Academy of Ancient Reflexology

Professional Therapeutic Reflexology

Baby’s First Reflexology Session

I heard from two recent graduates of the Therapeutic Hand & Foot Reflexology Professional Certification this month. Both honored the entrance of new family members in a unique way.

Within a couple of hours of her debut, Brian celebrated the arrival of his first grandchild by giving his pride and joy her first reflexology session. “Grandma” came by to show me pictures and report how Brian gave his new granddaughter a blow-by-blow verbal explanation of reflexology as he lovingly touched her precious little feet. (He also promised her a position in his newly-opened clinic should she care to follow in her grandpa’s footsteps!)

Earlier this month I heard from Katy, who had been blessed by the smooth and easy birth of  her sweet healthy daughter five days earlier. Katy discovered she was pregnant when she was in her reflexology training earlier this year; with her belly growing monthly in front of my eyes, I almost feel that I know this little cherub already. How lucky for Raya Luna to have indirectly received reflexology sessions throughout her entire development in her mother’s womb. Within the first days following her entry Raya Luna received two reflexology sessions from her proud and happy mom.

I built my reflexology practice in Canada years ago working with pregnant women. The above stories remind me of the powerful benefits that reflexology can offer pregnant women, babies as they are developing within the womb and newly arrived little ones.

I remember watching little feet and hands kicking against a mother’s abdomen as a reflexology session would begin, and then to see the activity stop as the little one felt the effects of the work calm them. I remember how much easier the pregnancies and deliveries were for the moms and how much more relaxed the babies were once here.

I’ve often read that the process of being born is one of the most traumatic events that humans experience – how fortunate, following a baby’s successful journey into this world, to be able to ease the transition, to smooth out the “edges” with reflexology.

What To Do In An Emergency

In the September issue of Reflexology World I read how a reflexologist responded to the shocking observation of her right arm involuntarily floating out in front of her body, with no feeling in it whatsoever.

The inspiring story of her level-headed, informed responses to this scary event reminded me of the time when I was faced with a woman falling into adrenal shock right before my eyes.

Three specific actions helped stabilize both these women so that they lived to tell their stories.

The slight tingle in her face, coupled with the “floating” arm, immediately warned the first woman that she might be having a stroke. Her first course of action: take a couple of long deep breaths to move herself away from a sense of panic and fear.  The seconds she stole to do that effectively shifted her traumatized nervous system towards the healing parasympathetic state. In addition, deep breathing sent oxygen to her brain that allowed her to perform the second important action: think.

She quickly assessed that a right-sided stroke indicates left brain damage and immediately began to vigorously work the reflexes to the left side of her brain. She worked the points intermittently until she felt her right arm jerk. She continued to use reflexology, massage and exercise all morning and over the next four days until normalcy returned.

Her doctor confirmed her symptoms to indicate a Transient Ischemic Attack, even though carotid artery and heart scans and a brain MRI showed no sign of a TIA!

Years ago I noticed a usually attentive student turn away and curl up on her massage table as I was giving a demo on another table. Out of the corner of my eye I saw this woman shaking and wrapping herself in a blanket. I called over as to how she was. She didn’t respond. I went immediately to her side and saw that she was perspiring, shaking, rolling her eyes back into her head and unresponsive to my queries.

Recognizing immediately that something serious was occurring I first instructed myself to take a few breaths and think. I instructed her also to focus on her breathing. I then asked someone else in the room to call for emergency medical help as I grabbed both her feet and started applying deep pressure alternately between her solar plexus points and pituitary gland reflexes.

Once at the hospital, I continued to work those reflexes without stop while we waited for medical assistance. Slowly, she began to relax, was able to communicate intelligently again and regained normal body temperature. By the time doctors were in attendance her symptoms had almost disappeared. Their examination and interview confirmed what I suspected: adrenal shock.

I share both these stories to underlie the importance of these points:

1. In an emergency, first focus on breathing. Breathing will abort a panic attack and send much-needed oxygen to the brain. You must think quickly and clearly in situations like this. Someone’s life (maybe your own) may depend on it.

2. The power of reflexology when applied immediately in medical emergencies is not to be scoffed at. (There are many more success stories such as these two.) In no way, do I mean that reflexology is a substitute for medical attention. Call for help and then do your best to relax the scared and traumatized individual as you wait for an emergency team to arrive.

Remember: breathe, think and act calmly.

Have you ever used reflexology successfully in an emergency situation?

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.

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

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!