When mankind went barefoot, walking on sand or uneven ground, they were unknowingly stimulating the reflex points of the body. Nervous people pace back and forth, rub hands together, and bite their nails, and some even handle worry beads. By doing this, they unknowingly relieve their tensions by working on the reflex points. The surface of the skin, apart from being a receiver of external stimulus, also holds mirror images of the internal body organs. These images are reflected onto the soles, palms of the hands and ears and are called reflex areas or points.There is a circulation of vital energy between the organs of the body, permeating every living cell and tissue. When this energy becomes blocked, this block is reflected on the hands, body, head and feet, in one or more of the areas located there.

These blocks can be detected by experiencing pain or, by the presence of lump like or thickened areas, often referred to as ‘crystal deposits’. By applying varied amount of pressure using the thumb, knuckles, these imbalances can be corrected. This ancient healing art has been known to man for many thousands of years. It was first practiced by the early Indian, Chinese and Egyptian people, and evidence for this stems from an Egyptian tomb drawings, dating back to 2330 BC.

In 1917 Dr. William Fitzgerald, an American ear, nose and throat surgeon, introduced this therapy to the west. He noted that pressure on specific parts of the body could have an anaesthetizing effect on a related area. Further, he divided the body into ten equal and vertical zones-five on each side of the body-extending from each toe, up through the leg and the body, to the head and brain, and then down the arm to each finger. He concluded that pressure on one part of a zone could affect everything else within that zone. Thus, reflex areas on the feet and hands are linked to other areas and organs of the body within the same zone.

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