So what is Reflexology?

Reflexology is a complimentary therapy based on the idea that parts of the body are reflected in the reflexes on the feet, hands, face and ears. There’s a great diagram below from the Association of Reflexologists showing the reflexes on the feet.

Manipulation of these reflexes can help to release the tension caused by pain to promote relaxation and stimulate the body’s own healing processes.

Benefits of Reflexology may include…

• Reduced stress levels
• Improved sleep patterns
• Boosted energy levels
• Reduction in headaches or migraines
• Ease of muscular tension
• And lots more!

It’s really amazing what you can ‘tell’ by reading someone’s feet... for example, I’m asthmatic so the lung reflex usually feels a bit tight or crunchy. If I’m working on someone who is under a lot of pressure or feeling very stressed, their adrenal reflexes can feel raised, lumpy or crunchy. Clients are always surprised by what I can pick up throughout a treatment – even a short taster treatment!

Some of the common fears people have about a treatment can include…

If their feet look ‘ugly/awful’… I have never had an awful pair of feet – ever! And I’ve worked with a variety of clients with various foot conditions/diseases, so I’ve got a lot of experience in different shapes and sizes of feet.

Whether their feet smell… feet obviously can smell especially in the hot weather, but they very rarely smell ‘bad’ and even if they do, I’ve got a range of gorgeous smelling foot sprays so after I’ve finished the treatment, they will smell amazing.

Dirty feet… foot wipes! And really, you should see my feet as I’m constantly walking around barefoot, so my feet are normally very dirty by the end of the day – got to love a bit of nelipotting!

If they are ticklish… I very rarely have a client with ticklish feet as the pressure used in a treatment is quite firm. Sometimes when I’m cleaning the feet with wipes, the client can find that a bit ticklish but very rarely in the actual treatment.

Or they simply don’t like their feet being touched… have Hand Reflexology instead!

Although most people associate Reflexology with working on the foot, as I mentioned above an individual can also have Hand Reflexology and it’s just as an effective and relaxing treatment. A Hand Reflexology session is a slightly shorter treatment at 45-minutes, but I’ve still seen amazing results and it’s perfect for clients with mobility issues. Why not have a look at this great interactive hand map by The Association of Reflexologists AOR Hand Reflexology Explorer which demonstrates the individual reflexes areas on both hands.

Since qualifying as a Level 5 Practitioner,  I’ve also developed my Reflexology skills further with training in Crystal Reflexology with Chakra Balancing and Aromaflexology.

Crystal Reflexology combines a Reflexology session with using the amazing healing power of crystals... and let's be honest, everyone needs some crystals in their lives! And I have a set of chakra crystals that I use which you can see below... each crystal matches in colour with the corresponding chakra. The chakras are the energy centres of the body so the treatment works to balance the seven main ones... they are found along the spine starting at the base (the root chakra) and finishing at the top of the head (the crown chakra). Working with the chakras helps to bring the whole body - mental, physical, emotional and spiritual - back into balance.

And Aromaflexology combines the power of essential oils with a more gentle but still effective Reflexology session.  A gorgeous blend of essential oils is chosen for the client and used throughout the treatment with the client gifted a small pot of the blend to use between sessions. The feedback I've received from clients since I qualified has been amazing and now Aromaflexology is my most requested therapies! It's definitely inspired me to develop my knowledge of essential oils further and one of my goals for 2023, is to start the training as a Clinical Aromatherapist - watch this space!

So hopefully that has given you a bit more of an insight into Reflexology and some of the different types of Reflexology treatments that are available. Whilst Reflexology is my main passion now, I first trained as a Reiki practitioner so keep an eye out for my next blog which will cover the principles of Reiki and 'the Reiki effect'.

And if you don't already, please do keep up-to-date with all the latest news from Wandering Sole Therapies on my Facebook and Instagram pages.

Jo xx