On-Line Reflexology Training & Certification

Reflexology Educators, Mentors and Coaches since 1991

Reflexology & Breast Cancer UK Research

By Leave a Comment

More clinical trials are needed into the benefits of complementary therapies for cancer patients, says one expert.

Professor Leslie Walker said many patients benefit from relaxation therapy and “guided imagery” – or visualising the body beating tumours.  The Cancer Research UK scientist says trials should look at the safety and cost of other complementary therapies.  Current trials include the effects of reflexology and scalp massage on 180 women with early-stage breast cancer.

It follows calls from Prince Charles for more research and more complementary therapies on the NHS for cancer patients.

Some patients like to imagine a battle scene between the cancer and the drug treatment Professor Leslie Walker.  Professor Walker, director of two oncology centres, has been carrying out trials for 25 years to show how they can improve patients’ quality of life.  He is examining the effects of relaxation therapy and guided imagery on bowel cancer patients.

He told the International Union Against Cancer Conference in Dublin: “The idea that guided imagery may have powerful psychological and biological effects goes right back to Aristotle who said: ‘The soul never thinks without a picture’.”

“Relaxation techniques involve muscular exercises.   Some patients like to imagine a battle scene between the cancer and the drug treatment.”

It is essential that all such approaches undergo rigorous assessment in randomised clinical trials Professor Robert Souhami, Cancer Research UK.  “Others prefer to imagine a healing process like a white light promoting well-being and a return to health.”

Complementary and alternative medicines have proved to be a controversial issue.  Prince Charles was reprimanded for his views by a leading cancer expert who told him: “I have no time at all for ‘alternative’ therapy that places itself above the laws of evidence.”  Professor Robert Souhami, Cancer Research UK’s director of policy, said some complementary therapies had been shown to be “of value” in some clinical situations.  But he stressed: “It is essential that all such approaches undergo rigorous assessment in randomised clinical trials.”

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/4021337.stm

Merging science and Reflexology

By 2 Comments

By Lauren Slade Author, Researcher and Educator

From the very first course I ever took in reflexology over 25 years ago, I’ve had a passion to discover a scientific explanation of exactly how reflexology works.

It amazes me how many people, including Reflexologists still believe that there are little “crystals” in the feet, which when pressed disperse and so cause a healing reaction in the body! How plausible do you think this sounds to a medical doctor practicing in the 21st century? How can it be with all the incredible scientific discoveries over the last half century that this concept still persists?

I have spent a large part of my life studying holistic therapies and how they work. As a Certified Master Reflexologist I have studies Japanese, Swiss, Korean, German, Chinese, Australian, South African, British, American, Canadian and European methods of reflexology. I am also a Master Herbalist, Homeopath, Aromatherapist, Reiki Master/Teacher and Massage Therapist with training in many other holistic therapies. I know that science and holistic healing work hand in hand.

Many years ago I started collecting Reflexology Charts and Maps from around the world and dating back as far as 1917. I now have over 150 different charts in my collection. One thing that really stands out are the startling differences of the reflex point locations on some of the charts. According to my training and my very learned teachers – these charts were just plain wrong! And yet… the Reflexologists who followed them got amazing results. How could that be?

Over the years I have treated thousands of clients. I have worked on a client with four kidneys, another had two uteruses, quite a few have had six or seven toes on each foot, and yet another client informed me that x-rays had shown that all their internal organs were reversed.

The perfectly ordered and neat looking anatomical diagrams we see in medical books, are not always the same as the actual client who comes to me for a treatment. What happens when someone has an organ removed? Do all the internal organs re-organize themselves to fill that space? How and why should the standard classical Reflexology Map still apply?

After almost 30 years of working as a Reflexologist and instructor I know that Reflexology works! I have witnessed and experienced amazing results, both in myself as well as my clients over the years. Reflexology has triumphed where conventional medicine has often failed.

Over the length of my practicing Complementary Alternative Medicine, I have worked on many clients who experienced “phantom limb pain” – a condition suffered by amputees who continue to feel pain after losing a limb. I will always remember one particular client. He had lost his leg below the knee in a motor cycle accident some five years previously. His ‘phantom limb pain’ was so severe, that he was on the highest dose of morphine available to him, just to get him through each day. When I worked the corresponding reflexes in the hand on the side of the missing limb, as taught in my original Reflexology training, there was no benefit felt by the client.

