Why engage in energy therapies?

If we look at the big picture, we see that we live in a precarious time!  In Canada, we have this tsunami of seniors turning 65 each year.  Our population is aging and we are living longer (but not necessarily better).  Our health care system is teetering on disaster due to underfunding.  Our health care workers are facing increased stress and more difficult working conditions.  Chronic diseases are on the rise.  We are seeing a dramatic increase in type 2 diabetes and cancer diagnoses are exploding.  Does this suggest that there is a safety net there for us?
I think not!!  Quite honestly, it is not the governments responsibility to keep you healthy.  It is a personal responsibility to be healthy.  This entails conscious decisions concerning our diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, and engaging in activities which will promote the natural healing of our bodies.
One of the ways we can help to promote balance and healing is the modality of reflexology.  It has been around for 4 thousand years.  Reflexology is similar to acupressure and acupuncture.  It is concerned with allowing the energy to flow freely through out the body thus allowing the healing to be done from within.  We were not created to be in "Dis ease".  We were created to be well and the body has the ability to heal naturally. 
We have not been made aware of reflexology or other natural healing therapies because our modis operendi in treating people in North America has been by way of prescriptions (which incidentally has only been around for a couple of hundred years, if that).  Instead of running to the pharmacy for some over the counter medication which will only mask the underlying issue, consider a preventative approach to health by making better choices in food products, exercise, stress management, sleep, water intake, and engagement in natural therapies to promote balance and healing.  Yes, change is scary and difficult for many!  Consider the alternative.  Studies suggest that failure to embrace this change will result in the last ten years of your life being lived in pain and disease.  I for one, appreciate my health and wish to keep it!!      

Sevenvid1 b Sick Tired and Broke

Reflexology and pH Balance

 

Reflexology and the pH Balance of the Body.  This is what has been known for centuries “life is all about balance.”

  By Julie Wilson, Certified Reflexologist, Wilson and Reynolds Reflexology

Are you wondering how Reflexology and our pH balance are connected, let me explain.  Please keep in mind this information is not based on research studies or any scientific proof and only the opinion of the writer.

Reflexology provides the body the opportunity to relax, reduce stress and tension, increase circulation, as well as to help the body heal itself.

Reflexology works all the systems of the body to keep energy flowing, breaking up any restrictions which in turn keeps the body balanced.  When we say balance, we are talking pH balance.  The heart pumps blood throughout the body, opening up blood vessels, veins and arteries.  Good blood circulation is crucial for the overall health of the body since blood is responsible for bringing oxygen and essential nutrients and to the entire body. That’s why the body cannot by any means function properly if the blood circulation is poor. This allows disease and illness to set in.

Working the entire foot with foot reflexology, roughly half an hour on each foot will significantly increase circulation as well as provide many other benefits. Working the foot and/ or hands aids in digestion; helping to move the excess acid, also referred to as toxic waste, out of the body.  The immune and autoimmune systems are also stimulated to fight against acid build up in joints and muscles.  Reflexology works the endocrine system.  Our glands all work together just like a well oiled machine.  Balance relates to the glandular functioning of your body, or homeostasis. Homeostasis is really just a biochemical balancing act played every day of our lives by our endocrine glands.  Homeostasis is the medical term used for the body's internal balancing act. It means that our unconscious body functions such as body temperature and glandular secretions are working for us to keep us alive and functioning.

This was just mentioning a few of the bodies systems and the effect of reflexology.  As I mentioned before, all the systems of the body are worked and each system has an important role in aiding our pH balance.

pH stands for power of hydrogen, which is a measurement of the hydrogen ion concentration in the body. The total pH scale ranges from 1 to 14, with 7 considered to be neutral. The lower the pH number, the greater the acidity, and the higher the pH number, the greater the alkalinity.  Our ideal pH is slightly alkaline - 7.20. You can test your pH levels regularly by using a piece of litmus paper in your saliva or urine first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything.

Human body pH balance is key. Failure to maintain an alkaline pH in our tissues and cells will hurt our cellular health. Too much acidity (too little alkalinity) can cause weight gain. Cancer cells, disease-causing bacteria, fungus, viruses and parasites can thrive in acidic body tissue. A combination of a good alkaline diet, the water you drink, the air you breathe, the amount of sunlight you are exposed to, how well you sleep, the amount of stress in your life, and how often you get physical exercise, can have a profound effect on the pH level of your body. This will affect how healthy you are and how long you will live. Read more by Marcus Julian Felicetti on all the systems of the body and how they respond to acid and alkaline in the body.

Diet, eating the recommended ratios of acidic/alkaline foods daily (for examples see chart and food list below), Exercise (read more here ) will keep oxygen flowing and this is where Reflexology comes in!  Regular Reflexology treatments combined with diet and exercise is a part of the whole. Assisting in balance to feel your best and look your best!

