Academy of Ancient Reflexology

Reflexology Certification Programs and Workshops

Panic Disorder and Reflexology

Most people think of reflexology as a beneficial therapy for people dealing with physical imbalances in the body. In the Soviet Union however, reflexology first earned recognition for its psychological benefits (starting in the late 1800’s).

Katy Castronovo, a 2010 graduate of the Academy’s certification program, recently set out to test the assumption that reflexology could help those suffering from psychiatric imbalances. She completed a 6-week study with a 31year-old male professional suffering from clinically diagnosed panic disorder. (Two attacks were severe enough to land the subject in the hospital.)

Panic Disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by episodes of intense apprehension, fear, and/or terror, and recurrent attacks of panic. The disorder can include somatic symptoms such as dyspnea, palpitations, dizziness, vertigo, faintness and/or shakiness and psychological symptoms such as feelings of unreality, fear of dying, “going crazy” or losing control. Between attacks chronic nervousness generally persists. Approximately 6 million American adults 18 years or older suffer from panic disorder in a given year. Many of those people are forced into a lifetime dependence on medications and psychiatric care.

Read Katy’s case study and the surprising results she and her subject experienced.

Birthday Thoughts

Today is my birthday, and I always spend my birthday engaged in activities (alone and with people I love) that I want to see dominant in my life for the entire year to come. I think of it as “setting the stage” for the year ahead. I began the day as I always do, in gratitude. Thinking of all the blessings I have allowed into my life led to thoughts regarding the remarkable gifts that plants offer us in the area of nutrition, beauty and health.

I am so grateful for the plant knowledge I have that allows me to maintain good health and take care of myself when I’m under the weather. And I love how the easy application of essential oil therapy with my clients speeds their recovery and sets my practice apart from others.

Aromatherapy is so much more than many people realize. The chemicals in the plants and flowers are nature’s pharmacy – as strong and effective as pharmaceuticals – and without unwanted side-effects. They’re inexpensive and pleasant to work with. It just takes a little training to reap their numerous benefits.

I recall a young mother who hobbled into my office on a cane, just barely out of a lower leg cast. She had been in a frightening car accident that had to that point kept her in recovery for already six months. She was experiencing a lot of pain in her foot and knee, as well as a lot of tissue damage in the lower leg from the trauma and resulting surgeries.

I set about doing Thai reflexology to restore circulation and range-of-motion to her lower extremities, focusing my attention on reflexes relevant to all her complaints. She asked me to help her heal her leg tissue, so I created a personal blend of cicatrisant (skin-specific), anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial essential oils that we used in the session and that she religiously applied at home 3 times/day. It was gratifying to see her steady recovery in both areas over the short eight weeks we worked together.

The other person who comes to mind is a woman with a stubborn fungal infection on one of her toes. A number of over-the-counter remedies had failed; she asked me to intervene. I made up a strong blend of anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory essential oils and instructed her to apply at least 3 times/day. When I saw her the next week, she excitedly reported that the fungal infection had cleared up after only two days of essential oil use!

If you have been thinking about adding essential oils to your practice and personal life, consider taking a short formal training to determine your level of interest. A qualified instructor can communicate safety considerations, offer an introductory foundation in the science of essential oil therapy and instruct on blending guidelines in a relatively short period of time. After a concise introduction of this kind, you can determine whether or not you wish to pursue a path to certification.

The Academy has only one aromatherapy class scheduled this year: a 4-hour introduction during the national conference of the Reflexology Association of Canada in Winnipeg. Participants will leave this class with product they make and the knowledge and skill to begin safely introducing essential oils into their reflexology practice.

In the left side-bar are the names of two excellent essential oil training organizations with whom I have studied. Both offer a variety of classes, from introductory to full certification.

Blur the Boundaries Between Work & Play – Florida Style!

Good news from my friends at Eve’s Web! (Eve’s Web is the privately-owned vacation retreat at which I hold my trainings in St. Augustine, Florida.)

