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Massage > Reflexology
Reflexology, the gentle art and a
fascinating science that was developed in the East
over 5000 years ago. The western world has just begun
to acknowledge its almost miraculous health benefits.
This extremely effective form of therapeutic massage
can be considered a real credit to Alternative
health.
Perhaps the most obvious benefit with
alternative health is the holistic approach, which is the
idea of incorporation of mind and soul in addition to the
physical body. Holistic health also begins to acknowledge
the idea that the physical body is a direct reflection of
the emotional mind. With this, Reflexology is a scientific
art that works with the idea of holistic balance in the
body.
The ultimate goal is to restore holistic balance in the
body
The concept of balance has long been
acknowledged by differing cultures in regard to
health. The Chinese acknowledge it when they refer to
yin and yang while conventional medicine speaks of
the state of homeostasis in the body. Your parents
use it when they ask you to keep a balanced diet or
tell you not to over do it. It is a key essential in
all areas of health, not just physical health. Infact
ask any health practitioner, and they would agree
that it is vital component when considering good
health.
This is what Reflexology offers, a
gentle non-invasive procedure that can identify
imbalances in the body, be it an emotional imbalance
or a physical imbalance. The feet are place where the
Reflexologist uses special techniques to correct them
with the goal of restoring total balance in the body.
The History of Reflexology
The history of Reflexology is not well
documented though it seems the Chinese had proven its
benefits long before the European and American folk
proposed their theories. The Egyptians are partial to
some influence and perhaps are the earliest uses of
this ancient art, which means it has been used as
early as 2500 B.C.
The Chinese discovered that the body is
made up of 12 meridian lines with 2 special meridians
lines known as vessels. These meridian lines run from
the top of the head to the tip of the toe and are
considered the energy channels of the body. These
meridians are systems that allow the universal energy
to move thorough the body organs. This may sound a
little airy fairie but it has been proven.
Other acknowledgments include Dr William
Fitzgerald who at the turn of the century began to
describe the effects of something he called
“Zone Therapy”. The initial discovery came
about accidentally when he seen that pressure applied
to specific areas of the body caused a remarkable
anesthetising effect on another area of the body,
enough to perform small surgical procedures.
Fitzgerald’s theory divides the
body into 10 equal longitudinal zones running the
length of the body from the top of the head to the
tip of the toes, by doing this he was able to predict
an affect on another part of the body. Fitzgerald had
difficultly evidencing how this happened and was not
well received by conventional medicine at the time.
Further work complied by Eunice Ingham,
who has since been labeled the mother of reflexology
went on to better prove what Fitzgerald had
described. Ingham separated the foot from the rest of
the body and experimented on people to prove its
worth, this proved very successful.
What about Today
Reflexology is just beginning to take of in
New Zealand. It offers a relaxing, non-invasive,
gentle massage of the feet that has wonderful
benefits for health.
A Treatment can cost anywhere between
$45-55 and should take about one hour. Anyone can
attend. People of any age, sex, the elderly,
teenagers, everyone has something positive to gain
from a treatment. Contact your local natural health
shop to get an appointment.
Acupuncture, which has recently been
acknowledged by conventional medicine as extremely
effective works with the same theory as Reflexology.
Acupuncture has just recently received the tick for
ACC funding. Reflexology is also currently been
considered…WOW
Reference
Dougans, I (1996) Reflexology: Therapeutic
Foot Massage for Health and Wellbeing: Element Books
limited, Australia.
Article by Megan Karena
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