Beginning today and over the next two weeks, I am going to address four very common myths about reflexology. Stay tuned!
Myth #1
Reflexology hurts. Reflexology hurts if the therapist is giving more pressure than you are comfortable with. That happens if the practitioner is insensitive to your directive or if you’re not communicating your needs.
Thousands of years ago in China, healers set out to determine the effect of applying pressure to the feet on other parts of the body. They would make contact in a very hard manner and hold indefinitely until such time as their highly-sensitive subjects could report a sensation or some sort of shift elsewhere in the body. Those experiments, along with the cultural belief that the end justified the means, established a centuries-long practice of applying very deep pressure when practicing reflexology.
We know differently now. Science has proven that pain does not heal. Relaxation does. Aim to relax your client; it’s not a “search and destroy” mission.
This article is perfect!! So many people think that reflexology has to be painful to be effective. But as a practitioner I’ve seen proof that gentle work can be amazingly effective. I’ve had several clients complain that a former therapist hurt them so they never went back. That’s certainly not what we want for our clients. Thanks for sharing this incredibly important fact about our work!!!
Reminds me of the episode of some tv reality show that showed westerners receiving reflexology in China, just writhing in pain. Yikes!