REFLEXOLOGY

[jampot]

I am thinking of making an appointment for myself with a reflexologist as I feel quite stressed and sluggish. Does anyone use a reflexologist and if so how often should I attend?

Reflexology shoul dbe able to help you quite a bit with stress and sluggishness. Make sure you find one who uses the letters MAR (Member of the Association of Reflexologists).

You will probably need to go once a week/2 weeks to start with for maybe 6 sessions and then perhaps top-up sessions every couple of months if you want/need to.

This all depends on you and the reflexologist and maybe have a chat with her/him first to see what they think. HTH

hi jampot, I agree that reflexology will help you with stress and so on. When I first went, I had one session a week for 4 weeks (I think this is quite important as the effects are cumulative) and then felt SO much better that I went to once a fortnight for about 3 months and now I go once every 6 weeks (more for enjoyment that anything else!). I can't recommend it enough and I was hugely cynical when I first went.

Jampot, do you know someone round about here that does reflexology? I would like to start going too (more for relaxation time than anything really ).

Sorry to hijack your thread a bit

It's absolutely great! I go once a month when i can find the time! been going for years and years, i can even do it on myself and my mum when we're feeling out of sorts!! Go for it!

My mum believes it helped shrink her fibroid from the size of a tennis ball to a ping pong ball. her doctor was astonished and said it was impossible. she had gone for reflexo nearly every other day for a couple of weeks?months?before her op to remove the fibroid.

I'm a big fan of reflexology and would have it every night if I could. If you dont enjoy it the first time, do give it another shot as a few friends of mine have found it a bit weird and therefore not relaxing the first time but have gone on to relax and really enjoy it.
I hope you find a good reflexologist near you.

Message withdrawn

I found it so relaxing the first time I had it I was very nearly asleep

I'm such a twit Ignore my first post jampot, we don't even live in the same county

I blame the heat

I want to ask some questions about reflexology from anyone who actaully practices it or knows a lot about it from their own experiences.

I've been having regular sessions since Feb until the end of June. I started them as we have been ttc for 18 months and I was very stressed out about not conceiving and about work. The lady I saw is registered with all the right official bodies and is also a trained dietician, so she gave me lots of good advice about diet as well as the treatment.

I certainly felt much more relaxed with the reflexology, even though I haven't conceived yet. I stopped going when I went away on holiday then had an op when I got back which took me a long time to get over, so should be thinking about going again soon. However, I have a few niggles:
One is that the treatment was quite painful; more in some areas than others. The big toe massaging she did (which represents the pituitary gland) was agony!! She said it would be and talked me through it each time but I was just wondering if this is normal/reasonable? I had several other areas which also were painful but this was the worst.

The other issue is that she advised me to take a number of dietary supplements, as well as giving me info about different foods. I bought these supplements through a company which deals in natural medicine and they weren't cheap. Am I right in thinking she gets a commission from this?

I'm confused as to whether this is what happens when you look at alternative treatments (ie pay through the nose!). I'm sure she's not a fraud but I can't help feeling a wee bit uncomfortable about some of her advice, as it always meant paying for it. Am I being unreasonable?

Hi moomin, I can tell you a bit about the first part of your post. It is fairly normal for some parts of the foot to be more sensitive, and for you to feel a little discomfort there, however the reflexologist should not cause you pain. She should be able to tell which areas are sensitive and treat these gently so that you are not in agony. The big toe represents more than the pituitary gland, it also represents the head and can often be a bit sore if someone has a cold or is bunged up etc. There are different parts of the body represented in the big toe, and the most painful bit on practically everybody is on the inside of the toe at the bottom - it's hard to explain exactly, but if the reflexologist digs in there is it usually agony! She really shouldn't do it though!

I can't advise you on the supplements, as I'm not a dietician. I seem to remember reading somewhere that dieticians don't have to be registered anywhere and that anyone can claim to be one, but nutritionists do have to be qualified and registered, so maybe you should find one of those. I may be wrong though, so maybe someone else can help more with that,

HTH

hi moomin, caribbeanq is absolutely right, the big toe represents the head and mine is always in absolute agony during a reflexo sesh!! it also could mean that u are prone to headaches or migraines or other cranial problems, as i am prone to those!

the areas where you are more sensitive in usually signals that you suffer health problems in those areas and the reflexologist needs to pay more attention and concentrate on those areas. after several sessions, you will see the improvement in your health re:those areas, and possibly suffer less pain there (either that or u build up greater tolerance with each sesh?or u turn into a masochist??i dunno!) but the reflexologists in Malaysia are absolute , the more you complain of pain, the more they will insist on digging into that area!
"It's good for you!!!" they'll say!!but of course u should always let them know when it gets too much.

reflexologists here dont normally recommend supplements for us, but they do give us a special tea to drink during the treatment to flush away the toxins they've massaged out.

