Reflexology and Grounding
Daily life in the 21st century involves us spending a lot of time in our heads - thinking, planning, worrying, stressing: working on laptops, PCs, phones or tablets. In other words we are 'ungrounded' much of the time and unaware of the effect all of this brain stuff is having on our bodies. We often end up with poor posture, tense muscles, stiff joints (much of our time can be spent sitting - under pressure of deadlines - depending on your job or even hobbies). Even people with physically demanding jobs, or daily work, involving deliveries, caring for others or other physical activities - have deadlines to meet, and often ignore little niggles, aches and pains until they build up into large ones which can no longer be ignored..........
By working on your feet, a Reflexologist can help you to get back in touch with your body. Your feet are extremely important, having tens of thousands of nerve endings in them. Having your feet worked on, by someone who is professionally trained in Reflexology, not only helps you to become more aware of your feet (often the most neglected part of your body - many people say so - as they are the furthest part of your body from your head!), but Reflexology can also make you become more aware of your body as a whole. Work on your feet and ankles in a concentrated and focussed way on the reflexes and acupressure points can lead to many bodily sensations, not just in your feet, but in other parts of your body, such as arms, legs and head. Feeling warmth and tingling sensations in muscles and other areas which previously might have been numb, or around the head and neck area are frequently reported and contribute to bringing your awareness back into your body and grounding you.
Studies carried out in the 1970s by Dr Valerie Hunt (see her fascinating book, 'Infinite Mind', Malibu Publishing Co., 1996 - 2nd ed.) showed that, generally, women were more ungrounded than men, having their awareness focussed more in the upper parts of their bodies more often than men, who mostly had their awareness focussed in the lower parts of their bodies and legs. This could be an explanation as to why Reflexology is generally much more popular with women although, in the 21st century, more men are admitting to worry and stress and are choosing Reflexology to help address this. Because of general ungroundedness in modern humans, people can feel odd after their first Reflexology session simply because they are not used to thinking about their feet, or having them touched by somebody. This usually quickly passes and leads to improved feelings of mood, clarity of thought and general wellbeing.
WINTER - Having Reflexology in winter months can be especially helpful because it is less likely you will go barefoot - on the grass or on a beach - than in the spring and summer months. Walking barefoot, or even just sitting in your garden with your feet on the grass, or walking on a sandy beach, is very grounding (I don't do it enough myself!) and helps to de-stress us and improve sleep. Some call it Earthing .... becoming body-aware and getting out of our heads more is so important in re-balancing our energies.
In between your Reflexology sessions invest in some foot lotion and massage your own feet before you go to bed to help you sleep ( even just rubbing your feet a bit before bedtime is good). It could make a big difference if you do it regularly. Why not give it a try? Involve your partner, your children; have a fun foot massage swapping session in the evenings to help you all get a good night's sleep. It doesn't have to be fancy, just some gentle stroking in between a little harder pressure on sore areas. Make it a fun game for the kids. You might find improvements for everyone.
Why not give Reflexology a try and contact me to book some sessions? We all need a little help now and again and all you need to do is take your shoes and socks off, lie back in a chair and give me your feet. Nothing simpler! I look forward to hearing from you.
