Academy of Ancient Reflexology

Professional Therapeutic Reflexology

High Five For Our Hands!

People most often think of the feet when they think reflexology, but there are so many conditions of the hands themselves that can be helped with hand reflexology. And that’s in addition to the overall health benefits to the rest of the body. Here are five:

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the injury that probably springs to mind first. CTS is a narrowing of the tunnel on the palmar surface of the wrist through which the nerves and vascular tubes run.  Entrapment results in pain, loss of strength and motor function for approximately 250 million Americans. Although CTS can stem from a variety of conditions, a common source is repetitive activity that puts the wrist in extension and adduction (like massage, typing, cutting hair, carrying large restaurant trays).

TMI

In an earlier blog post this year I spoke about the latest repetitive strain injury to earn its own acronym: Text Messaging Injury. More than five billion texts are sent daily, and 40% of texters complain of repetitive strain injuries to the tendons and muscles of their thumbs. Not good.

Trauma

Another time where people benefit from detailed specific work on the hands is when in recovery from breaks, strains or surgery. I recall a client years ago who came to me after the cast had been removed from his broken hand and arm. He was a classical pianist and orchestra conductor who really needed a quick recovery, so as to be able to resume his touring schedule. I love working with people who are motivated and committed like this man was. Weekly hand reflexology sessions and simple daily home strengthening exercises got him back to work in just one month.

Arthritis affects 40 million adults in America, to the degree that simple activities of daily living – like brushing the teeth or picking up items with confidence – become a painful, frustrating and sometimes-risky action. Soothing hand reflexology and some simple home self-care practices can do a lot to bring function and relief back.

And lastly, deQuervain’s syndrome, a debilitating condition of the common tendon sheath of the hand that can bring a person’s career to a screeching halt and bring devastation to one’s personal life, has also been shown to respond favorably to hand reflexology. You can read about Terri Bishop-Brahen’s experience working with a massage therapist suffering with deQuervain’s here. Terri completed a four-week study with a colleague as part of her training for the Therapeutic Hand & Foot Reflexology Professional Certification.

There are only two dates left this year to learn Reflexology for the Hands:

Orlando, Florida – October 13 & 14

Gainesville, Florida – November 17 & 18

 

Creating Loyalty: Adding Value to a Client’s Experience

Let’s face it; you’d have to have your head in the sand not to recognize that people are more selective these days about how they spend their hard-earned money. In today’s market, even healthcare practitioners must compete for their client’s attention and loyalty. With just a little effort and forethought, you can stand out in the crowd.

A keynote speaker at a spa convention I attended many years ago said something that has always stuck in my mind. He said, “Give your clients a WOW! experience; not just the service they paid for and expect.”

There are lots of ways to deliver a WOW! experience. The ideas that I’ve used over the years seem to fall into two basic categories:

Show Appreciation

Here are some simple ways:

  • As she leaves, hand a client a gift certificate that she can use as she wishes, either for herself or for someone special in her life. (Most people will give it away, allowing you the opportunity to turn someone new onto the benefits of reflexology.)
  • Work your way down your client list and write one thank you note weekly. Do this the old-fashioned way; hand-write on an attractive card and let the postal system deliver. Remember to be specific as to why you feel blessed that this person is in your life.
  • Mail gift certificates to your clients (current and lapsed) the month before their birthdays. Invite them to redeem anytime during their birthday month. Make sure to state how much you appreciate them and their business.
  • When your client goes to pay you for the day’s session, tell them excitedly that they are your 100th appointment (pick a number) of the year/month/week, and that they get that session for FREE! This is the ultimate WOW! experience. Believe me, that client will tell all her friends about you.
  • Offer to host a 2-hour private class (at no cost) for your client and her friends on foot or hand care – in the comfort of her home. Teach them how to use the basic thumb-walking technique of reflexology on themselves.
  • Create a goodie bag of Epsom salts blended with a high quality essential oil and carrier, body scrubber of some sort and a small pretty bottle or jar of the lubricant you use during your sessions – give them away randomly as gifts. Don’t just wait until the end-of-year holidays. Do it “just because”. The surprise element and thoughtfulness far outweigh the small cost of these items.
  • Mail your client an article on something you know interests them. It could be the latest information on a health issue they’re dealing with or some other unrelated subject.

