Benefits of Receiving Reflexology
Reflexology is a therapeutic touch technique that stimulates nerve endings on the feet, hands, and outer ears. Giving your body time to rest and recover helps you to function at your best. Reflexology gives you a chance to fully relax, therefore reducing the negative impacts of stress on the body and mind. It is believed that the feet, hands, and outer ears reflect the entire body's systems and stimulating the nerve endings that carry impulses to every part of the body through touch provides the body an opportunity to acquire balance and awaken the body's natural healing response. Reflexology does not diagnose or treat specific medical conditions and is not a replacement for proper medical care. Reflexology is a relaxation tool that complements a well-rounded, healthy lifestyle.
To receive reflexology, you only need to remove your shoes and socks. It can be performed anywhere, although clients report receiving the best results in a quiet room where there are no outside distractions.
Reflexology Charts
Practioners around the world have not agreed on one reflexology chart, so there there are many versions which are generally similar with minor differences.
There are three theories, Nerve Theory, Meridian Theory, and Zone Theory, that help to explain how reflexology works. I believe each theory explains a different aspect of how reflexology works with the body's natural healing response.
Nerve Theory~Nerve endings in the feet, hands, and outer ears carry impulses throughout the body. Stimulating the nerve endings through reflexology helps reduce dull, aching pain by temporarily interrupting the pain response and, instead, encouraging a nurturing and pleasurable feeling. Gentle, therapeutic touch also promotes relaxation of the central nervous system.
Meridian Theory~is based on the understanding as in Traditional Chinese Medicine that there are thin, energy lines, called meridians, that flow through the entire body and its various systems. These meridian begin or end in the hands and feet. By stimulating points along the meridians, ch'i (life force) it is believed to regulate and and signal biochemical responses.
Zone Theory~proposes that the body is divided into ten vertical and four horizontal zones which the feet and hands mirror on a smaller scale. A foot or hand reflexology chart (or map) is based on these zones.
Reflexology Research
The stimulation of meridians in Traditional Chinese Medicine has been practiced for thousands of years through the widespread practice of acupuncture and has been utilized and researched in the East.
The stimulation of meridians in Traditional Chinese Medicine has been practiced for thousands of years through the widespread practice of acupuncture and has been utilized and researched in the East.
Reflexology, although a separate discipline, shares the same theory of balancing life force that may be stagnant, blocked, or in excess along energy routes called meridians.
The Zone Theory described above stems out of research done in the West dating to the 1920s and 1930s most notably by American physicians, Dr. William Fitzgerald and Dr. Joe Shelby Riley, and in later decades by physiologist, Eunice Ingham.
The past 30 years has seen research supporting the effectiveness of reflexology as a method of relaxation and as a complementary treatment for some health challenges. Reflexology is one of the most popular complementary therapies in the United Kingdom, China, Denmark, and Australia.