 

 

Reflexology 101

                                                                                                                 

Reflexology 101  

Complementary therapies can be used in addition to the treatments prescribed by a doctor. There are many different types of complementary therapies and it is important to choose one that fits your needs best. Some of the more common types are; therapeutic touch, reiki, aromatherapy, massage, visualization and mediation. There is another natural healing therapy that is regaining popularity, that has proven over centuries to be not only relaxing but offer tremendous benefits to your health, Reflexology.

Reflexology has been around for thousands of years. Its origin can be traced back to Ancient China.  Hieroglyphics were discovered in Egypt dating back to 2500 BC.  Through the centuries, reflexology has evolved, from what was first known as zone theory to what is now known as reflexology.  Reflexology is based on the principal that the body is mirrored on the bottom of the feet and on the hands.  By stimulating with light to firm pressure on those pressure points and reflexes, positive changes take place within the corresponding parts, organs and glands of the body.  

The feet and hands have 1000’s of nerve endings that act as sensory receptors which influence all the systems of the body. By stimulating nerves and specific reflex areas on the feet and/or hands, one can stimulate blood flow and eliminate toxin buildup in the corresponding organs.  Reflexology works to put the body in a state of well-being, beneficial to every system of the body.

Reflexology is suitable for all ages and has proven to bring relief from a wide range of chronic and acute conditions.  Foot reflexology treatments are very beneficial in reducing daily stress and tension.  Our society now has a better understanding between the correlation of stress and disease. We must now actively engage in activities and therapies to manage our stress.    

Hand reflexology is ideal to use in self treatment and at times when foot reflexology is not possible.  Working the hands is a wonderful form of contact and communicating with each other.  Although the hands are not as sensitive as the feet, it is still effective in bringing about relaxation throughout the whole body.

Reflexology has four main benefits: relaxation, increased circulation, reduction of stress and homeostasis (the ability of the body to heal itself).  These four main benefits can provide relief for such conditions as diabetes, inflammation, insomnia, digestive issues, constipation, muscle and joint pain and more. It helps reduce body tension and definitely brings a sense of relaxation.   The body also produces its own natural painkillers, known as endorphins, which are released during a reflexology treatment.

 

Reflexologists do not claim to extend the life of their clients, but assist in the quality of it.  Maybe that will mean a day free of pain for one person or a week of regular bowel movements, or a good night’s sleep for another. The body is not machine, but similar to machinery our bodies require a regular maintenance program. A Reflexology maintenance program might be planned weekly, bi-weekly, monthly depending on each individuals specific needs.

This article was provided by Wilson and Reynolds Reflexology and the Reflexology Training Academy of Canada.  www.wilsonandreynolds.ca      www.reflexologytrainingacademy.ca  1-866-491-5566

Reflexology Research Cancer Care

Reflexology Research

Industry leaders Kevin Kuntz and his wife Barbara, have researched, taught, practiced and documented reflexology for more than 30 years.

Unfortunately these studies did not take place in Canada but I beg to differ the outcomes would not be the same!

 Below are their findings on Reflexology and Cancer care.  Pleasing results!


Results from 24 studies conducted by nurses in ten countries are reported in Medical Applications of Reflexology: Findings in Research about Cancer Care (Kunz, Barbara and Kevin, RRP Press,2011).

The results show that reflexology helps cancer patients improve the physical and emotional symptoms of the cancer experience. From chemotherapy to symptom management and from postoperative care to palliative care, research demonstrates reflexology’s effectiveness at alleviating pain, relieving anxiety, easing nausea and more for cancer patients.

For the 28 million people fighting cancer worldwide and the 1.3 million diagnosed each year in the US alone, findings from the reflexology research offer potential, potential for improved quality of life and easing of their symptoms. Speaking to such potential are the results realized by the total of 1,173 cancer patients participating in the 24 studies:

• In eleven studies totalling 697 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, reflexology was found to be effective at in easing symptoms such as nausea vomiting, fatigue and anxiety.

• For those under cancer care with concerns about management of symptoms, six studies of reflexology which included a total of 255 patients demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing pain and anxiety
• Two studies of post operative cancer patients including a total of 89 cancer patients noted results of lessened pain and anxiety reported by patients to whom reflexology was applied as well as significantly less use of analgesics.
• Five studies of reflexology applied to a total of 69 cancer patients in palliative care found that reflexology helped with alleviation.

Mark initiated the Reflexology program in Hopespring's Cancer Centre in Waterloo, Ontario and after 2 years became the most sought after healing therapy to Cancer survivors!


If you would like to read about other Reflexology research projects and outcomes with Kunz and Kunz go to http://www.reflexology-research.com/ 

With seeing such a need for more research and with the positive results, more reflexologists are needed.  If you would like to become a certified Reflexologist the next course starts February 23rd, 2013.  Visit www.reflexologytrainingacademy.ca  for more details and registration.
For more information about us Wilson and Reynolds Reflexology go to www.wilsonandreynolds.ca