Add-Ons

Before beginning the session, surprise your client. Verbally state how much you appreciate his or her loyalty and as a way to express your gratitude you would like to add something extra special to that day’s session. Here are some examples:

  • Wrap your client’s hands in warm, soothing paraffin before a hand reflexology session, or while receiving foot reflexology. No charge.
  •  If you don’t already do this as standard procedure, begin your foot reflexology session with a soothing soak of Epsom salts and pure essential oils. Use a scrubbie glove to exfoliate. Water not only cleanses; it hydrates and offers a comforting segue from the outer world to the inner.
  •  Place well-wrapped heat packs on your client’s abdomen during your reflexology session. A warm pack on the tummy is divine.
  •  Create a custom-blended lubricant specific to your client’s health needs. Clients really appreciate this and often want to purchase extra to take home with them. Essential oils are absorbed through the feet, delivering the health benefits of the essential oils to the entire body. To learn how to incorporate oils into your foot and hand sessions, the therapeutic properties of essential oils, routes of application, proper dilution and safety guidelines, please join me for a fun and informative one-day hands-on journey into the realm of pure essential oils.
  • Weave stone therapy into your foot or hand reflexology sessions. Adding stones to a reflexology session invites the recipient into such a deep experience of themselves it almost defies definition. A real WOW! experience. In the Reflexology Rocks! class, attendees learn how to safely use hot and cold stones (basalt, marble and soapstone), utilize Himalayan salt crystals to reduce the effects of harmful electro-magnetic frequencies and are introduced to the benefit and placement of quartz crystal stones to balance the seven primary chakras.

Although my clients have been thrilled over the year with their WOW! experiences, I have to admit that I actually feel like I get the bigger WOW! My heart just swells when offering these simple gifts. Try it for yourself.

Reflexology and Essential Oils: The Perfect Marriage: Web listing.  Facebook Events listing.

Reflexology Rocks!: Web listing. Facebook Events listing.

Just Starting Out?

Recently, I was asked by the national publication Massage Magazine to write a spotlight on reflexology for massage students. In it, I explain the difference between massage and reflexology, why the public seeks out reflexology, levels of training, employment opportunities and continuing education options. As I was writing the article, I thought the information might also be useful for existing therapists trying to figure out in what direction to focus your practice; how you can stand out in the crowd. What do you think?

Rock Your World!

The 6-hour Reflexology Rocks! class is perfect for those of you who have taken weekend reflexology workshops (hands or feet) or the Therapeutic Hand & Foot Reflexology Professional Certification – and want to “kick it up a notch”, as they say in the cooking world.

In this short class you will learn how to:

  • safely use hot and cold mineral stones (basalt, marble and soapstone) in either a hand or foot reflexology session;
  • utilize Himalayan salt crystal stones to reduce the effects of harmful electro-magnetic frequencies on the body;
  • learn how to incorporate aromatherapy with hot stones;
  • incorporate quartz crystal stones to balance the seven primary chakras.

More importantly though, you will yourself experience why clients rave about stone reflexology.

Rock your world! Sunday, June 17th.

Reflexology in the Workplace

At the recent RAA conference, Ko Tan, of the American Academy of Reflexology, gave a spirited presentation on the considerable need to take reflexology into corporate America.

As I listened to the shocking stats of employee need and reflexology’s impressive ability to positively affect the bottom line in business, I started to think about the enormous career possibilities for reflexologists.

