Foot Massage: From Bottom to Top Well-being

Reflexologists often perceive the feet and the hands as a reflection of the body. By applying foot massage or reflexology techniques, a reflexologist can dispel stress patterns in other parts of the body. Foot massage is the practice of stimulating the nerves of the feet to encourage a beneficial effect on some other parts of the body, or for improvement of general health. The principle behind this technique rests in the premise that certain areas in the feet, called reflex points, correspond to an organ in the body. The Meridian network connects all tissues, organs and cells in the body.

Through the intermediary of 300 nerves, each organ in the body is associated with a reflex point in the foot. Blockages in the body are manifested by grits or lumps on the foot, and these can be eliminated by applying foot massage. Once pressure is applied on the reflex points in the foot, it generates a signal through the peripheral nervous system. From this point, the signal enters the central nervous system where the transmission is processed in various parts of the brain afterwhich it is relayed to the internal organs to allocate the necessary modifications in fuel and oxygen.

A response is then sent to the motor system and the message is fed forward to adjust the body’s tone or overall tension. With a properly implemented foot massage, the body’s tone will reset itself to a lower operating mode which signals a reduction of stress and less deterioration of the body’s systems. All practitioners of foot reflexology believe that this technique aids the body in its self- healing process. They claim that zones in the foot reflect the Qi or the energy body. Foot massage or reflexology can thus correct imbalances in the life energy or the Qi of the body.

As foot massage applies pressure to reflex points that connect to an organ in the body, the internal organs are therefore stimulated and blood and lymph circulation are improved as well. Adherents of foot massage claim that this alte
ative method of healing is Chinese in origin, dating back to more than 3,000 years ago. Others in fact assert that foot massage is also an ancient art practiced by ancient Egyptians. Throughout the course of millennia, foot massage has been proven to have tremendous benefits on the physiological processes of the body as well as in the restoration of natural balance and revitalization.

Foot massage has also been found to be valuable in locating high stress areas in the body disentangling them thereby inducing a reduction of and relief from stress. Foot massage is gaining an expansive popularity and acceptance as a scope of alte
ative health treatments. Its adherents believe that foot massage is capable of curing minor ailments such as colds as well as alarming conditions such as constipation, liver dysfunction, skin allergies and chronic headaches. As with almost all kinds of alte
ative healing modalities, foot massage aims to treat holistically, that is, addressing the whole body rather than focusing on the one area where symptoms are most obvious.

Whereas conventional medical treatments promise a hasty and speedy recovery from health conditions, foot massage delivers relief and recovery slowly and gradually. A thorough and intensive foot massage therapy would mean a series of therapy sessions to strengthen the body and to restore homeostasis. With a session costing $40-$100 dollars each, foot massage costs can add up over time, but in the long run, this would prove reasonable as expenses for clinic and hospital bills as well as for medications and invasive surgery can be more costly.