Using Reflexology to Relieve Stress and Tension

When you think about what our hands do for us daily, we ask a lot of these anatomical workhorses, and the same goes for our feet. Just from an anatomical standpoint, there are 26 bones in the hand. If you combine both hands and plus add the 26 bones in the feet and you combine both feet, that's 104 bones, and there are 206 bones on the body. Half the bones in the body are found in just those four areas. In each hand there are well over 15 muscles not to mention all the ligaments which hold the bones together. Needless to say, working in such a highly mobile and connected area of the body carries the need to be cautious.

As infants, we learn to explore the world through our hands. Every day, we grasp and release many things with our hands, and balance, walk, or run on our feet. These movements naturally stimulate reflexes which affect the entire body.

Today, since we aren't walking barefoot, or exploring the full range of motion in our hands as we pursue modern life, reflexology is offered as a complementary therapy to relieve stress and tension. Reflexology is based on pressure and massage of certain "reflex" points on the hands that correspond to each gland, organ and part of the body. Improving lymphatic drainage and circulation, relaxing muscles, and stimulating nerve connections are additional benefits of reflexology.

A good reflexology session will include techniques such as thumbwalking, deep tissue petrissage, effleurage, stretching, and compression. As a spa professional, you should know how to warm up the hands and feet and work the "whole body" for balance. An effective way to prepare a client for a reflexology session is with massage. Because the foot is connected to the leg, you also need to know the physiology of the foot and lower leg. Foot, lower leg, hand, and arm massage is a great complement to reflexology for these areas, to increase relazation. Massage and reflexology share similar techniques, and therefore complement one another.

Since reflexology is a powerful massage modality, you need to understand contraindications, as well as how to focus on specific areas of concern for the client (particularly geriatric concerns).

As you work with a client to expand range of motion, it is critical to cause no pain. Intention has a great deal to do with the success and effectiveness of a reflexology session.