Working on the Feet

I’ve learnt through experience that we should make the treatment as pleasurable an experience as possible, for both myself and the client, but we as therapists don’t have to plan it in advance; spontaneous treatments on friends and family have proved to me to be successful. The treatment time will vary from ten minutes (when treating a young child) up to an hour (when treating an adult)

Dispersing the Crystals

Reflexology is one of the most intelligent of all the complementary therapies because, as you give the treatment, you will find clues to the state of your clients health. These clues come in the form of crystals on the reflex points or areas, or places where the client feels discomfort. These tell you that there is, has been or could be a problem in the related body area.

Sometimes you can expect this, because you know about the client’s health, but at other times you can surprise them by picking up health issues they haven’t yet mentioned to you. My job is to disperse the crystals that we as therapists find in the feet during treatment, using our thumbs and fingers. This stimulates the body’s own healing powers to restore good health. After the treatment you can refer the client to their doctor or an appropriate specialist who can help with diet, posture, counselling, and so on. Do remember that reflexology does not diagnose or cure.

We as therapists have to start our treatments with confidence in our own abilities, because to become good at anything I’ve learnt we have to begin with a small step and believe in ourselves.

Relaxing the Feet:

Here are a range of movements that have been designed for comfort and to melt away tension-not only in the feet, but also in the whole body. They can all be used both to start and end a treatment. Some clients, like the elderly, will appreciate us spending more time on these movements, because they help to reduce pain and discomfort and increase the circulation. These relaxation techniques can also be used on their own for young children, as part of a nightly bedtime routine to help them sleep better. We spend as little time or as long as we wish on them. Using our intuition and try to meet the immediate needs of the person we are treating.