“I don’t really like anybody near my feet….”  I look at the very tense feet I have in front of me today and quickly reassure my worried looking client that we can easily switch to hand Reflexology instead if she feels uncomfortable at any point.  It’s a Reflexology taster session and this lovely lady has felt brave enough to get her own feet out (which she tells me are ‘ugly’) after just having watched her best friend slip into relaxed Reflexology bliss during her taster session.  Given how she feels about her feet, the first major step for her was the act of removing her shoes and bearing her soles.  When I don’t actually run screaming from the room as she seems to expect, she visibly relaxes and I begin to apply some calming techniques to acupressure points on her feet.

The truth is that to a Reflexologist, your feet are fascinating.  To us, each new pair of feet is like a map waiting to be explored or a book waiting to be read.  Any blemish, bent toe or patch of rough skin an integral part of the overall story.

Touching the feet.  Some people hardly ever do it. They put on their shoes and socks without really coming into contact with their feet.  If you really take a look at your feet – go on, take a good look – you will see how they are a perfect mini-map of the whole body.  The toes are like little heads and the inside curve of the foot corresponds to the natural curves of the spine.  With over 7000 nerve endings in each foot, it is hardly surprising that Reflexology can have such a deeply profound relaxing effect on the nervous system.

Our body is a dynamic and constantly changing energy system –with energy needing to flow unhindered around our organs and body systems to maintain good and balanced health.  However, we live in a sea of noise, deadlines, worries and responsibilities,  bombarded by environmental pollutants which can upset the balance of our body systems and energies potentially leading to health issues and disorders. Many people find that Reflexology can provide a quiet island in the course of the week which enables them to reboot and restore balance, which in turn can help to maintain good health and wellbeing.

My lovely, initially reluctant client is now lying back in a glowing contented haze, no longer self-conscious about her feet and completely lost in the multitude of sensations being transferred from the thousands of nerve endings in her feet to the rest of her body…

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you….

(Anne Lamott)