Who Benefits From Reflexology Massage?

Video Transcript

"(Who could benefit...who would benefit from a Reflexology Massage?) Well, really, anyone can benefit from Reflexology. It improves circulation, it stimulates all of the organs of the body. And it increases relaxation. Our feet take such a beating and they really...problems in the foot get transferred up into the body. So if you have, any sort of ankle or foot or you know, you're wearing bad shoes, you are getting bunions, you're getting calluses, that's all going to impact parts of your body. So people that have bunions right here on the side of where their upper spine is, also tend to change their alignment patterns and you know, have problems in their upper back and shoulders. So fixing parts of your feet and how your feet work can fix parts of your body. Or the reverse is true. If you have an issue, like if you have a sciatic issue in your sciatic nerve, working on this middle of the heel bend where your sciatic nerve ending is can help alleviate sciatic nerve pain. Or if you have a headache, working on the sides of your big toe can really help headache and neck tension. (Isn't that the same on the hand?) The hand is almost exactly the same, except you've got a lot more area for your head, ears, nose, eyes and neck. And your hand is really a big heart center. So your hand is mapped pretty similarly to your feet in that you've got your head, ears, eyes, nose, throat, stomach, and lungs right up here. But in your hand, your heart and your solar plexus are in this web of your palm. And one of the great things about hand reflexology is that you can do it anywhere, anytime. (I do.) Yeah, it's great. (You just squeeze like this fatty part with your thumb.) And ideally, any sort of reflexology, keeping your thumbs straight, you want to try to not bend them like this to put a lot of pressure as a therapist on your thumb joints. So really trying to keep your thumb flexed and strong and using more of your wrist is going to really, really help you. Especially if you are working on someone who has needs for more pressure or for longer pressure. You don't want to overtax your hands. And while you are giving a massage, especially when you are working on the feet, when you are in a lower position, you want to make sure that your back is as straight as possible and that you keep your core nice and strong. And as a therapist you keep your breathing nice and deep and even. You don't want to end up hunched over like this having to get extensive work on your own back after you've been working on someone. So preserving your own health will help you preserve your client's health. So we've pretty much finished the foot. We've pretty much finished the left foot. To close off, I like to return to the solar plexus and the heart right in the center of the sole. In Eastern medicine this is actually called the heaven's gate. And if you give some nice firm pressure. These holds I take a little bit longer. The center of the sole of your foot is the gateway to every...Your solar plexus is such a huge connective pathway along all of the meridians. (And your emotions as well.) Yeah. And your heart is all right there. So that is just really nice and calming. Yeah, so this is a big one. Close off with that. I return to squeezing, going back to squeezing the foot. Starting this time at the toes and working my way down to the heel. Three times and then gently take my hands off. You don't want to ever suddenly just let go of a person's foot. You want to try and maintain the contact and release it as gently as possible. It's very calming. "