Health Benefits of Reflexology In this country we don't think much about routine health maintenance. We go to the doctor when we are sick and the rest of the time, we don't think much about our health. But in other parts of the world, it is widely recognized that the body, much like a car, needs routine maintenance. The effects of daily wear and tear, accumulated toxins and especially stress, weaken all the systems of the body and accelerate the aging process. Several forms of bodywork, including reflexology, are excellent additions to a health maintenance program. They help to reverse this wear and tear by relaxing the peripheral nerves and muscles and assisting the body in releasing stress and accumulated toxins. Reflexology is a natural healing art, based on the principle that there are points on the feet and hands which correspond to specific areas of the body. The art of manually stimulating these points dates back 2500 years to ancient India where it was called Nari Pathy, or Vein Therapy, referring to its beneficial effect on the circulation. It was during the time of Lord Buddha that physician monks developed this healing art as a simple and effective system of treatment and health maintenance for monks and lay people alike. From India, the art spread to China and beyond. In 1913, Dr William Fitzgerald introduced this therapy to the West as 'zone therapy'. He noted that reflex areas on the feet and hands were linked to organs of the body within the same zone. In the 1930's, Eunice Ingham further developed this zone theory and coined the term "reflexology" which is commonly used today to describe this form of acupressure massage of the hands and feet. The hands and feet have a particular significance in the traditional healing arts of Asia. The feet are considered to be "the second heart". As we move about, they help return blood and lymph back to the center of the body. In our modern society, because we spend so much time sitting, this natural pumping action is inhibited and circulation tends to stagnate in the lower limbs. Second, the feet and the hands are important reflex areas. That is to say that these parts are considered to contain the pattern of the whole. Finally, both hands and feet contain hundreds of acu-points which are used to influence and regulate energy throughout the body. It is for these reasons that reflexology has become such a powerful method to correct imbalance and restore normal functioning in the body. In our fast paced society, chronic over stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system produces a number of common health problems, such as hypertension, dizziness, headache, irritable bowel syndrome, muscular / skeletal pain, back, neck and shoulder stiffness, structural disorders, insomnia, nausea, diarrhea and other gastro-intestinal problems. Reflexology helps to calm the sympathetic nerves and bring balance to the whole body. As a result, reflexology is particularly effective in treating these kinds of disorders. Reflexology also has a profound effect on the elimination of toxins. The deep pressure on the hands and feet helps to loosen accumulated toxins and move them into the proper channels so that they can be neutralized and more easily moved out of the body. Many people have made reflexology a regular part of their routine health maintenance. Typically we begin once a week for the first three or four treatments. But after the body begins to respond and toxins are released, we can reduce the treatment schedule to about once a month. Reflexology involves strong stimulation of the hands and feet and the first two or three treatments can be somewhat painful. After the body adjusts to this new stimulation, the treatments become more comfortable and produce a feeling of lightness in the limbs, calmness in the mind and an overall sense of well being. |
