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Archives for August 2017

Aug 30 2017

Lucky Us – Two Brains!

More and more we are learning the importance of maintaining a healthy digestive environment in order to enjoy a healthy life. Science continues to discover increasing connections between healthy digestion and a sound mind, so much so that the gut is now being referred to as the “second brain”.

It turns out that many of the hormones that we think of as being manufactured in our brain – the one in our skulls – actually emanate from our guts.

For example, melatonin, the hormone that promotes restful sleep – little is actually produced in the pineal gland; most originates in the small intestine.

GABA, a calming neurotransmitter useful for anxiety and other mood disorders, is produced in the gut.

Serotonin, the biochemical that signals feelings of happiness, is produced both in the brain and in the gut from 5-hydroxy tryptophan (5-HTP), an amino acid linked directly to the gut bacteria Bifidobacterium infantis.

The most recent research even suggests connections between brain disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease and the health of the digestive system.

The term we hear a lot of these days to refer to the bacterial environment of our bodies is the human microbiome, which refers to the community of microbes that live in and on our bodies that we now recognize as playing a big role in human health.

Lab rats, which have been altered to have no gut bacteria – essentially a germ-free environment – show acute signs of anxiety, high-stress levels, chronic overall inflammation, and lowered BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) levels. People with low levels of BDNF, a brain-growth hormone, have an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

The above symptoms can easily be reversed by consuming an anti-inflammatory diet and introducing healthy bacteria into the gut through a diet rich in two common probiotics: Lactobacillus helveticus and Bifidobacterium longum.

To that, I would add regular stress-reducing activities, such as reflexology, meditation, and spending time in nature. Nothing reduces stress and calms my entire body like these three.

When offering reflexology to my clients with digestive complaints, high-stress levels, and mood disorders, I like to focus my sessions on reflex points to the digestive organs (but, of course!), the vagus nerve, solar plexus, diaphragm, and CNS. That typically guarantees deep relaxation and a calm belly!

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: Foot Reflexology, Hand Reflexology, General · Tagged: Foot reflexology, Self-care, Hand reflexology

Aug 23 2017

Does Reflexology Spread Cancer?

Many moons ago, when I attended massage school, the prevailing doctrine was that one should not massage someone with cancer. The belief was that, by increasing circulation, we might set off tumor cells to other parts of the body, and therefore “spread cancer”.

Fortunately, that teaching has been laid to rest, and people challenged with cancer can now receive the many benefits that massage and reflexology have to offer.

I love that I am able to provide comfort and symptom relief to people who are regularly poked and prodded while fighting cancer. It’s been a sizable part of my clinical practice over the years, and even more significantly, something I was able to offer my own father in his last days of battling lung cancer.

How cancer spreads

The spreading of cancer within the body is not a by-product of increased circulation.

Metastasis (the development of secondary malignant growths at a distance from a primary site of cancer) is a very complex process. In simple terms, metastasis develops from a convergence of:

  • Genetic mutations, both inherited and acquired, that cause uncontrolled cell proliferation
  • A lack of cell surface adhesiveness
  • Secretion of degradative enzymes
  • New capillary growth

Avoiding comfort-oriented bodywork will not stop malignant cells from slipping away from the original tumor. It will, however, deny people with cancer the many benefits we have to offer.

Contraindications

Reflexology poses fewer contraindications for working with cancer patients than does massage therapy. Reflexology contraindications for someone with cancer are the presence of fever, a severely reduced platelet count (<50,000 u/l) and recently radiated tissue. Beyond that, I rely on the person to inform me of whether or not they want to receive therapeutic touch that day, for how long and with what pressure.

The intent of my sessions is deep relaxation of the entire body and sometimes a focus on helping to manage troublesome side effects of chemotherapy treatment like nausea, lack of appetite, low energy, peripheral neuropathy symptoms and hand and foot syndrome.

For me, working with people fighting for their lives is a privilege. What has been your experience working with people with cancer?

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: Foot Reflexology, Hand Reflexology · Tagged: Foot reflexology, Hand reflexology

Aug 09 2017

Lending A Hand In Our Community

It’s time to plan for the annual World Reflexology Week! As usual, it runs the last full week of September, this year being Monday, September 18 through 24.

I’m so excited that this year the dates will fall when my Certification students are in class. I held a planning meeting with local grads last week and we made good headway on planning on how we and my students can spend the afternoon of Saturday, September 23 promoting greater public awareness of reflexology to people in our community. A really great opportunity for the students also to be working alongside seasoned reflexologists.

We’ll have a PowerPoint presentation running on a loop that people can sit and watch while waiting their turn for a mini-hand reflexology session. We’ll have a raffle for a free full reflexology session from each of us, and informative materials to hand out.

I really like doing Outreaches, and World Reflexology Week is quite unique in that I always find myself stopping every once in awhile to tune into the thousands of other reflexologists around the world doing exactly what I’m doing in that moment. It’s such a great image in my mind and feeling in my heart.

Do you have plans to celebrate and share reflexology during World Reflexology Week? Please share your plans below and also take a moment to post on the Reflexology Across America Facebook page.

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: General · Tagged: Foot reflexology, Marketing

Aug 02 2017

I Love My Hands!

At a recent event, a woman showed up who was recovering from a serious hand injury. Her hand was basically unusable. I watched her struggle with the most basic of movements and realized how much I take my hands for granted.

The human hand is an amazing feat of nature. The arrangement of the hand’s bones, muscle, nerves, and fascia is a marvel of engineering in itself. One-quarter of our body’s bones, 123 named ligaments, 34 muscles, 48 nerves and 30 arteries interact cooperatively below our awareness to perform all that we command.

Many anthropologists consider the development of the thumb to be the most decisive moment of our evolution into a being like no other in creation. According to fossil records, a rapid increase in brain size and the development of early language followed the arrival of the thumb.

Humans are not the only species with opposable thumbs though. Chimpanzees and monkeys can also oppose the thumb to the index finger. What makes the human hand unique is the ability of the fourth and fifth fingers to rotate across the palm to meet the thumb, as in the image at the top of this post. This ability adds unparalleled grip, grasp and torque capability.

About one-third of the brain’s sensory and motor cortexes are devoted to the operation of the hands. That is an enormous investment of neural resources for such a small area of the body. That means that hand reflexology directly accesses a large part of the central nervous system through the rich supply of nerves in the hands.

Our hands’ ability to execute movements ranging from strength to sensitivity has allowed us to develop skills that no other species enjoys. The hands are what we use to “grab hold of life” or put a stop to unwanted experiences. We defend, love, pinch, play, work, tickle and heal with our beloved hands.

Unfortunately, the trade off for that high level of dexterity is vulnerability. Somatic practitioners are particularly prone to hand injuries due to repetitive actions, and poor body mechanics and ergonomics.

It doesn’t have to be that way though.

In the Reflexology for the Hands workshop, participants learn a variety of ways to gently influence the physiology of the body through that abundant supply of nerves in the hands, as well as a proven repertoire of self-care techniques to ensure they can serve for years to come.

Please join for an upcoming Reflexology for the Hands workshop. Your hands will thank you.

Written by Karen Ball · Categorized: Hand Reflexology · Tagged: Self-care, Hand reflexology

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