Reflexology
Reflexology, often referred to as ‘zone therapy’, is a form of alternative medicine, used as a complimentary method to treat medical problems. Our Reflexologists rely solely upon the use of their fingers and thumbs, without the aid of any tools or ointments, to induce positive changes throughout the body.
How Does Reflexology Work?
Reflexologists refer to their work as affecting, and attuning one’s Qi. Qi is the traditional Chinese understanding of a channelled energy flow which is contained within each person’s body. These energy channels can sometimes be out of balance, blocked or disrupted, which shows itself outwardly as symptoms of an illness. Such an abnormal flow of Qi will halt any chance of the body being able to heal itself. Reflexologists seek to manipulate this Qi positively so as to unblock and balance it out, and to restore the natural energy flow in the body, and in turn relieve any symptoms and any illnesses.
What Happens During Reflexology Treatment?
In reflexology treatment, the feet and hands are applied with pressure to help cure illnesses and produce a physical, healing effect upon the body. Pressure points in the hands, and feet especially, are targeted using the fingers and thumbs in special techniques meant to release pressure. Each of these zones in the feet and hands corresponds to an area, organ, gland or system in the body, and by applying pressure to them can help to alleviate problems in those zones. There are enough of these pressure points and zones on the hands and feet to make up the entirety of the body, so that a reflexologist can work on any part, purely using their thumb techniques.
How Will Reflexology Affect You?
Our reflexologists refer to their work as being able to bring about relaxation, and as a way to reduce stress. Once one realises that stress is related to illness, it is easy to see how reflexology might help your body to heal, by helping you to relax.
Each individual’s reaction and receptiveness to reflexology treatment is different, and the type of therapy and its effects will vary from person to person, due to their individual Qi. Our reflexologist, once working on your hands and feet, will detect changes in tension and relaxation that indicate problems within the body. They will then attempt to eradicate or influence these using unique amounts of pressure (according to the individual’s needs and responses). The areas of the body that are unwell or affected will be noted by the reflexologist, and you may find the areas of the foot pressed by them feeling uncomfortable or tender, this external pain corresponds to the internal problem in the appropriate bodily zone.
Often a client will feel more relaxed, unstressed and calm after a session of reflexology treatment. How you feel is important to your healing process and will help the reflexologist to understand what is happening to your body. Treatment sessions normally last around one hour, after which you may wish to return regularly to keep your body in a healthy condition, and as a means of de-stressing.
The History of Reflexology
The art of reflexology is one that spans the globe and dates back into the ancient traditions and histories of India, China, Egypt and even North America. Believed to be first used, along with other ancient medical practices, by the early Taoists of China, reflexology has found its way around the world in the thousands of years proceeding this. The art came to the west in the early 20th century through the work of two American doctors, William Fitzgerald and Edwin Bowers, and renamed ‘zone therapy’. Later in the century Eunice Ingham, a nurse, mapped out the areas on the feet and hands in detail, to show the zones of the body each affected. Reflexology became acknowledged in Great Britain due to the dedicated work of Doreen Bayly.
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