So rather than give up, I decided to do something radical. I planned to work on both feet, the real one and the ‘phantom’ one. I performed reflexology on the real foot, and then moved over to the area where the foot used to be – all the while feeling slightly stupid – but hey nothing ventured, nothing gained!

There was a long silence at the end of the session, as I wondered if I had now lost all credibility as a therapist, and what I should do next. Imagine my amazement when my client reported an immediate lessening of the intense pain in his ‘phantom limb’ from a nine on a scale of 1 – 10 to a five. This was the first improvement he had noted after five years of various therapists using every treatment they could think of on him! I was thrilled. What exactly was the explanation – I do not know. What I do know is that my client reported a complete absence of pain within five treatments, and when I last saw him six years after my initial treatment, he reported that he was still pain free.

This client has been my inspiration for many years to discover the science behind Reflexology. Recent scientific research is indicating a huge upheaval in traditional thinking. Has the tide turned? Is it time for Reflexology and science to come together? I believe the answer is Yes. Much to my delight, I am discovering that at the frontiers of science, new ideas are emerging that challenge everything we believe about how our world works.

These new concepts contain possible explanations for all kinds of wholistic healing – not just Reflexology! Science is providing evidence that the human mind and body are not distinct and separate from their environment, as traditional medicine would have you believe, but a packet of pulsating energy constantly interacting with a vast sea of energy.

Quantum mechanics and new physics are making great strides. Their discoveries indicate that all matter in the universe is interconnected by waves, which are spread out through time and space, and can carry on to infinity, tying one part of the universe to every other part. This idea of a sea of energy might just offer a scientific explanation for many metaphysical notions, such as the Chinese belief in the life force, or ch’i, described in ancient texts as something akin to an energy field. It means that we and all the matter of the universe are literally connected to the furthest reaches of the cosmos.

In this view, the sea of energy connects everything in the universe to everything else, like some vast invisible web. It is as though a memory of the universe for all time is contained in empty space that each of us is always in touch with. Einstein himself understood that the only fundamental reality was the underlying entity – the ‘sea of energy’ itself. The ‘sea of energy’ might be the closest we have to what in Star Wars was called ‘The Force’.

How does this information impact the study of Reflexology? Is a Reflexologist tapping into this ‘sea of energy’? Swiss physicist Dr Hans Jenny, discovered that every cell in our body is controlled by an EM field with its own frequency. That we are beings of light gives sense to energetic or vibrational healing systems such as homeopathy and acupuncture, which can tune the body back to health. Can Reflexology also be classed as a vibrational healing system? As Dr Richard Gerber, author of Vibrational Healing (Santa Fe: Bear, 1988), once said: “If we are beings of energy, then it follows that we can be affected by energy.”

This idea offers a possible explanation for something that has puzzled me for many years – was this the explanation for my client with the ‘phantom limb’ pain? Did his missing physical limb still exist in the energetic sea? Could it be that we, at our most fundamental level, are packets of quantum energy constantly exchanging information with this heaving energy sea? What a stunning thought!

If so, it means that all of us connect with each other and the world at the level of the very undercoat of our being. It also means that we have the power to access much more information about the world than we realize.

The common assumption has been that psychics, healers, shamans and other ‘sensitives’ have a special gift that somehow endows them with rare and special powers. However, a great deal of scientific evidence now suggests that this type of consciousness is naturally present in everyone if we can learn (as sensitives intuitively understand) – how to access it. With some practice, it can be refined or enhanced.

The world of healing as we know it is undergoing major changes. Science is now catching up with what intuitive and natural healers have always known. Now is the time to let go of our limiting beliefs and let Reflexology soar to its natural height!.

