Reflexology for Life

No Pain, No Gain

YouTube - foot reflexology

"Taiwan set a World Record by arranging for 1,008 people to have a foot massage simultaneously."

The above is a video of this Guinness book of record attempt at the largest foot reflexology session ever held. The event took place in Taiwan.

The interesting part of this video is the expressions on the participant's faces. They are expressions of pain. The Asian view of reflexology in general is "no pain, no gain."

This video took me back to our trip to Japan in 1990. We attended the Rwo Shr conference. Our host, a Japanese company that marketed foot rollers, paid our whole way and entertained us in lavish style.

I had given a speech for several thousand people which was indeed intimidating but I got through it. I felt it was all downhill from there.

Then they asked me to give a speech to their consultants. They were reflexologists who worked in a type of product show room that featured reflexology and massage products for the home. It sounded like a piece of cake since it was only for 60 people.

But at the last second they asked me to explain the difference between the Rwo Shr method and our method. Having been worked on by a Rwo Shr practitioner I was a bit panicked. The pain was incredible. I begged off the second foot. And I have a high tolerance to pain.

Father Josef, a Swiss priest brought back some of the ancient techniques. The Rwo Shr method (meaning Josef in Mandarian Chinese) was named for him. He explained to us that he is really pretty tough with his technique application but he got results.

What was quite awkward was that Father Josef was sitting in the first row with the other dignitaries of the Rwo Shr method. Then it struck me. My old martial arts background was the ticket.

While we were waiting to be taken to the conference earlier that day I had been fooling around with one of those travel kiosks that tells you about sites of note. Having practiced Judo in my younger years I looked up the Kodokan. The Kodokan is the home of judo in Japan.

The kiosk information talked about judo being "the gentle way". That was it. When I gave my speech I explained that in Juijitsu, the forerunner of judo there were two schools- the soft school and the hard school. We were the soft school of reflexology like judo was to juijitsu. Around the room there was a nodding of heads as this seemed agreeable. The front row seemed very pleased as well.

The only downside of this was my nickname from then on. I was "software" from then on among my Japanese friends.

Seeing those faces grimacing in the Guinness record video brought all that back.

Kevin Kunz

http://www.reflexology-research.com

Getting to Reflexology Part 3

Learning the areas on the feet and hand is a key to technique application. While it is important to work the whole foot or hand at least one time through it is also important to know specific areas in order to add emphasis. Emphasis helps to bolster areas that are particularly under stress.

Learning how the organization of the feet is fairly straightforward. The right foot or hand represents the right side of the body. The left foot or hand represents the left side of the body. The exception is the brain which crosses over.

The toes and fingers represent the head/neck/sinus reflex areas. The ball of the foot and the upper palm of the hand represent the chest/lungs/breast/heart. The arch of the foot and the lower palm of the hand represent the internal organs such as the liver, stomach and so forth. The heel of the hand and the heel of the foot represent the the lower back and the lower parts of the digestive system.

An easy way to learn the parts of the feet and hands is to go to www.dk.com/reflexology. These interactive charts allow you to learn the areas at your leisure. Also free charts are available for your download at http://www.reflexology-research.com

And if you want a complete description of the organizational scheme for charts try The Complete Guide to Foot Reflexology for the feet and Hand Reflexology: How to Work on Someone's Hands for the hands.

Kevin Kunz

http://www.reflexology-research.com

Using the hands for tinnitus

One of my clients is very proud of being able to using a technique for shutting off her tinnitus using the ear area on the foot. You simply dig into the ear area with your finger. It has been quite effective for her and gives her a sense of control.

But recently I have been noticing with my own tinnitus that the hands can be quite effective. If you go for the segment of the ring finger and apply pressure it may help stop the noise. It has been quite effective for me and I seem to have with a concerted effort seemed to have turned it off for good.

Kevin Kunz

For full instructions on working the eye/ear area see Complete Reflexology for Life

Clients With Dementia

There are wonderful people in this world. Helen is one of them. She posted this lovely piece to our Reflexology Forum. I wanted to share this with you.
Kevin Kunz
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I work with clients who have dementia and live in residential homes -Kevin -I can understand your friend's mum not wanting to be at her "facility". If any of you are considering or currently work with this group I strongly recommend reading "The Simplicity of Dementia" by Huub Buijssen it will really help your understanding of this condition.

I give foot Reflexology by sitting on the floor with their feet on a
pillow on my lap - this is a good height for them and gets over any mobility issues. The non-invasive nature of Reflexology is perfect in this situation and readily accepted and appreciated no matter how chaotic the mind. As soon as you put your hands on their feet they comment on how wonderful it feels. I give a shorter treatment than usual - up to 30 mins. I find it best to leave my "real world" at the door - walk in and accept each individuals version of "reality".

