Reflexology for the Hands and Feet

Reflexology is one of the oldest forms of alternative medicine. The basic premise of reflexology is the ability to diagnose problems through out the body by checking pressure points on the hands and feet that correspond to major important parts of the human body. Pressure or heat applied to a specific point on the foot may produce a desirable effect on an organ or part of the body located far from the pressure point on the foot.

Some reflexology sessions seem little more than a foot massage. That may be the case if you have no other serious ailments. A session can be reasonably painful if some problem is encountered. One thing that reflexology is good for is reduction of stress.

After a long tiring flight to Asia from North America I may have a headache, feel a flu coming on after being confined for almost 20 hours with so many other people in a small area. I also may have painful neck and shoulder tension. I almost always take the time before leaving the airport to go to the reflexology station to get a foot treatment. Usually when I leave, one hour later, I feel great and almost feel like I am floating over the ground, all my troubles and aches gone. It never ceases to amaze me.

Reflexology claims to be able to increase blood circulation and through this be able to lower stress levels. It seems to me it is just the massage activity that accompanies reflexology that accomplishes this benefit. Massage therapists also claim to increase the ability of the body to carry nutrients and be more effective at eliminating waste.

A basic tenant of reflexology is that everything in our bodies is balance. For every organ there is another part of the body that is connected. Massaging that part of the body has a positive effect on the organ that we otherwise have no access to other than by surgery. Some call reflexology Zone Therapy.