Tan first shared numbers issued by the American Labor Statistics board regarding the financial impact of headaches, chronic constipation, premenstrual syndrome and low back pain on businesses. He then highlighted results of reflexology research on those conditions and reflexology’s impact on workplace absenteeism and job satisfaction. Finally he outlined the considerations and steps to take to develop a successful out-call business in the corporate world. The possibilities were unlimited, and perfect for the person who does not like to be tethered to any one work space.

I’ll share some of the stats from the ALSB here, that will, hopefully, convince you of the enormity of the market:

Headaches

  • 47% of all adults have a headache disorder and “the financial costs to society through lost productivity are enormous.”
  • In the United States, headaches cost an estimated $50 billion each year. The cost to business in lost productivity is approximately $6 billion to $17 billion/year.
  • Migraines cost American employers about $13 billion/year because of missed workdays and impaired work function. Close to $8 billion was directly due to missed workdays. 4/26/1999

Chronic constipation

  • 63 million people live with chronic constipation. 6.3 million are forced into ambulatory care visits; 700,000 are hospitalized because of constipation.
  • Constipation affects 12% to 19% of Americans; its prevalence increases with age and it affects women more than men. It has a major impact on quality of life. Americans spend more than $700 million annually on over-the-counter laxatives. 7/14/2011

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

  • As many as 90% of women deal with the aches, pains and emotional stress of PMS at some time during their reproductive years. 30% to 40% have symptoms distressing enough to interfere with their everyday lives. 1999-2001
  • Nearly 2 out of 5 women ages 14 to 50 experience some symptoms of PMS. 10% have symptoms severe enough to disrupt their usual activities. 1999

Low back pain

  • The annual cost of chronic low back pain in the United States, including healthcare expenses, lost income and lost productivity, is estimated to be $100 billion. 26 million Americans between ages 20 and 64 experience frequent back pain. 2003
  • Back pain is the leading cause of disability in Americans under 45 years of age. More than 26 million Americans, between the ages of 20 and 64, experience frequent back pain. Back pain produced the highest amount of lost productive time (5.2 hours/week). 2006

If you want to approach business owners about providing reflexology to their employees, the first thing you are going to have to do is convince that company president that your work will lower absenteeism and increase productivity and job satisfaction.

Fortunately, that’s an easy thing to do. Bill Flocco, director of the American Academy of Reflexology, has compiled a collection of 380 studies that prove the efficacy of reflexology with 75 different conditions. His gracious gift to the world can be viewed here.

Additionally, studies regarding workplace reflexology show:

  • 2499 fewer hours of sick leave the first 6 months of reflexology sessions. (Journal of Danish Reflexologists Association, Number 6, 1992)
  • A postal company was able to save expenses due to a reduction in employee sickness or absence an average of 11.4 to 8.5 days per employee. (Danish Reflexologists Association, November 1993)
  • 55% of employees reported reflexology was effective; 29% reported that it was partially effective; 50% had fewer sick days; 70% reported a greater awareness of their bodies. (Danish Reflexologists Association, February 1995)
  • 97% of employees reported relief from their primary issue from receiving reflexology; 62% reported improvement; 35% reported partial improvement; 77% reported positive secondary effect(s). (“A Study of the Effect of Reflexology Treatment in the Eastern District of the Municipality of Svendborg, Denmark”; Danish Reflexologists Association, 1995)
  •  79% of employees reported complete or partial success from reflexology; 57% reported that it helped in other areas; 92% wanted to continue; 30% reported a greater job satisfaction after reflexology. (“Reflexology as Personal Care in the Arthus District Corporation Take Good Care of Your Fellow Employees”; Journal of Danish Reflexologists Association, November 1996)

Seems worth considering to me, if you’ve yet to carve your niche in the reflexology world.  I’ll write a “To-Do List”, in the next few days, for anyone wanting to do onsite reflexology in the workplace.

 

2013 Reflexology Certification Dates

Here they are! Lots of time to plan.

