It was a snowy day today here in North Carolina, which not only meant that I got to go on my yearly sledding expedition, but also that access to in-person gurus was limited. One of my favorite things to do, however, is to curl up with a book. So since it was the next best thing, I decided to pick a "how-to" book from the shelf and see what it could teach me. And what Chris McLaughlin and Nicola Hall and the folks over at Natural Health taught me was how to do reflexology.
About a year ago, Elizabeth bought me a gift certificate to a reflexology place. It was one of those LivingSocial deals, the kind that you buy because it's on sale and because that's the only way you'd go there in the first place. How many crappy restaurants have been visited, or vineyard tours taken, or subscriptions to Zoobooks have been purchased because of this, the world may never know.
I did end up using the LivingSocial deal, and found the place in an odd hippie commune in an old rec building here in Greensboro. The practitioner, a very nice man who ran the practice with his wife, told me all about the healing powers of reflexology and how he had gotten into it (his wife had talked him into it was the gist of that story). And while he was very sincere and was again very kind, I couldn't help but eye roll when he started discussing how he could improve people's energies. Not only was he a trained reflexologist, but he was also a master of reiki and could channel a person's energy and change their overall well being.
"Cough, cough, bullshit, cough, cough," is an appropriate response to anyone who says this kind of thing.
But aside from this Jedi Master claiming to essentially use the Force (it's not real, buddy, I've been trying to do that for decades), the reflexology session was actually very relaxing. I felt much calmer after leaving, and I even recommended that others check it out (although I did warn them about Obi-Wan).
Until today, that was really my only contact with reflexology, which for the uninitiated is the manipulation of the feet, hands, or ears to ease tension in other parts of the body. According to reflexologists, pressure points in these areas correspond to organs, appendages, and bodily systems. A rudimentary map of reflexology can be found here:
Elizabeth got to be my guinea pig, but no, there are no videos of this. I'm a Tarantino fan, I just don't share his foot fetish. I didn't dive all the way into this, however...because it's a load of nonsense. Instead, I focused on basic foot relaxation, which does have many benefits, aside from just feeling good.
To perform a good relaxing session of reflexology, there are many things to remember. Using a finger to press or a thumb to press can create different results, as can different amounts of pressure. It's important to keep contact with the subject, moving from one area to another smoothly and without a change in speed or pressure.
The basic sequence went as follows:
1) Gently rotate toes with one hand while firmly holding the foot in the other.
2) Use both hands to wring the foot, placing your thumbs into the soles of the foot.
3) Rotate ankles much like you did with the individual toes.
4) Finally, press with your knuckles directly into the middle of the sole, right below where the toes meet the foot, and encourage rhythmic and relaxed breathing. This is a pressure point that corresponds with the solar plexus, and it's apparently supposed to induce deep relaxation.
Ok, so it's basically a foot rub with some mysticism thrown into it. The book went into further detail about how to cure everything from headaches to allergies to reproductive disorders. Unfortunately, I'm too much of a cynic to think that this kind of treatment can be the cure for real medical problems. But, do I think that this kind of treatment can win you brownie points and end with a relaxed fiance? Absolutely!
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