ORIGINS

Reflexology methods date back at least 5,000 years to when the Chinese used a form of pressure therapy similar to acupuncture methods used today. There are also pictures of ancient Egyptians practicing a particular form of foot massage dating back to approximately 3,000BC.
In 1913, an American Ear, Nose and Throat specialist, Dr William H. Fitzgerald, began to research a theory of zone therapy whereby pressure placed on a certain area can inhibit pain in a related area, or zone. Fitzgerald identified 10 longitudinal zones in the body running from the fingers to the head and the head to the toes in equal segments throughout the body. He found that problems within a particular zone were often linked to other parts of the body within that zone.

Eunice D. Ingham developed Fitzgerald's ideas into the "Ingham Compression Method of Reflexology" where the whole body is treated by applying pressure to the related zones in the feet and hands. In addition to the longitudinal zones a German practitioner, Mrs Hanne Marquardt, identified three transverse zones in the body - the shoulder girdle, the waist and the pelvic floor. These can also be identified on the feet and hands to relate to the appropriate areas of the body. Modern use of Reflexology in Britain was highlighted by Mrs Doreen E. Bayly who studied under Eunice D. Ingham and started up the Bayly School of Reflexology in the 1960's.


AIMS

Reflexology aims to identify areas of the body which are out of balance and therefore not working efficiently. When massaging the reflex points, differences in how the areas feel can identify an imbalance in the related part of the body. By massaging that reflex, blood flow is stimulated, crystal deposits are broken down and nerve tension is reduced.