I rent the downstairs space at Eve’s for my workshops. I like the casual atmosphere of conducting classes in the comfy living room, the fully-equipped kitchen, hot tub and the fact that we are a short three blocks from the beach. An added bonus past attendees have taken advantage of are the two bedrooms in this charming old Florida beach retreat that can be rented for only $25/night when attending my workshops!

Summer is over and with its departure has gone the searing Florida temperatures and humidity. The weather is gorgeous – sunny and warm, with delightful breezes blowing in off the ocean. I just had to schedule another weekend workshop to give everyone an “excuse” to come enjoy themselves in the continent’s oldest city

On October 9th and 10th, I will teach the popular 18-hour Thai Foot Reflexology workshop. (It only takes two days to learn.) The owner of Eve’s has just extended a very generous offer to those of you planning to attend. She will make the entire upstairs apartment available to us for only $100/night! This tree-top hide-away has two queen-sized and one single bed; two people sharing the space cuts the cost in half; three, even more.

Contact me directly if you, or you and your friends, would like to take advantage of an offer to “blur the boundaries between work and play” – Florida style. Take a few days to relax and rejuvenate at a secluded beach setting, learn a new and highly effective way to help and write the trip off!

Reflexology with Massage

I often teach reflexology to massage therapists, who invariably ask about the benefits of combining reflexology with massage and how best to do that. With 27 years of experience offering reflexology and 21 with therapeutic massage, it’s not hard for me to come up with personal examples from my busy years of practice. I wonder though if a report from a brand new student of reflexology might have bigger import?

Recently I received the following in an e-mail from a woman enrolled in this summer’s Therapeutic Hand & Foot Reflexology Professional Certification. She sent this after having completed the first module of the program, in which the only system reflexes she learned to work were the musculoskeletal. Her exuberant communication is a testimony to the powerful contribution reflexology offers people with musculoskeletal pain and discomfort.

Here it is, straight from her mouth:

“I LOVE what we are learning. I absolutely LOVE it. I have used the relaxation techniques and the musculoskeletal protocol on about 20 people since last week (every client I’ve seen since I left class), and the results are just completely inarguable! The majority of my clients are regulars, so I am very familiar with their tissue in various stages and during various parts of a massage, and when I worked their hands and feet first, WOW, the rest of the tissue became butter, cotton candy, just as inviting and easy to work with as ever.

I can’t tell you how tickled I am to be learning something that so obviously works, and right away, too! I was prepared to be patient for long term benefits (of which, I am sure, there are many), but to see the effects so immediately is really exciting, too!

Can’t wait to learn more. I feel very fortunate to be a part of this class.”

Her experience mirrors mine. Over the years I have experimented with doing a reflexology session, with emphasis on areas of complaint, and then doing some spot massage on the problematic tissue, or doing the two modalities in reverse. Without a doubt, I have seen the best results when I do reflexology first. As the student above so aptly stated, reflexology turns tissue to butter. The relaxation response is in full swing, fresh blood has pushed out noxious chemicals and pain receptors have quieted down. Therapeutic massage then becomes much more effective.

What’s your experience offering massage with reflexology? Any cases that stand out in your memory?

Reflexology & Massage Around the World

As a reflexology instructor of many years, I constantly witness the confusion that exists in people’s minds about reflexology. Since most massage schools on this continent do not teach reflexology in-depth (or at all), it’s not surprising most practitioners are left thinking reflexology is simply the inclusion of applied static pressure during a massage on points of the feet or hands as indicated on a reflexology chart.

In a short article I was recently asked to write for Massage Magazine, I described the similarities and differences between reflexology (as we know it in North America) and massage therapy. I also briefly described how reflexology in the Western world compares to the modality as it is practiced in other countries.

I’ve received a number of complimentary calls regarding this article. Since it seems to have really provided a lot of clarity for many people, I thought I would share the link, in the event you’re interested.

