About six years ago, Debbie Turner was feeling completely worn down. The director of group ads for IPC Media, a magazine publisher in London, said her career had been satisfying. But after climbing the corporate ladder for nearly 20 years, she found her full-time workload to be increasingly stressful. On top of that, she was pregnant with her second child.

To deal with the stress, Turner tried a technique that initially she was skeptical of: reflexology, an ancient practice of stimulating points on the feet to benefit other parts of the body.

“I found it so relaxing it was as though I was on another planet,” said Turner, 45. But it was more than just an exercise in serenity; it was educational, too. “The therapist would say things like, ‘Your kidney reflexes are under a lot of pressure and you need to drink more water,’ and I figured out she was right,” Turner said. “In the end, the treatments wound up giving me energy and making me feel healthier.”

Fascinated by the foot charts posted in the therapist’s office, Turner started studying reflexology one weekend a month while keeping her job. After passing written exams in anatomy and physiology and becoming a certified reflexologist, she decided to quit the media industry and start her own business. Since becoming certified about 18 months ago, Turner has seen her business blossom. She now performs at least 10 hours a week of reflexology.

That schedule, which meant she could set her own hours and pick up her children from school, got rid of the pangs of stress she had been experiencing. “I loved the magazine world, and it had been fun and glamorous, but it was also somewhat superficial,” Turner said. “I never believed that reflexology would be all that lucrative, but I knew it would give me balance.”

The idea behind reflexology is that all the body’s organs, glands, and main joints are reflected in the feet and that applying pressure to specific points on the feet can stimulate the body’s natural healing processes.

The technique, known to the ancient Egyptians as well as the Chinese and Indians, has grown in popularity in recent years, along with other alternative or complementary therapies.

In 2005, a report commissioned by the Prince of Wales urged British doctors to make wider use of a cornucopia of alternative treatments, including reflexology, acupuncture and some herbal medicines under the National Health Service. The report found that alternative therapies could be particularly beneficial for people suffering from chronic musculoskeletal conditions, like arthritis, or from psychological conditions, like anxiety.

The report said that Britons spend about £130 million, or $250 million, a year on alternative treatments, a figure expected to jump to £200 million before 2009. In the United States, many cancer centers are now offering alternative treatments including reflexology to help patients deal with the side effects of the disease. Golf clubs across Britain have hired reflexologists to help players cope with back pain and other aches.
The Association of Reflexologists, which is recognized by the government Britain and can award qualifications, has a membership of more than 8,500 that is growing.

“Reflexology has become more popular in today’s society as people are increasingly conscious of their health and how the stress and toll of daily life affects their bodies,” an association representative said. “Reflexology can be used to help problems experienced by the patient and also as a preventative measure for a person’s well being.”

Jo Lovatt, a West London mother of three, is a client. She said she used reflexology as a “de-stresser.”

“It is quite a big thing to expose your feet to somebody so you have to make sure you find the right therapist,” she said. “I found it a fantastic way to unwind and I felt like I had to literally be pulled out of the chair at the end.”

“A reflexologist can find places of unbalance in a body and is able to increase blood flow to certain points of the body,” Turner said. “There are as many as 7,000 nerve endings on one’s feet, and reflexology can help people to switch off and heal themselves.”
Turner emphasized that her services were supplemental in the health field, not a substitute for the services of a doctor.

Perhaps the only downside to her new career, Turner said, is that some clients see her as more than a reflexologist. “Some clients tend to view you as a counselor and they will use their time to offload all their different problems to you,” she said. “The more you know someone, the more they will chat. But clients should really just shut their eyes and completely turn off.”

Source: International Herald Tribune; March 2, 2007