Copyright Lauren Slade 2012

Article by Lauren Slade CMR MH
Principle & Founder of Universal College of Reflexology – since 1991

Published in Mosaic Magazine

Reflexology offered to UK Prisoners to Relieve Stress

By Leave a Comment

Inmates at the new Peterborough prison are to be treated to soothing Reflexology and Indian Head Massages.Bosses at the prison are advertising for two part-time holistic therapists to give prisoners the kind of treatments offered by health and beauty salons in the city.United Kingdom Detention Services (UKDS), which runs the £65 million prison, in Saville Road, Westwood, plans to offer the calming effects of reflexology, aromatherapy and Indian head massage to the 216 men and 95 women who are currently behind bars in the modern jail.Today, however, Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson, said: “It is wrong prisoners are treated in this way. Are they using it as a Butlin’s holiday camp?..”But holistic therapist Brian Fossett, of Garden of Eden Holistic Therapies, Lincoln Road, Peterborough, said: ”Reflexology actually works to balance the body. This can help to reduce anger or emotional problems. An holistic approach to health can help to balance the whole person and those tendencies.”People may be doing time for a crime but it is of no benefit to anyone for these people to be stressed. There is no point in sending people out of prison full of anger and stress, it just increases the chance of re-offending.”

Councillor David Sanders, a member of the Cambridgeshire Police Authority, said: “I question whether or not it is good use of tax payers’ money. If I was a victim of crime I would feel very let down by this.

“There may be a time when a prisoner is in need of a reflexologist, but this seems ridiculous.”

UKDS spokesman Nicholas Hopkins said: “There are some prisoners for whom holistic therapy will be extremely beneficial.”

Prison director Mike Conway said: “The incident of self-harm among female prisoners is very high, and this was part of an initiative to help resolve that problem.”

Premenstrual Symptoms

By Leave a Comment

Randomized Controlled Study of Premenstrual Symptoms Treated with Ear, Hand and Foot Reflexology

By Terry Oleson PhD and William Flocco, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol. 82, No. 6, December 1993

This study was designed to determine whether reflexology treatment can significantly reduce premenstrual symptoms compared to a placebo treatment. Thirty-five women who complained of previous distress with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) were randomly assigned to be treated by ear, hand and foot reflexology or to receive placebo reflexology. All subjects completed a daily diary, which monitored 38 premenstrual symptoms on a four-point scale.

Somatic and psychological indicators of premenstrual distress were recorded each day for 2 months before treatment, for 2 months during reflexology treatment, and for 2 months afterward. The reflexology sessions for both groups were provided by trained reflexology therapist once a week for 8 weeks, and lasted 30 minutes each. Results: Analysis of Variance for repeated measures demonstrated a significantly greater decrease in premenstrual symptoms for the women given true reflexology than for the women in the placebo group.

The treatment group showed a 46% reduction in premenstrual symptoms, which was sustained at 41% during the post treatment period. It was concluded that ear, hand and foot reflexology is an appropriate therapy for the treatment of PMS.

Pope John Paul II received Foot Reflexology

By Leave a Comment

On November 26, 2003, on the recommendation of the Taiwan ambassador to the Vatican, Reverend Josef Eugster, who is originally from Switzerland but who has lived in Taiwan for decades, made his first visit into the bedroom of Pope John Paul II. Reverend Eugster situated himself at the feet of Pope John Paul II and began giving the pope a foot massage. “I told the pope that foot reflexology is the way that I spread the gospel in Taiwan,” Reverend Eugster said.

“When I was massaging his feet, I was not nervous in the least. It was only later that day after I had left the pope that it dawned on me that I had just given a massage to someone who I revered. It was at that time that I became so excited that I could not asleep that evening,” he said. Reverend Eugster is well known throughout Taiwan for his method of spreading the word of Catholicism via foot reflexology. The reverend’s keen skills in foot massage have long set him apart from other members of the Church throughout Taiwan. However, never in his wildest dreams did he think that one day his massaging talents would be precisely what would get him through the doors of the Vatican in to see the pope.

In relating the story, Reverend Eugster said it all began with the recommendation that was provided by the Taiwan ambassador to the Vatican. In 2003, the ambassador took it upon himself to write a letter to the bishop that was responsible for taking care of the pope. In the letter, the ambassador wrote that there is a reverend in Taiwan who uses foot reflexology as a means to spread the word of the Church. He said that he hoped that the Vatican would give the reverend an opportunity to try and come to the aid of the pope. The ambassador wrote such a letter twice, but did not get any response. The third time he wrote to the bishop, however, he received a reply.