It goes without saying that I would love to read your comments!

Reflexology & Massage article

Save Your Hands!

I travel and teach a lot, and there has never been a class where at least a few people don’t complain of chronic pain in some part of their musculoskeletal body. I am constantly correcting postures that place hands and backs in the most vulnerable of positions. I cringe when I think that, without awareness and correction of their body mechanics, compassionate and well-intentioned people will leave the profession they love and trained for because of injury – and it’s all preventable!

Visit this link to learn more.

World Reflexology Week – For a Healthier World

Ten years ago, the International Council of Reflexologists (ICR) embarked on a bold initiative to inform the world of the benefits of reflexology. Since that historic decision, their statement “global awareness begins at the local level” has fostered an ever-increasing worldwide movement known as “World Reflexology Week” (WRW).

Annually, during the last full week in September, reflexologists around the globe take time to step out and educate their local communities about hand and/or foot reflexology. This year’s WRW takes place September 20 to 26.

Being a part of a global event such as this will leave you feeling supported and “warm & fuzzy” inside . It’s fun to think of people in far-away places out there doing exactly what you’re doing at the same time! A wonderful approach is to join up with other local reflexologists in your own community to pool your ideas, resources and time. (Make sure to take pictures and send them and a report of your event to both the Reflexology Blog and the ICR to post.)

The International Council has posted information on their website to help even the worst organized and promotion-shy of us to shine during this year’s celebration. The free package provides step-by-step instructions on how to plan an event to generate lots of local awareness around reflexology and health. (Fulfilling this much-need role in your community will of course also lend exposure to your own practice as a reflexologist.) The package includes an event planning worksheet (and sample), news release template (and sample), brochure, poster, WRW logos that you can use and discount coupons to give away to promote your event and business. They suggest many, many ways in which you can expose your community to the benefits of reflexology and your services, so check it out.

World Reflexology Week can serve to promote reflexology, generate more consciousness in regards to health, and establish your position in the community as the go-to person for therapeutic hand and foot reflexology. What other reasons do you need to participate?

What are you planning to do for World Reflexology Week? What wonderful things have you done in past years? Share them with us please!

What is a blog?

Welcome to the Academy of Ancient Reflexology’s Blog! I’m very excited to “start blogging” with you!

Before I started creating this project, I knew very little about blogs.  Actually, the truth is I knew nothing! With the tireless and patient help of my trusted friend and web mistress, I have slowly figured out enough to start. I know that some of you reading this are in the same boat, so I want to give you some simple instructions on how to navigate and participate in this blog, without having to set forth on the same trial and error approach that I took.

But first my reason for starting a blog:

I sometimes compare learning to breathing. In the act of respiration we take in life-supporting air, and then extract and use the chemical components our bodies need. With exhalation we give CO2 back to our environment for its use.

I think learning is very similar. The student listens to and absorbs information (inhalation). The instructor shares her expertise (exhalation). Authentic education is a collaboration though. Long periods of listening result in listlessness and boredom for the student. Lecturing for hours on end is exhausting for teachers. Both inhalation and exhalation are necessary to complete the cycle of respiration and the circle of communication.  A one-sided conversation or half of the respiration cycle just doesn’t work.

Earlier this year, I started to think of the Academy’s e-newsletters in that light. I’ve been “talking” for almost three years. It’s your turn now! I’m eager to hear what you have to say about what I have to say! I want this blog to be more of a place where dialogues are created, not monologues. I want you to be able to voice your comments and/or questions, and I want to learn the relevance of what I’m saying to you and your life.

So, let’s start first with what is a blog? The word “blog” is a shortened version of the noun “weblog”. How I understand it, a blog is an interactive website, one in which individuals like you and me can have an ongoing digital conversation. This is very different from normal websites (like http://academyofancientreflexology.com), where only the creator of the site gets to “talk.”

