Amateur Reflexology vs Playing with Feet
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Somewhere, possibly, there's a dividing line where rubbing someone's feet [1] stops being foot massage, and starts being reflexology. Or at least that's the theory. It justifies large sums charged by institutions that train reflexologists [2], and the sale of countless books. Of course experience is beneficial, but the distinction may not actually be all that clear, for a number of reasons.
First of all, reflexology can depend on an emotional relationship. A professional may need to be 'better', because they won't have the instinctive knowledge of what's right and what's wrong that a friend or member of family will have. At the same time, the amateur ought to read around the field a little, to see what has previously been done.
Similarly, it seems implausible (especially without a method) that the 'maps' of the feet and their relation to the body are as cast-iron as some documents present them - the variation from individual to individual is greater than in most other forms of complementary healthcare. Reflexology is truly complementary, in that it makes no demands that the patient forego other forms of treatment, and doesn't conflict with them.
To be honest, what reflexology does best is to relax the patient (and, done properly, the reflexologist too), and in that context an amateur friend can easily be as good as a professional, if they don't have the right rapport with the 'patient'. Thankfully, reflexology is also one of the most forgiving of therapies, in that it's pretty hard to do any damage, even if you don't do any good, so why not give it a go? Learn-as-you-do is the way forward!
[1] Feet. Yuk. Wash first.
[2] And the large sums they charge back - £15-20 an hour for starters...
First of all, reflexology can depend on an emotional relationship. A professional may need to be 'better', because they won't have the instinctive knowledge of what's right and what's wrong that a friend or member of family will have. At the same time, the amateur ought to read around the field a little, to see what has previously been done.
Similarly, it seems implausible (especially without a method) that the 'maps' of the feet and their relation to the body are as cast-iron as some documents present them - the variation from individual to individual is greater than in most other forms of complementary healthcare. Reflexology is truly complementary, in that it makes no demands that the patient forego other forms of treatment, and doesn't conflict with them.
To be honest, what reflexology does best is to relax the patient (and, done properly, the reflexologist too), and in that context an amateur friend can easily be as good as a professional, if they don't have the right rapport with the 'patient'. Thankfully, reflexology is also one of the most forgiving of therapies, in that it's pretty hard to do any damage, even if you don't do any good, so why not give it a go? Learn-as-you-do is the way forward!
[1] Feet. Yuk. Wash first.
[2] And the large sums they charge back - £15-20 an hour for starters...
