Types of Reflexology:

Hand Reflexology:

  • Hand reflexology is a massage technique that puts pressure on various reflex points around your hands.
  • The belief is that these points correlate to different body parts and that massaging the points can help to relieve symptoms in other areas of the body.

  • There’s limited research supporting the benefits of hand reflexology. Many of the studies looking at its effects have been very small and inconsistent.
  • However, these studies didn’t find any risks or negative health effects associated with hand reflexology (although pregnant women should avoid it, as explained below).
  • In addition, there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence from people who tried it and found relief.

Key Elements for Hand Reflexology:

There are some key elements in reflexology which can be known from a reflexology chart. These elements primarily include the reflex zones, the meridians and the dermatomes.

  • The reflexologists believe that there are 10 reflex zones in the body, i.e. five zones in the left side and five zones in the right side of the body.
  • There are 12 meridians in the body as per the Chinese philosophy
  • The Chinese philosophy believes that the dermatomes are the areas of the skin that are primarily supplied by a single nerve system.

It must be noted that though the reflexologists make use of this approach of ‘reflex zone therapy” so as to balance the nervous system by following the reflexology feet and hand charts; some hand reflexologists do not know how the reflexology in hand actually works. There are significant differences in the different reflexology hand charts.
Some reflexologists also say that the reflex zones in the body are only the “approximates” and may vary from one person to other.
 

Benefits of Hand Reflexology:

  1. Benefits of Hand Reflexology in Reducing Headaches: The tips of the thumb and fingers are the points where you can stimulate the nerves connected to head and temple region. Thus, by gently massaging and kneading the tips of the fingers and thumbs, you can gradually reduce the headache or an oncoming migraine.
  2. Benefits of Hand Reflexology in Reducing Back Pain: Hand reflexology is known to benefit you in reducing back pain. The sides of your hand around the thumb portion and the back area of your wrist joint are related to you back. So, you can reduce the back pain by gently massaging those areas of thumb and wrist joint.
  3. Hand Reflexology can be Beneficial in Reducing Shoulder Pain: Shoulder pain can be reduced by hand reflexology. All you need is concentrate the joints of each finger present on the topside of each hand. You need to massage them in clockwise gently from left to right.
  4. Hand Reflexology Benefits in Reducing Allergies: Hand reflexology is also known to benefit in reducing allergies. You can do it by applying pressure to the fleshy portion of the topside of your hand palm. You can find extra circulation of blood to the nasal passage and the throat area. This will aid in reducing allergies of throat.
  5. Benefits of Hand Reflexology in Reducing the Neck Pressure: Hand reflexology can also reduce the neck pressure. The region under the tips of the finger, i.e. the segment of each finger l to be massaged gently for reducing neck pressure.
  6. Hand Reflexology Benefits in Opening up Sinuses: Massaging the lengths of each finger slowly by focusing on the tips; one can help self in improving the blood circulation to his or her head and ear region, thus slowly oxygen flow can be increased in the portion.

 

Foot Reflexology:

  • Foot Reflexology is an ancient healing practice based on the principle that there are reflex points on the feet that correspond to the body’s different organs and glands.
  • The human foot is an evolutionary marvel, capable of handling hundreds of tons of force and your weight in motion.

  • It has 42 muscles, 26 bones, 33 joints, 250,000 sweat glands and at least 50 ligaments and tendons. In particular the feet has almost 15,000 nerve endings.
  • So, in reflexology pressure is applied to these reflexes on the feet, which promotes good health. Here are some health benefits of foot massage and reflexology:

Benefits of Reflexology:

Improves blood circulation:
Due to a sedentary lifestyle, we don’t use the feet muscles properly and wear tight footwear, all this hampers the circulation of feet. A 10 minutes of foot massage daily, helps in transporting oxygen to the body’s cells, which is essential for overall health.
Fights depression:
Foot massage and reflexology helps in fighting depression. Certain points on the feet are helpful in alleviating depression symptoms. Massaging these points or applying pressure to them for a few minutes 2 or 3 times a day can help relieve symptoms of depression.
Helps in relaxation:
After a tiring and stressful day, a foot massage is a soothing and relaxing way to relax. Massage and reflexology of 5 to 10 minutes before going to bed can improve feelings of general well-being.

Promotes better sleep:
The best time to do foot massage is before going to bed. A soothing and relaxing foot massage improves the blood circulation. This helps in getting a peaceful sleep.
Relieves body pains:
This is the best part of reflexology. If done carefully, it treats pains and aches such as headaches, migraines, neck pain, lower and upper backaches.
 

Ear Reflexology:

  • Ear reflexology is a fast-growing therapy. Like hand reflexology, ear reflexology can be applied quickly and easily in situations or health conditions where other forms of reflexology may not be suitable.

  • Every ear is unique and no two are alike – the ears are like the fingerprints and can be read to reveal our inner nature.
  • The points for ear reflexology are similar to those in auricular therapy, a.k.a. ear acupuncture. Pioneering work by Chinese doctors over the last 40 years has lead to the World Health Organisation authorising the standardisation of the points on the ear in 1990.

The Benefits of Ear Reflexology:

  • The basic principle of hand reflexology is derived from how the central nervous system works via a so-called ‘reflex arc’ – which induces a body reflex response without getting the brain involved (the so-called ‘primitive reflexes’ also work according this principle).
  • Ear Reflexology can benefit you in many ways, but the most notable is for the instant relief of pain. It can also be used for clearing infections, lowering blood pressure and balancing hormones.

  • In traditional Chinese medicine the ears are associated with the kidneys, which reflex our constitutional strength. The ears they are the same size and shape as the kidneys.
  • The WHO defined 91 auricular points, including: the master points (10 ear points), the functional I and II points (24 ear points), the digestive points (7 ear points), the endocrine glands & brain nuclei points (7 ear points), the head + skull and sensory points (12 ear points), the toracic points (7 ear points), and the abdominal & urogenital points (23 points).
  • Ear Reflexology is commonly used with foot and hand reflexology and can confirm a diagnosis suggested by imbalances in the feet and hand reflex points.