There are three ways in which to stay abreast of information posted on a blog:

  1. Sign up for an RSS feed. The feed will deliver a short excerpt of the post and display a Read More button if you wish to read the entire post (and maybe even submit a comment).
    If you work with a Mac, the Real Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds blog posts into a separate mailbox in your e-mail program. The Reflexology Blog posts, for example, are dispatched to their own box rather than your general Inbox; you can read them whenever it’s convenient. To subscribe to an RSS feed for a Mac, click on Posts in the upper right corner of this page. On the page that comes up, click on Subscribe with USM. Look on the right sidebar of the page that comes up; under Actions, click on Subscribe in Mail. Done.
    It’s a little trickier to do if you use a PC. With PCs, there are several ways to subscribe to RSS feeds, and they can be read through your internet browser or your Inbox, depending on your computer’s software. If you want to subscribe to an RSS feed for your PC, and have never done so before, here are two ways you can do it.  Firefox browser users can follow step-by-step instructions on my web mistress’s blog. Internet Explorer and Chrome users can sign up for Google Reader and follow their instructions.
  2. Sign up to have posts delivered directly to your Inbox. To do this, look to the left of this post in the sidebar: Subscribe by Email. After you sign up and confirm your e-mail address (by replying to the e-mail you receive), e-mails will arrive in your regular Inbox with a short excerpt of the post. A Read More button will take you to the blog site to finish reading the post and give you an opportunity to comment.
    (Whether you choose an RSS feed or e-mail subscription, please know that your e-mail address will be used for no other purpose than to deliver the blog posts.)
  3. Bookmark http://academyofancientreflexology.com/blog. Randomly visit and catch as catch can.

If you read a post and want to share a comment or question (and I sure hope you do!), you will be given the opportunity to do so at the end of every post.  All first comments come to me for “moderation”. That allows me to delete comments that have somehow spammed their way in and/or may be offensive to readers in some way. Once your first comment is approved, your future comments will appear automatically. All opinions and comments that are respectfully written will be posted, whether or not you agree with the position others have expressed. I believe that one of the stronger marks of a healthy community is that differing opinions can co-exist, resulting in diversity, open-mindedness and possibility. So, here’s to diversity!

Please be aware that all posts and comments are seen by everyone looking at the site. If you want to communicate privately with me or communicate on some matter different than what we are discussing, visit the Contact page; its link is in the top purple Pages banner.

When you post a comment, you will also be given the opportunity to subscribe and be notified of any future comments posted by me or any other reader on that particular post. That way you can follow the “thread” of the conversation.

Now, take a look at the purple Pages bar up top.  Most of the buttons are self-evident; one begs explanation:

Book Reviews: Some of you know me well enough to know that I am not a big proponent of learning hands-on skills through any distance learning medium (books, internet, DVDs, etc.). I have been teaching reflexology for over 20 years and I have yet to have anyone in a classroom that did not need repeated feedback and/or individual instruction. That said, I think books, etc. can be useful as reference, resource and reminders, so watch for future reviews of books that I think deserve a home in any reflexology library. More on that later!

Items listed on the left side bar are also pretty self-explanatory, with maybe the exception of one. Click on the various links to learn more about educational opportunities, other reflexology websites that might interest you, professional insurance options, research, useful stuff, etc.

If you want to read all posts that include a particular topic, say, aromatherapy for reflexologists, then you would click on the word “aromatherapy” in the box under Find Subject by Tag on the left. This wonderful computer program will do all the searching for you and bring up every post that discusses aromatherapy. Of course, before that can happen, I have to write some posts to file under aromatherapy and all the other categories I created!

So, that’s it for now. I hope this inaugural “how to navigate the Reflexology Blog” post has been useful. Please let me know. And let me know what else you may be thinking. What topics would you like to read about? As for me, I’m going to subscribe to my own blog right now and wait eagerly to hear from you!