Reflexology - an Introduction


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reflexology

reflexology A reflexologist applies manual pressure to specific areas on your feet or (less frequently) your hands in order to rebalance 'energy' in your body and stimulate natural healing processes. All parts of the body are said to be 'reflected' in the feet and hands and stimulating relevant areas is said to influence their corresponding organs and systems. Because the big toe 'represents' the head and neck, for example, working in this area is claimed to relieve migraine or headache.

A form of foot massage is depicted on Egyptian papyri, but the modern form of reflexology began with American ear, nose and throat specialist, Dr William H Fitzgerald, in 1915. Noticing that pressure on one part of the body seemed to produce a numbing effect in another, he introduced the idea of vertical zones of energy running from the head to the feet, not unlike the concept of Chinese meridians. Stimulation at any point on a zone could affect the organs, glands, bones and muscles along it.

An American physiotherapist, Eunice Ingham, took the idea of 'zone therapy' further in the 1930s, maintaining that all parts of the body could be treated by pressing certain areas of the foot. She coined the term reflexology and mapped the appropriate reflex points on the feet and hands. One of her pupils, Doreen Bayly, introduced reflexology to the UK in the 1960s, and its popularity has soared since. Reflexology is now used in some NHS cancer wards and hospices.

For more information, you could go and visit:

The Association of Reflexologists

The British Reflexology Association