March 21 to 25

May 16 to 20

July 18 to 22

September 12 to 16 and

November 7 to 11

And some comments from last year’s participants:

One of the best learning experiences I have had! (You can quote me) 🙂

What stood out most for me was the community outreach we did, because it was at that point that the realization came to me that this dream of becoming a reflexologist was materializing; my interaction with my own community brought that to light for me… a big confidence booster!

I felt as if I was respected as an individual and that my opinions, when asked for, were valued without bias.

The greatest impact for me is now having the ability to change and improve someone’s health in one session.

I feel inspired to re-create my present massage therapy practice.

The flexibility and adaptability of your teaching techniques for how each student learns kept all the students at the same level throughout the program.

Schedule was very relaxed with time off between modules.

Strong point was a great instructor… Your communication skills are excellent and that made learning with you a pleasure.

Time to Turn the Tables: Creative Pain Management

I’m noticing a growing interest in self-care. It seems more and more people are taking their health into their own hands. Perhaps it’s a result of the increase in positive media coverage regarding natural health care benefits, or the rising cost of western medicine, or the economic environment, unwelcome side-effects of allopathic approaches, or the failure of conventional medicine’s promise to cure people’s ills. Maybe all of the above?

I’m also seeing an increase of complaints regarding foot pain and headaches. Leads me to wonder if both are somehow related to the stress of living in a tough economic time. Headaches for sure. And the feet – well, those trusty servants carry both our body’s weight and our identity every day of our lengthy existence here on earth. They provide a foundation upon which we “take a stand”, and allow us to move forward in life. If we fear for our future – or our present – then yes, there is a relationship.

These thoughts lead me to offer two new classes this month that I think can serve both the general public and therapists looking for ways to help more people.

TIRED OF LIVING WITH HEADACHES?

Learn What YOU Can Do To Relieve Your Pain

  • In this 3-hour class you will identify what triggers your headaches (from a list of over 50 causes), and simple, natural choices that will move you closer to a goal of living headache-free. You will learn reflexology techniques specific to your condition that you can use at home.

Details and a full description of the class can be found here.

TIRED OF LIVING WITH PAINFUL FEET?

Learn What YOU Can Do To Relieve Your Pain

  • In this 3-hour class we will examine the various factors that contribute to foot pain for about 30% of the adult US population, and then look at creative strategies to prevent and/or lessen foot pain. You will also learn reflexology techniques you can use on yourself to make those feet happier!

Details and a full description of the class can be found here.

If you are a therapist, consider all that you can learn from these classes to educate and empower more people in your community to improve the quality of their lives.

 

TMI

Do you text? Do you text a lot? If you’re under a certain age, you probably do. Afterall, you’re of the generation that was sprung from your mother’s womb clutching a smart phone, those cute little thumbs flapping in the breeze!

Hand injuries reported from texting are growing – a lot; enough so to have earned their own acronym: TMI (in this case, “text message injury”, not “too much information”). The popularity of this method of communication is causing alarming repetitive strain injuries to the tendons and muscles of the thumb. That’s NOT good. The thumb is involved in about 40% of your hand’s functioning!

In the Reflexology for the Hands workshop, participants learn how to give a relaxing and therapeutic session of reflexology, and maybe more importantly, how to take care of the hands and wrists through ergonomics, body mechanics, stretching, strengthening and more. With the rise in carpal tunnel syndrome and TMI, this may just be the most important workshop you could attend – for yourself and your business.

SOME FACTS:

– More than 5 billion text messages are sent every day.

– 40% of “texters” suffer from repetitive strain injuries to their hands.

– Americans text more than they talk on the phone.

– American teens text 60 – 100 times a day.

That says to me that there are a lot of folks out there that could use some good hand therapy! Are you one of them? Or do you know someone who texts and types a lot?

When texting, the muscles of the thumb are held in an almost constant state of contraction. Oxygenated blood can’t get in and metabolic waste deposits can’t get out, resulting in sore muscles. The scarier risk though is to the CMC joint (the carpal metacarpal joint), the most vulnerable joint in the hand. Texting places even more force on this joint than typing! (I’ll post something tomorrow about protecting the thumbs and fingers when doing reflexology.)

