Foot Reflexology is a natural healing art and is the practice of applying precise hand and finger pressure to specific points on the feet to stimulate the body’s own healing system. These points are believed to correspond to specific organs and structures in the body.
Reflexology is a non-invasive, safe, and effective treatment. Since the feet are the only areas being addressed, there is never any need for removal of clothing.
Reflexology has many benefits including:
- Improves the circulation of both blood and lymph
- Balances the body’s system and organs
- Induces deep relaxation
- Helps alleviate insomnia
- Stimulating more than 7,000 nerve endings in the feet
- Provides a more efficient removal of toxins and impurities
What happens during a reflexology treatment?
On your first visit, the reflexology practitioner will conduct a full personal consultation. This consultation enables the treatment to be tailored to your specific needs.
A reflexology treatment generally lasts for about one hour. You will be invited to sit or lie on a comfortable treatment couch. The reflexologist will then use their hands to apply precise pressure techniques to the feet treating specific points which correspond to all organs and systems of the body.
Following treatment, any significant findings will be discussed with you. As the effects of reflexology are cumulative, many people find it beneficial to continue with regular treatments.
Total Contraindications
When you have any of these conditions, please do not book a massage therapy/ reflexology session:
- Fever
- Pregnancy in the 1st Trimester (up to 13 weeks’ duration)
- Contagious diseases, including any cold or flu, no matter how mild it may seem
- Under the influence of drugs or alcohol-including prescription pain medication
- Recent operations or acute injuries
- Neuritis (inflammation of a peripheral nerve or nerves, usually causing pain and loss of function)
- Skin diseases
- Cancer
L
ocal Contraindications
Y
our therapist can treat but not over any areas affected by:
- Varicose veins
- Undiagnosed lumps or bumps
- Bruising
- Cuts
- Abrasions
- Sunburn
- Undiagnosed pain
- Inflammation, including arthritis
M
edical Contraindications
If if you suffer from any of the following conditions, massage therapy/ reflexology can only take place once it has been approved before your session in writing by your Physician.
- Cardio-vascular conditions (thrombosis, phlebitis, hypertension, heart conditions)
- Any condition already being treated by a medical practitioner
- Oedema
- Psoriasis or eczema
- High blood pressure
- Osteoporosis
- Nervous or psychotic conditions
- Heart problems, angina, those with pacemakers
- Epilepsy
- Diabetes
- Bell’s palsy, trapped or pinched nerves
- Gynecological infections
Does
a medical contraindication mean that treatment cannot take place?
Not always. In fact, massage therapy/ reflexology can be very therapeutic for many medical conditions. However, in the above cases it is best to have advice from your physician. Massage therapists / reflexologists, unless they are also qualified doctors, may not, under law, attempt to diagnose a condition.
Facial Reflexology works on the same principles, but the treatment takes place on your face and head. This non-invasive treatment is based on the theory that areas on your face are connected to areas of your body, and stimulating them improves underlying energy imbalances which promotes wellbeing. The proximity of the face to the brain is key to the effectiveness of this original therapy.
Facial Reflexology is not a beauty treatment. However, it does have rather lovely beautifying side effects, quite literally ‘lifting’ the face to make your face feel and look smoother and more toned. It also encourages lymphatic drainage, stimulates the facial nerves, increases blood flow and muscle tone, helps to build up new skin tissue and improves skin tone.
Facial Reflexology aims to help reduce the symptoms and effects of many common ailments including:
- Stress
- IBS
- Back Pain
- Arthritis
- Depression
- MS, Menstrual and Hormonal Ailments
- Sleep Disorders
Facial reflexology treatments are very popular during pregnancy and are often used to help promote a shorter and natural labour.