Don't be tempted to impose your real world on them - what does it matter that today is Wednesday and they say it's Friday? Be reassuring and soothing - with your words and touch and you will make a positive difference, hear wonderful stories, feel enriched and probably quite sad - shared institutional living can be brutal for such delicate, confused minds.

Remember they live in a lonely world of functional touch - mainly washing and dressing. Reflexology gives them one to one caring, soothing, therapeutic touch - welcomed with big smiles, compliments and reminiscing chat. I'll never forget "J" in her final morphine-filled days saying "It feels like true love coming through you to me". I wish sometimes that I could wave a magic wand and create a better environment for them - less medication and TV, more complementary therapies, appropriate mental and physical stimulation and of course more staff....hmmm in my dreams! Thanks yet again Kevin for inspiring us.

Helen (UK)

Heels and Sex

No, this is not a blog about high heels. It is about the reproductive organs and their locations around the heels.

The testes and prostate on men and the uterus and ovaries on women are all on the sides of the heel. See the free foot chart for exact locations.

Interestingly there is an additional area that isn't shown on many charts. It is an area on the bottom of the foot at the border between where the heel joins the arch. A Canadian chart is the only one I am aware of that shows this location.

Women with menopause may find relief by working this area for problems like hot flashes and night sweats. It also was in a book that was mostly in Chinese by Father Josef. Father Josef is credited with reviving the ancient tradition of reflexology in China. The book targeted fibroid tumors by working that area.

The best way to work the bottom of the foot with self help is a simple foot roller. Simply roll it back and forth over the area.

The sides of the foot are easily worked by using the rotating on a point technique. All these technique are described in either Complete Reflexology for Life or in our e-book- Uterus- Prostate. If you are looking for information on menopause try Menopause- Hot flashes. An e-book is easily downloaded to your computer and can either be read on screen or printed out.

Hope this helps.

Kevin Kunz

http://www.reflexology-research.com

Effects of Reflexology on Spinal Cord Damage

Dear Sir:

I'm not sure if you will be able to help me. I would like to know if you have any info on the effects of reflexology and people who have had severe spinal damage. I have a client who has been in a wheel chair for 16 years. He was healthy until the accident. His spinal cord was not severed but badly crushed and he has had 2 operation to fuse together his T12 and L1 and also some work done on his 3rd and 4th L. I have been working on his feet since the end of December, 2007 once a week, but he has had, right from the first treatment, tingling, twitching and burning sensations in his legs. At first they only lasted an hour or two but lately they are continuing to last almost up to the next treatment. Many times the sensations are in the same area as before, but many times they seem to be in different places. Before working on my client he said he had never felt anything below the knee except for in his feet, but he has had burning and tingnling in his calf muscle on the right the leg.

Do you have any research or any information that can help me understand better what might be happening with my client, if there are areas I should be concentrating on or techniques that would be more effective? Any information would be a great help I'm sure.

Thank You.

Sincerely,

Susan
Certified Reflexologist

Sue

Try www.reflexology-research.com/paralysisreport.htm Pay particular attention to the eye-ear reflex area at the base of the toes. Functional MRI studies now show that this is an integrative area that brings a lot of areas together. It was a critical area with activating the "crossover effect". This is when working on one foot makes the other foot move. In the case of quadriplegia it can be the opposite hand.

We aren't sure that the "crossover effect" is present or if necessary for progress in all paralysis cases. But the movement became more sophisticated overtime implying some type of programming was going on.

There may be periods of increased spasming. He may be disturbed by this and want to quit. But it does seem to be part of the process.

Our points of emphasis list includes the eye-ear, head-neck and spinal reflex areas. The area along the spinal reflex area at the point of the injury (in this case T12 and L1) can be quite rough and as stimulating as the eye-ear reflex area. It is critical to locate and pay attention to this area.

You are in uncharted areas. We had some effect on all our paralysis clients. But they never had sensations in their feet to begin with.

Stay in touch. It is hard to say where this will end up but we found it kept them healthy above all else.

All the best,
Kevin Kunz

A Good Day

I have a new client with neuropathy due to diabetes. I worked on him last week and it looked like tough going. His feet were about the stiffest I had ever seen.

Today when I worked on him I noticed he reacted when I applied pressure on the tailbone area. So I concentrated on the tailbone area a little more. The foot started to loosen up. The same thing happened with the other foot.

Working the rim of the heel is good for loosening the foot in general. But I had never really spent that much time on it with other diabetics.

As he was leaving he showed me how he could lift his leg which had not been possible before. He was cautious but encouraged.

