Discovering Reflexology

by Rosalind Oxenford

You may ask: ?How can it be that a therapy that works only on the feet (or hands) can claim to affect the whole body? Surely if I have something wrong with my feet, I might visit a reflexologist, but how could she/he help with my asthma or irritable bowel syndrome?? That it does help is illustrated by the number of people who leave their reflexologist after a course of treatment experiencing permanent relief from the problems that caused them to seek help in the first place. 

Reflexology can provide relief because the whole body is represented on the feet and hands through points that can be individually stimulated to produce a reaction in the corresponding body part. If I am having a consultation with someone who has a stiff and painful left shoulder following a sports injury, it is not unusual for them to remark as I work the corresponding part on the foot that they feel a sensation of immediate relief in their shoulder.

The Flow of Energy Around the Body

How can there be a link between the two parts? This happens because the body is linked by energy flowing along certain pathways. When stimulation is applied on one point along the line, it will travel along and around that line until it has traveled through every part of the body that lies in its pathway. When an impulse travels along a line, it will stimulate everything that lies in its path. Organs and body parts that are functioning well will allow energy to flow through freely with little change. When the impulse meets a damaged area, however, the physiological effect of the increased flow of energy will be to stimulate that part to heal itself.

Imagine a stream traveling along its path. Where it is clear the stream will run along freely, covering the miles effortlessly. But if it should meet boulders in its path, or a fallen tree, the water will be restricted and will push and squeeze its way through the constricted area. It will work gradually to clear the path of congestion so that it can proceed more fully. Or, imagine an electrical circuit. Energy will always keep flowing, it will pass through things ? or around things if they do not conduct electricity ? but it cannot stop and disappear. Just as your blood travels around your body and flows without ceasing while you are alive, so electromagnetic energy flows constantly through our bodies.

This has not yet been fully explained or understood in relation to the human body, yet it is a clearly explained and central part of physics. (Physics is the study of natural science and particularly of the properties ? other than chemical ? of matter and energy.) We are part of the natural world, and are indisputably composed of matter and energy. Therefore it seems probable that we will soon understand energy much more fully. Indeed, research has and is being carried out that has already increased our understanding of these matters. In 1628, when it was first suggested by William Harvey that the blood circulated around our bodies, the idea was received incredulously and the theory treated as heretical. We seem to be going through much the same process today with regard to the energy in our bodies.

Why Reflex Points? What is a Reflex?

Most of us are familiar with the knee-jerk reflex that doctors use to test our reactions. This involves a circuit in the nervous system that travels to the spinal cord and back without involving the brain. The reflexes on the feet do not work through this very simple process. It has not yet been fully explained what the reflexes of reflexology are (they are linked with the flow of energy around the body and will no doubt be better understood when both are further researched), but we do know how the reflexes work. We know that pressure applied to the foot produces a mirrored response in the body, and that the response will be found in specific parts according to the specific points of the foot that have been touched. The link between these corresponding parts seems to be through energy, rather than through a direct material link.

Therapy Given with the Hands

Treatment is given with the hands using pressure techniques: the fingers applying specific pressure to areas that are sometimes very small points. A reflexology treatment consists of stimulation to specific points given within a foot massage. Reflexology is not foot massage, which is a relaxing, whole-hand massage technique applied to the feet to stimulate and generally relax the body. Reflexology uses foot massage to prepare and relax the feet for specific pressure techniques that are precisely aimed to correspond to individual organs or body parts.

The Body is Mirrored on the Feet

You can see from the illustration how the side view of the human form corresponds closely to the side view of the foot. The curves of the spine are exactly mirrored in the curves around the bony structure of the foot.

Now look at the illustration on the left and see how the two feet together roughly represent the human torso. The spine runs down the center of the instep of each foot where the center of the body lies. The head and neck are represented on the toes and the neck of the toes: the big toe represents the whole head, with fine tuning for the eyes, ears, neck, and teeth found on the smaller toes. The ball of the foot is the chest area bounded by the diaphragm. The abdomen lies in the instep and the pelvic area is all around the heel.

You may notice that the limbs do not feature much on the feet, although the charts will show you where to work for the shoulder, arm, knee, and leg. The limbs are superimposed on to other areas. When you have a specific problem on a limb, for instance tennis elbow, you would work the arm area on the foot, but you would also work that area on the matching limb. Therefore for someone with tennis elbow in their right arm you would work the corresponding joint on the right leg, which is the knee (see Illustration 2). These reflexes found on the limbs are referred to as cross reflexes (working across from one limb to the other on the same side).

In this way, all the various parts of the body fit onto the feet ? the left and right feet mirroring the left and right sides of the body. Wherever there is illness in the body we can find a corresponding area in the foot that may be tender or painful, and where waste materials have collected in the form of deposits. Reflexology works by massaging the feet to break down these deposits, dispersing the pain, and restoring the energy flow to a state of balance. Tension is relaxed throughout the muscles and the nervous system, and circulation is increased, releasing or reducing the strain from which the body is suffering.

How Reflexology Affects the Body

When the energy is flowing freely around your body you are physically, mentally, and emotionally well, balanced, and in harmony with your environment. The functioning of the organs is improved by releasing tension held in the body. Muscles control the workings of the organs (each tiny hair on your skin has its own muscles, for example, and your digestive system can only function through its own set of muscles) as well as large movements of the body through activity of the limbs. Treatment stimulates the circulation of the blood and lymph so that the removal of waste products and toxins is increased and the supply of nutrients throughout the blood supply is improved. By releasing long-term muscular contractions the constrictions they have imposed on the nerves are relieved and the nerve supply is freed. These are the physiological effects of reflexology treatment.

What Does it Feel Like?

Patients receiving reflexology treatment often feel tenderness as certain points are worked, and they usually experience an immediate release of tensions (some will experience an initial reaction or healing crisis). This can be seen as well as felt when a person who comes in tired and depleted changes their whole attitude with the relaxing of tension. A glow of vitality can be seen as the energy flow begins to restore balance and well-being.

The number of treatments needed vary according to the type of disorder and the length of time it has been suffered. Usually the trouble yields more quickly when it is of recent origin. When a great deal of repair and healing is needed, the time required for recovery is longer.

Reflexology is an ideal way of treating children. They invariably enjoy it and it is non-invasive (therefore not threatening). It is also very effective. But the pressure used must be much lighter than for adults. Babies, too, can be treated by an experienced reflexologist who knows how to adapt the pressure: for a very young baby just a few weeks old it is sufficient to stroke gently the points on the feet with one finger. The results will be immediately apparent.


This article was
excerpted from

"Discover Reflexology"
by
Rosalind Oxenford


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About The Author

Rosalind Oxenford M.A.R. practices and teaches reflexology in Bath, where she has her own School of  Reflexology. This article was excerpted with permission from "Discover Reflexology" published by Ulysses Press. Ulysses Press/Seastone Books are available at bookstores throughout the US, Canada, and the UK, or can be ordered directly from Ulysses Press by calling 800-377-2542, faxing 510-601-8307, or writing to Ulysses Press, PO Box 3440, Berkeley, CA 94703, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Their website is http://hiddenguides.com