexology it is fascinating. People thinking you are strange until you cure them. Headaches are easy to cure and can be done by working on the thumb! Just watch their faces while you are doing it and then revel in their shock when it works!

If nothing else it is wonderful for another human being to devote half an hours undivided attention on you. I think this makes you feel valued and heightens your self esteem. If you try it once and you aren't impressed go to another practitioner. It is rather like finding a good hairdresser you may have to try a few until you find the right person for your feet! It is lovely to be pampered and reflexology is a real treat so go on give it a go!

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