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A short history of Reflexology
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2,330 B.C a painting on Ankhmahor tomb wall in Saqqara Egypt depicts an illustration of two patients having hand and feet treatments. The tomb is known as the physicians tomb as it has many medical scenes on the walls.
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Ancient Chinese writings describes the use of pressure therapy with fingers and thumbs based on the concept of meridians, energy channels that have been meticulously mapped through out the body.
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A Buddha's footprints are carved into a rock at Kusinara showing various symbols on the soles of the feet and sun signs on the toes, possibly meaning Qi energy.
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Dr William Fitzgerald (1872-1942), an American ears, nose and throat doctor, developed zone therapy. These ten vertical and lateral zones run through the body and feet. He discovered if he used pressure on certain points on the feet and hands it would have an anesthetic effect on other parts of the body, relieving pain. He wrote a book on Zone Therapy together with Dr Edwin Bowers.
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His student Dr Joe Shelby-Riley further developed and wrote many books on Zone Therapy.
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Eunice Ingham (1889-1974), Dr Shelby-Riley's assistant therapist, took the Zone Therapy and developed it further into her foot reflexology theory in the 1930's. She is the modern day mother of reflexology. She mapped the zones on the feet and hands in relation to the organs of the body. This is the method that is taught all over the world today.
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Doreen Bayly who trained under Eunice Ingham introduced reflexology in England in the 1960's. She published a foot chart based on the Ingham Method.
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Reflexology continues to grow and evolve bringing together eastern philosophy concepts of energy and meridians and western knowledge of anatomy and physiology.
How Reflexology works
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It is based on the premises that energy channels, called meridians, run through the body. Six of these major meridians begin or end on the toes and six meridians begin or end on the fingers. Meridians carry energy or chi to organs of the body and areas of the central nervous system. Reflexology works to improve this vital energy flow, therefore bringing the body into a more balanced state.
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Reflexology works on the beliefs that the body is divided into ten vertical zones, beginning at the top of the head and then branching out to the end of the fingers and ending in the toes. The whole body is represented in reflex points on the hands and feet. The hands, feet and ears are a microcosm of the whole.
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There are 7,200 nerve endings in each foot that have connections to the spinal cord and brain, which affects all areas of the body.
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Therapeutic touch triggers positive changes in the body and can promote healing. The power of touch has been proven to slow down heart rate, reduce cortisol levels and even lower blood pressure and has many other health benefits.
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There is great value in receiving undivided attention and care.