HTH

i am a practising reflexologist and can say that all therapists work differently. i firmly believe that reflex should never be painful. sensitive yes, and tender but agony is not something i would want to inflict. we work on many levels during treatment, the deeper the pressure the more of on impact on the physical being. very light touch is often seen as working more on the ethereal, subtle energies.

IF you tell her it hurts and you dont like it, she should use less pressure. its that simple. we all should work within our clients tolerance levels.

areas of sensitivity do usually indicate imblance in the corresponding part of the body. after 18 months i would have hoped to see an improvement in the tenderness to your big toe.... but i do not know your medical history.

complementary therapy is an holistic approach and as such each one can complement and enhance another therapy. suggesting diet changes is not unusual within a treatment but if not qualified in another area of therapy, specific supplements should not be recommneded. you say she is a dietician so she should know about supplements etc and i wouldnt necessarily say she is getting a commission. health food stuff is way expensive.

i agree that on the surface complementary therpies make you pay through the nose but unfortunately, despite many of us training at length and paying lots for our education, the NHS dont fund us. if it makes you feel any better ;o), check out chiro and osteo prices!!

hope this helps and do ask anything else you may want to know.

regards

rosie

caribbeabqueen,

please dont say such things like "Make sure you find one who uses the letters MAR (Member of the Association of Reflexologists). ".

MAR training has not been proven to be any better than ITEC, IFR, BRA, etc etc!!! it is misleading to say use MAR qualified therapists only.

certainly when finding a therapist one should be assured of training standards and qualifications but being MAR qualified does not make for the best therapist.

i would also suggest looking in YP, yell.com, thomson etc etc. i qualified with ITEC but am not a member because it costs quite a lot for not much, imo. i am reputably insured, so no worries on that. i attend further training courses, and constantly research my subject. i would feel quite happy if someone phoned and asked as many questions as they liked before booking.

the important thing is finding someone you gel with, have confidence in and enjoy sessions with.

regards

rosie

unfortunately i dont know where any of you are so i cant pass on details of therapists that i know of.

I thought re nutritionists and dieticians, it was dieticians who have to be registered. Ds2 sees a dietician on the nhs.

Rosies,

When I said MAR, I meant find someone you can be sure is properly trained and qualified and that you can check their qualifications. They are the main body I have had dealings with, so I used them as an example. I am aware there are other bodies not restricted solely to reflexology, but as I don't really know much about them, I didn't mention them.

Hope this clarifies things.

caribbeanqueen,

certainly a therapist should hold adequate qualifications, i dont dispute that.

i was pointing out that your statement can be misleading and by only suggesting MAR therapists it will eliminate many others, who are equally qualified.

unfortunately there is no one umbrella for therapies although moves are afoot . the sooner there is regulation so that we are all as qualified as each other, the better, imo.

it is confusing for folk to know who to choose... although instinct and a natural empathy will play a big part in who folk eventually trust their feet and bodies to.

just out of interest, are you an AoR qualified reflexologist?

regards

rosie

Rosies,

I agree with everything you are saying! It was an oversight on my part not to say there are other organisations, I hoped I had made that clear in my last message, but clearly I didn't so I apologise for that!

Yes, I am AoR qualified.

CQ

can I just jump in here (on this tit-for!!!!)
jampot reflexology is fantastic .. if you can afford it, find the right therapist for you, and it suits you.
One size does not fit all, but all I would say is it was totally relaxing and fantastically therapeutic for me... after awful first time delivery I wanted a beter 2nd..... and I think Reflexology helped me get that.

thank you cq... its just that i find the media in particular are always misinforming people regarding how to find a therapist. whenever i see articles relating to therapies, reflex for example, they only ever mention AoR and perhaps BRA. i think this is quite wrong because it excludes many very experienced and good therapists in people's search for treatments.

unicorn,

i am pleased that you have found reflex to be so beneficial. you are quite right that it is important to find someone that suits you ( and you them!).

regards

rosie