At the time, Reverend Eugster was in the Vatican attending a conference on depression. The first person to meet with him was quite a tall cardinal. To test out the reverend’s skills, the cardinal put out his feet and asked Reverend Eugster to give him a foot massage. After Reverend Eugster massaged the cardinal’s foot, he informed the cardinal of what he believed were the health problems the cardinal faced. The cardinal was extremely surprised that Reverend Eugster was able to discern his health issues simply through foot reflexology. After that experience, two other bishops came to see the reverend and once again he correctly identified the health problems facing the two of them. Having been successful on time occasions, Reverend Eugster finally was given the opportunity to have an audience with the pope.

“Actually, at the time what I was concerned about the most is that the pope for many years had been afflicted with diabetes as well as Parkinson’s disease. I worried that the bottom of his foot had lost a good portion of their ability to react. If this happened to be the case, there would be no way that I could be of any help,” Reverend Eugster said. “Luckily, when I began massaging the big toe of the pope, I noticed an expression on his face that indicated an ache. I then told the pope that this meant that he usually did not sleep well,” the reverend said. Reverend Eugster added that on that day, he spent about 20 or 30 minutes massaging the various pressure points on the soles of the pope’s feet. One by one, he explained to the pope in German about how the sensations from this or that pressure point indicated various problems, including problems associated with his vocal chords, spine and knees.

“The pope did not speak much during the time when I was massaging his feet. He only nodded or made short remarks indicating that he understand the explanations that I was providing him,” Reverend Eugster said. “I do not know whether there was anyone else thereafter who massaged the pope’s feet. However, the ambassador did tell me that two weeks later, the pope’s voice had improved quite a bit and that he was able to lift his head more than he had in the past. Reverend Eugster continues to perform foot massage and instruct others on the benefits of it. When asked if the experience of massaging the pope’s feet changed him in any way, Reverend Eugster said that at least now other people realize that there is nothing wrong with foot reflexology.

Date: 2005/04/04 11:34:16
SOURCE: Liberty Times

Editors Note: I have personally met and received Reflexology from Fr Josef Eugster and the word Reflexology and Massage are used interchangeably by Fr Josef.

Doctor doesn’t always know best

By Leave a Comment

Source Daily Telegraph
By Dr James LeFanu (Filed: 28/05/2006)

Complementary therapies can certainly be pretty half baked, both in theory and practice, or as a group of “prominent doctors” put it earlier this week in refreshingly robust prose: “unproven treatments of no demonstrable benefit”. And while they conceded it was important to keep an open mind (“we must remain open to new discoveries”), it should not be so open that our brains fall out.

Fair enough, but the view from the coalface of the doctor’s surgery is rather different, where it is not unusual to encounter patients who insist that they have been much helped by homeopathy or acupuncture or whatever.

What is more, most family doctors over the past 20 years, have incorporated several principles of alternative medicine into their own practice – the first and most important being that there is not necessarily “a pill for every ill”.

The singular virtue of “the alternatives” is that its practitioners are not permitted to prescribe drugs, so must resort to non-pharmacological means of treatment.

Thus, whereas the family doctor will hand out the standard regime of painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs for their patients with acute back pain, they would acknowledge that osteopaths and chiropractors can do a lot better: correcting the underlining defect in the vertebral column with a vigorous clunk-click of spinal manipulation.

It is a similar story with gut disorders, such as irritable bowel, long dismissed as psychosomatic by orthodox medicine, whose standard therapies of anti-depressants and a high fibre diet not infrequently compound the symptoms of abdominal discomfort and bowel disturbance.

Now, family doctors hopefully know better, recognising – as naturopaths and others have long maintained – that the cause may well be intolerance to some food or other where a change of diet can bring near instantaneous relief.

The complementary therapies have the further virtue of being a cautionary reminder that Western science does not have all the answers.

How can it be that twiddling an acupuncture needle between the toes can cure a migraine headache – an effect that so clearly defies any physiological or anatomical explanation?

And then, of course, they have the opportunity to practise “old-fashioned” medicine, talking and listening to their patients, rather than staring at the computer screen on their desks.

From all of which, one might reasonably conclude that those “prominent doctors” might usefully take to heart the Biblical admonition about motes and beams.