Those first symptoms of achiness, tingling and/or numbness should not be ignored. They can lead to more serious conditions such as tendonitis, trigger thumb (when the tendons shrink to hold the thumb in a permanent curl) and/or deQuervain’s disease (a debilitating condition involving the tendons of the extensor pollicis brevis and the abductor pollicis longus, the two muscles that extend the thumb). In some cases, surgery is even necessary.

GUIDELINES FOR TEXTERS:

– Stretch arms, hands and digits throughout the day.

– Strengthen forearm muscles.

– If your hands hurt, ice them as often as you can throughout the day.

– Use both thumbs to text.

– Watch your posture: spine straight, shoulders down and relaxed.

– Place phone on a hard surface to text.

– Restrict texting to 3 minutes or less at a time.

– and for God’s sake, take a break, especially if you feel discomfort in your hands!

Take a minute to think of all that your hands do for you. Our hands “grab hold of life”, thus relaxed, strong and pain free hands make it easier to eagerly reach out and grasp what life has to offer. Start a love affair with your hands and those of your family and clients. Learn hand reflexology!

Holding Hands for Better Health

As if we needed proof to confirm what we already know, a new science entitled “interpersonal neurobiology” shows that safe touch has far-reaching effects on the body’s mental, emotional and physical functioning.

Studies show that when two people who care for and trust one another hold hands, their neural responses and physiology change. Loving relationships, expressed in such a way, alter the brain, subdue blood pressure, ease responses to stress, improve overall health and lessen pain.

Holding hands is associated with some of our earliest biological memories. Remember when your parents held your hands to provide balance as you learned to walk; safety as you navigated your first street-crossings, intimacy when you strolled the beach together? Later as adolescents, our first forays into the world of adult romantic relationships began with the tentative and thrilling holding of hands.

The body remembers those early experiences of “oneness” and longs to recreate those health-saturated feelings in adulthood.

I get excited when I think of all that is happening behind the scenes as I give a hand reflexology session – for my clients, loved ones and myself. You too can revamp someone’s brain by spending just two days learning how to give a safe and accurate hand reflexology session. It just may be the most important class you’ll ever take.

 

The Single Most Important Action You Can Take to Lose Weight

In my 29 years (gasp!) of practicing reflexology, I am regularly asked if there is a reflex point for weight loss. How I wish there was! If there was one spot on the feet or hands that could deliver a desired weight, I would be a very wealthy woman!

In lieu of that imaginary “point”, may I suggest one thing that costs less than Weight Watchers, gastric bypass surgery and a year’s membership at the gym?

That magical item is water. Pure alkaline water. Lots of it. If you want to lose weight, I’m talking 1 liter for every 40 lbs you currently weigh. Drinking that much water alone will do so much to help you reach your desired weight goal. Imagine the results if you combine that with conscious eating, regular movement, adequate sleep, encouraging self-talk and relaxation?

When it comes to balancing your weight, drinking plenty of alkaline water will:

• metabolize stored fat. Your body creates additional fat cells and mucous to protect itself from attack from excess acid in the body. Dehydration makes it impossible for the body to reduce the accumulation of acid that contributes to arteriosclerosis, bone density loss, muscle atrophy, inflammatory conditions and unwanted pounds.

• aid kidney function. Water is the best antidote to fluid retention; the more you drink, the more your body is flushed of excess fluid and acid.

• reduce hunger pangs. In many people, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger! Drink plenty of water throughout the day and watch your cravings disappear.

• improve digestion. Water is essential to your body’s ability to break down food into usable nutrients.

• relieve constipation. Never mind laxatives; adding more water to your day is the first thing you should do.

But back to reflexology… There are actually specific points to work that will assist someone in their concerted strategy to reach a healthy weight. I’ll write about those points in my next post.