With the pressuring and rubbing motions onto the reflection points on the feet, hands or ears, reflexology is a supportive, protective and complementary alternative therapy method which provides a well-balanced and powerful energy flow that stimulates the body’s own healing mechanism and helps repair itself opening up the blockages in the energy channels leading to the related organs. For example, we can stimulate the stomach by pressuring or rubbing the stomach point on the feet.
Reflexology is generally applied on the feet since the feet have wider surface compared to other reflexology organs so that the reflection points visibly occupy a wider space.
Stress, even if it is necessary at some level for mankind to continue living, today people are exposed to a very high level of it that they can’t handle alone without any supports. While the blockages and dead-ends in the relationships with family, friends and colleagues along with busy working life, wars, social problems, environmental noise and pollution, traffic and radiation, all drag individuals to a stress loop and what is more is that the lack of applications in order to get the mind and body strengthened, balanced and cleansed imprisons them within that loop. Stress is the ultimate reason that lies beneath almost every health condition since it tires out the nerve system, affects the circulation of bodily fluids and secretion.
The energy flowing in the body can get blocked due to such factors as stress, physical and emotional traumas, diseases, and with these blockages, some organs receive less energy than they need while other receive more. That means the ‘balance’, the key of health -in other words, gets destroyed. And as this imbalance carries on, the organs start failing to perform. At this point, reflexology has a crucial place in unclogging the energy channels, releasing these blockages and letting the free energy flow. The energy that diffuses into all the organs in such harmony rejuvenates the body. A body where energy flows freely and diffuses in harmony is a healthy, balanced body; thus, it has a powerful nerve and immune system.
The supportive and complementary applications of reflexology in the field of alternative medicine date back to the antique ages. Reflexology is a miraculous method being used both to diagnose and to treat numerous health conditions that there are evidences about the applications of reflexology in such civilizations as American-Indian, Greek, Far-Eastern, Anatolian, Middle-European, Egyptian.
The modern reflexology model used widely in today’s Western world has been developed during the late 1800s by the studies done under the name of ‘Zone Therapy’.
We can get the most extensive and detailed information about reflexology from traditional Chinese medicine which has today still been actively and commonly applied all around the world. ‘Meridian Therapy’, which had already been applied in the East 2500 years before the zone therapy is the root of reflexology. This very old method tells us that the ‘Chi’ or the ‘life energy’ flows through the channels called ‘meridians’, and the acupuncture points are located on these meridians as well.
Reflexology;
- Brings relaxation and relief
- Provides healing of the negative effects of the stress stimulants on our mind and body, which is caused by fast life. It eases tension and stress.
- Encourages the body to heal itself by activating its own healing power.
- Regulates blood pressure and circulation.
- Gives an overall sense of confidence
- Deepens and regulates sleep while eases sleeplessness
- Reduces pain and ache by relieving the blood system.
- Increases joint mobility
- Works as a detoxifier; cleanse the body off the toxins and wastes
- Balances the hormones, helps with the irregularities and mood swings brought by premenstrual and -menopausal stages.
- Promotes the skin type and tones the skin.
- Eases the irregularities in the digestive systems such as constipation, diarrhea, dyspepsia
- Deepens and calms down the respiration
- Helps heal the urinary tract diseases such as bladder inflammation.
- Prevents diseases in advance
- Helps to concentrate by stimulating the mental functions
- Regulates emotional imbalances
- Eases the over-working of some organs while stimulates the less-working parts.
Special conditions when reflexology should be applied cautiously or should not be applied:
In such health conditions as diabetes and thrombosis, it is better not to apply reflexology. It should be applied gently with great care and caution during pregnancy, especially during the first 3 months. No pressure should be put on the veins of a foot with varicose. Scarred and bruised surfaces should be neglected as well. There are some conditions like AIDS, multiple sclerosis and cancer on which reflexology has little effect or no direct effects while it can be used to relieve the symptoms, ease the pain and relax the patient.
