By Maggie Peat
When I tell people I am a reflexologist most people have heard of it but there seems to be little understanding of how it can help among those who haven’t had a treatment it or have experienced it as part of a spa experience rather than being treated by a clinical reflexologist.
So – in a nutshell reflexology aims to work with your body’s systems to nudge you into balance. To unpack that a bit…
Body systems – Your body is organised into systems – Musculo-skeletal (muscles and bones); digestive (mouth to anus); reproductive (baby making equipment); urinary (kidneys, bladder and ureter); nervous (brain and nerves); circulatory (heart and blood vessels); respiratory (nose, throat, bronchi and lungs), skin, lymphatic (lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels and lymph) and last but definitely not least the endocrine system.
This latter system is key to body functioning as through the release of hormones and steroids the endocrine vessels (pituitary, thyroid and so on) control and subtly tweak the other body systems.
As reflexologists we spend a fair bit of our time trying, by nudging, to make sure the endocrine system is working optimally because that facilitates optimal working for the rest of the body. The nudging is done by our fingers working points on the feet or hands where we believe body organs are reflected. Sometimes one of the endocrine glands’ reflected points feels stiff or gritty to us. We will spend more time on that spot working to ‘clear’ it.
We spend time of all the body systems but the endocrine system is especially important as when that isn’t working well the rest of the systems aren’t in synch.
After a reflexology treatment people often say they fell asleep early – sometimes on the sofa and wake up feeling really refreshed. It’s always a good sign – like the body has had a reset and that’s what we are aiming to do.
So – when should you have reflexology? Well – I have a treatment every 4-6 weeks. More frequently if I have been ill, or out of sorts, if I am preparing for a big event that is going to challenge me and probably after that event to recharge me. For some people it doesn’t need to be as often as that. I have one client who comes for help with painful periods. She really only needs to come every 3-4 months and that keeps them tolerable. Some others come once a month – for them it is a reset and recharge. Another client comes because it keeps her reflux under control.
For me it as an important part of my self-care. It keeps me well. Why not give it a try?