by Michael
In response to your written material on Reflexology, pasted below, I have a few comments and suggestions.
Reflexology was introduced into the United States in 1913 by William H. Fitzgerald and developed by Eunice Ingham, a nurse and physiotherapist, in the 1930's and 1940's. Ingham mapped the entire body into 'reflexes' on the feet which correspond to all parts and organs of the body.
By using an intermittent pressure with the finger and thumb, qualified practitioners can feel blockages in the body's energy systems which manifest themselves as lumps or grit under the skin. The position of these blockages tells the practitioner where the patient's problems lie.
First comment: As a practitioner and educator of reflexology I feel it's important for the general public to understand what "lumps" "grit" "crystals" within skin means. There is no "scientific" evidence of correct evaluation/diagnosis through feeling these phenomenia in the feet means the practitioner is feeling "blockages in the energy systems." It is an "indication of possible blockages."
The distinction of that wording IS important. There are many reasons for "grit" being felt in the tissues, many of them structural foot dynamics themselves.
A practitioner needs to be mindful, careful, as to how anything felt is "interpreted". Yes, very often, a practitioner will receive validation from a client that a certain symptom, condition, discomfort in a body area has been experienced that matches with what is felt in the foot, and where it is felt in the foot.
But there are many other times when something is felt in the foot, very specifically, and there has been no corresponding disfunction found in the that area of the body. The "premise" of how reflexology works is what is most important.
That premise includes, but is not limited to, the recognition that through many factors, stimulation of the feet and hands, and there respective points referred to as reflexes, does stimulate and allow a freeing up, a movement of energy through the body that allows and promotes a change toward greater harmonious functioning of the body, as well as it's relationship to the mind.
You continue with: "The therapist uses pressure in the form of a relaxing massage to these areas of the feet, in order to stimulate the corresponding area of the body and thereby remove the problem."
Second comment: Reflexologists across America, and elsewhere, are taking great pains to educate professional and lay persons that reflexology is NOT massage.
I invite you to check out ARCB (American Reflexology Certification Board) to gather a deeper understanding and appreciation of the distinction between reflexology and massage. Their website is arcb.net
I hope you do not feel I am being unecessarily picky here. But in providing the general public information on various health alternatives, I feel it's important to be as clear as possible with the information being given.
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