Reflexology – More Than A Manual Therapy

I love reflexology and in the past I have seen great results using it for a wide range of ailments. 

What is reflexology? 

The way that reflexology works is that by working on reflex points in the feet, you are able to treat the entire body. To tell you the truth, if I hadn't seen for myself that it really works I would never believed in it. There is no science or psychology backing it up, it kind of like an proven theory. 

But still the fact of the matter is it works. 

When someone comes in with pain in any part of their body, I can find the tender area in the corresponding points in their feet. And very often when working on those points they can feel it though out their bodies. 

This is all really cool but what I wanted to talk about is the more holistic aspect of reflexology. 
 Holistically we understand that all of our physical ailments have an emotional cause. Much of the problem with western medicine is the lack of focus on this. We like to think of our bodies like we think of our cars, but our bodies are the house of our soul and are effected by the emotions in way that science is yet to understand. 

There are two ways to look at the emotional work in reflexology.

The one that I will explain is the four element approach. 

The foot is separated into for zones for the four elements, from top to bottom in the following order. 
•    Air
•    Fire
•    Water
•    Earth
Her is a picture of how it looks on the foot. 

 Each elemental zone corresponds to the emotions of that element. When working on the elements in reflexology we are trying to bring them into balance. 

Air 
Air is connected to thought and also our connection to the realm of the spiritual. 

Air is light and with out tangible substance, but is still the source of all life. 

When air is in balance we are able to think clearly, stay focused and control or thoughts. 

Fire
Fire is energy and action, it is also love, hate and anger. 

Fire can be a burning desire or a hot temper. 

Water
Water is the emotions of feeling, in a way water is the emotion of emotion. 

Water is the emotional way we process or life, and the way we process or emotions. 

It is also our ability to be flexible and adapt to change in our lives. 

Earth
Earth is connected to stability but also to sadness. It's our ability to create good boundaries and stand firm, but it can make us stuck and heavy. 

It can be an earthen vessel or quick sand. 

In the end what we need is balance.