Dawit Healing

Having been exposed to both Eastern and Western styles of Reflexology, I saw advantages and disadvantages in both styles of Reflexology. Western style Reflexology does a wonderful job of working the whole foot. However, the sessions tend to be long, lasting usually an hour, are applied once a week and can be expensive. Because I see a lot of people, time is of the essence and working on someones feet for an hour is not an option. Furthermore, I would rather see a client in need of Reflexology two to three times a week instead of once a week. If you suffer from Chronic Fatigue or Fibromyalgia, coming in a two to three times a week will allow for healing to occur much faster. So why not charge less and come in more often to maximize results? Western style Reflexology is also more gentle than its Eastern counterpart. In the first few sessions, it’s OK to be more gentle, but after that it’s good to really get in there to get a therapuetic affect. Western Reflexology usually has more “thumb rolling” movements.

In contrast, Chinese Reflexology can be a little too strong, are often done three to five times a week and focus is usually restricted to the areas of illness. In China, there are many more people so in order to get everyone a session, Reflexology sessions tend to be shorter (5-10 minutes) and focused on the affected areas and not the whole foot. Chinese Reflexology uses more sliding and gliding movements with acupressure.

The happy medium is what I have found works great. Reflexology sessions of 20-30 minutes suffice. This allows for cheaper sessions and it also allows for people to come in more often. Those with Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Menstrual Disorders and Infertility would greatly benefit from multiple sessions of Reflexology per week. Working the whole foot while focusing on the affected area is good because healing will occur much more quickly. Being more gentle in the first few sessions and progressively getting deeper into the foot is very therapuetic. I predominately use sliding, gliding and acupressure techniques. Finally, with my background in acupuncture, I can stimulate all six meridians in the leg to enhance the relaxing yet invigorating quality of Reflexology

Filed under: Home on September 30th, 2007