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The
ancient healing art of Reflexology has been known to man for many
thousands of years and was first practiced by early Chinese and
Egyptian people.
Reflexology is well established
in the complementary health field and is effective in stimulating
the body's natural healing ability to overcome many adverse reactions
to stress and to enhance the quality of life.
Reflexology is a science that
deals with the principle that there are reflex areas in the hands
and feet, which correspond to add the glands, organs and parts of
the body. Reflexology is a unique method of massaging these areas
to relieve stress and tension, improve the blood supply and keep
the body systems operating at peak efficiency.
These reflex areas are arranged
in such a way as to form a map of the body, a mirror image in effect
with the right foot corresponding to the right side of the body
and the left foot corresponding to the left side.
Although the roots of reflexology
go as far back as 2330B.C., in the early 1900's an American ear
nose and throat specialist Dr. William Fitzgerald studied the relationship
of the body with the hands and feet. He noted that pressure on specific
parts of the body could have an anaesthetizing effect elsewhere.
Developing this theory, he
divided the body into ten equal and vertical zones, ending in the
fingers and toes. He concluded that pressure in one part of a zone
could affect everything else within that zone. Thus, reflex areas
on the feet and hands are linked to some other areas and organs
of the body within the same zone.
Eunice Ingham further developed
and refined the zone theory into what we know as foot reflexology.
She observed that congestion or tension in any part of the foot
mirrors congestion or tension in a corresponding part of the body.
Thus, when you treat the big toes there is a related effect in the
head, and treating the whole foot can have a relaxing and healing
effect on the whole body.
The Eunice Ingham Reflexology
Method pioneered, researched and developed in the early 1930's is
the leading method of Reflexology in use today throughout the world.
It's worth noting that there are thousands of nerve endings in each
foot and perhaps this contributes to why we feel so much better
when our feet are treated. Nerve endings in the feet have extensive
interconnections through the spinal cord and brain and lead to all
areas of the body.
Reflexology is well established
in the complementary health field and is effective in stimulating
the body's natural healing ability to overcome many adverse reactions
to stress and to enhance the quality of life.
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