We have a long way to go but I learn something new from reflexology all the time. That is what makes it so darn interesting.

A good day.

Kevin Kunz

To work the tailbone area use thumbwalking along the inside rim of the foot. For further instruction see P95 in Complete Reflexology for Life.

Chemotherapy and Reflexology

Our friend, Sara, called up for advice. She is a nursing student and one of her patients was asking about nausea, a common side effect of chemotherapy.

Sara called us up because she had heard us talking about it in relationship to reflexology. There is about 16-20 studies now on reflexology and chemotherapy that show positive results with nausea.

Sara asked where should I show them to work. We went to the research.

The procedure is to work lightly and never more than thirty minutes. The emphasis is on relaxation so the one study's routine started out with "desserts" or relaxation techniques including "side to side" and "hook in the ankle". Also the solar plexus reflex area is a good overall relaxing area. See The Complete Guide to Foot Reflexology or Complete Reflexology for Life .

Sara asked if the solar plexus was on the Interactive Reflexology Charts. It is.

The next question is where do you work besides the solar plexus. The answer according to the research is to work the whole foot but with emphasis on the part of the body effected by the cancer. In this case it was colon- rectal cancer.

There should also be emphasis on the pituitary, thyroid and adrenal reflex areas to boost the immune system. These are endocrine glands.

I mentioned that there was some very interesting research saying that hospitals should teach the partners of cancer patients to do reflexology. Sara replied, "that is what I am doing."

If anyone can do it Sara can.

Kevin Kunz

Do You Have a Longer Second Toe? Part 2

Last blog I talked about having a longer second toe and the effects of it on the foot and body.

As you will recall a longer second toe often times means more foot stress. Foot stress can lead to stresses in other parts of the body such as the musclo-skeletal system but it can also impact your energy levels as well.

So what do you do about a longer second toe since sawing it off doesn't seem practical?

1) Good shoes are a must. You need a roomy enough toe box to allow your toe to stretch out and not collide with the tip of your shoe.

2) Rock and roll your feet. If you caught my earlier blog this is a simple exercise for breaking up the stress patterns in not only the forefoot but also the middle part of the foot where longer second toes tends to lock this joint. If you didn't catch the last blog here is a simple version.

Stand with your feet about shoulder width wide. Bend your knees slightly and rock side to side rolling over your feet. If you have problems with balance hold onto the back of a chair. (You can even use two chairs.) do it for several seconds and try to do it several times a day particularly if you are in a standing profession.

3) Calf stretches. Again I mentioned this earlier but let me repeat. The calf muscles attempt to pull the foot flat while the foot tries to maintain an arch. So loosening the calf muscles also loosening the foot as well. Stretch the calf muscles daily if not several times a day.

4) Roll your feet on a simple foot roller. Rolling your feet causes the plantar muscles (the muscles on the bottom of the foot) to relax. There are a wide variety of foot roller styles to choose from. Use your roller daily to break up the pattern of stress associated with a longer second toe. Remember interrupt the stress and do it frequently.

5) Find a good reflexologist to work on your feet. This is an investment but like good shoes it is a good investment. And it is so soothing.

Next blog I plan to talk about an ancient technique that can be very helpful with longer second toes and the stress that comes with them. It is called takifumi and it is the hottest thing in Asia right now.

Until then.

Kevin Kunz

I used to work for wild oats

> I am working at a benefit walk this weekend, Saturday, October 20. I am giving
Reflexology sessions after the walk and wondered if anyone has experience with short sessions.

I used to do the employee benefit plan for Wild Oats Health Market. The "front end" employees (cashiers) had 15 minutes with me. That meant 7 and a 1/2 minutes per foot.

Walkers have the same issues but may be not as severe. Standing is harder on the feet and legs than walking.

What I focused on was loosening the foot. Cashiers in the US stand all day so reversing the effects is a key. Traction is a fast and simple technique.

I used a lot of techniques we developed called "Stride Replication". The techniques are basically cupping, tapping and percussion applied to the foot (and sometimes the hands.) the ball of the foot and the ankle are great targets for cupping. It causes the whole foot to relax and resets the proprioceptors. (These techniques are in our latest book, Complete Reflexology for Life

A quick pass through the endocrine glands and some desserts and you are onto the next foot.

I loved this job. It was fun. It also was very challenging. The challenge was different than working on a clients. It requires focus and flexibility.

One night as I was checking out from the service counter the guy behind the counter snapped my picture with a Polaroid camera. Next thing I know he is on the loudspeaker telling the store of the employees appreciation award I was being given.

I still run into people from Wild Oats who know me as the "foot guy". And I still have that award.

Kevin Kunz