Table Of ContentSimple routines
for health and
relaxation
BARBARA KEVIN KU
&
hand
reflexology
imple routines for health and relaxation
BARBARA & KEVIN KUNZ
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
RUTH JENKINSON
LONDON, NEW YORK, MELBOURNE,
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Editor: Irene Lyford
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Arst publitjied in Grear Britain in ?.006
by Dorling Klndersley limited,
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A Penguin Company
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Copynght Q 2006
Do<tlng Kindersley Um11ed, London
Text copyright C 2006
Barbar> and Kevin Kunz
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CONTENTS
6 Introduction
8 Principles of reflexology
The history of reHexology JO • How renexology works 12
Renexology and zones 14 • Hand renexology maps 16
20 Benefits of reflexology
Why do people use hand renexology? 22 • Advantages
of hand renexology 24 • Renexology for everyone 26
Renexology research 29 • Renexology in medical care 30
Success stories 32 •Visiting a reHexologist 34
36 Taking care of your hands
Anatomy of the hand 38 • Ergonomics and the hands 40
Hands: an owner's manual 42 • Using self-help cools 44
Relaxation exercises 46 •
48 The hand-reflexology session
Preparing for a renexology session SO • Techniques S4
Hand desserts 60 • The complece hand·renexology
sequence 66 • Self-help hand desserts 82 •The complete
self-help hand-renexology sequence 86 •The complete golf
ball self-help hand-renexology sequence 102 • People wilh
specific needs 110 • Renexology at che office 114
Renexology on the move 116 • Renexology on the road 118
120 Reflexology to target health concerns
Using renexology for healch concerns 122 • Scress 124
Headaches 126 • Backache & neck pain 128 • Pain 130
Breasc cancer recovery 132 • Ocher healch concerns 134
Using renexology for hand concerns 140 • Keyboording
142 • Sporcing hands 144 •Tired & sore hands 146 • Carpal
tunnel syndrome 148 • Arthritis ISO • Hand injury 1S2
IS4 Finding a renexologist • Conraets
ISS Websices and further reading
IS6 Index
160 Acknowledgments
INTRODUCTION
Hands occupy a very special place in our lives: every Hand-reflexology work provides a simple fonmula: just
day, time and time again, we call upon them to perform as the bank takes our deposits and holds them ready
tasks that range from the mundane to the intricate, for our use, hand-reflexology techniques contribute to
from a gentle caress to exerting extreme force. Because our bank of "wellness standing" ready for the demands
of their special relationship with the body, the hands of a stressful day. Effective "savers" deposit regularly,
provide a unique opportunity for addressing health building up their balance for a rainy day.
concerns. Hand reflexology seizes the chance of While initial technique applic.ation of reflexology
enhancing not only your own life bur also that of addresses current strcssors, continued work triggers
others. Its techniques can provide busy hands with the healing response for which reflexology is known.
a respite from the demands of the day; but, more One client, for example, found that he could "tum off'
importantly, reAexology can change lives. From the his seasonal hay-fever sniffles after two weeks of using
worker whose livelihood is threatened by disability to a hand-reAexology technique. After this initial period,
the senior citizen seeking to live independently, hand his sniffle management took less and less time each day.
reflexology offers possibiliti~ of improvement and Hand reAexology offers a bite-sized approach to well
offers a path to pursue in times of need. being: the hand is always conveniently available, within
This point was driven home to us a number of years our reach when sitting at a red light or during
ago during a demonstration at a rehabilitation center. a quiet moment at the end of the day. It is there when
Following some hand-reflexology work, a stroke sufferer we seek to give someone the wanmth of touch or a pat
stood up and turned his anm around, windmill-fashion. of reassurance. Who among us hasn't held a toddler's
"What did you do to John?" asked an employee. In hand or reached out to comfort an ailing family
response to our puzzlement, the therapist explained, member? With a little more focus, such touch can tum
"He couldn"t do that with his par.llyzed anm before:· into the opportunity to trigger the body's own healing
From a gentle press to a focused effort, every move powers through hand reflexology's techniques.
you make as you apply reflexology techniques is a step The magic of reflexology lies in its empowerment,
toward a happier, healthier, and more productive life. in the knowledge that by acquiring these skills, one
Whether your Interest Is In helping yourself or another, can create change, with one hand helping another. As
hand reflexology is a life-long skill that can help to you read through this book, experience at first hand
maintain self-sufficiency Relief of common health the power of what you can do for yourself and others.
concerns, improved flexibility of the hands, and overall
relaxation ... all are possible with hand-reflexology work.
The hands' unique relationship with our bodies links
them into our stress mechanism. It is little wonder that
wringing one's hands during times of stress is a natural
and instinctive auempt to interrupt the tension of the
moment. Hands are, after all, integral to our survival
responses, ready to spring into action when needed.
PRJNCIPLES OF
R_EFLEXOLOGY
In this ancient therapeutic practice, a variety of
pressure techniques are applied to reflex areas
of the hands and feet to stimulate responses in
corresponding parts of the body. The resulting
relaxation has a profoundly beneficial effect on
health, preventing disease, reducing pain, and
generally improving quality of life. In this
chapter, we trace the history of reflexology
and examine how and why it works.
10 PRINCIPLES OF REFLEXOLOGY
THE HISTOR.Y OF
R.EFLEXOLOGY
From ancient times to the present day, reflexology has helped humans maintain health and well-being; its
use as a medical practice throughout history is well documented. Although details of the early work are
lost in time, archeological clues indicate that reflexology has been rediscovered and reinstated as a health
practice time and time again by peoples around the globe seeking to deal with health concerns.
From Egypt to Japan, in China and throughout Asia, marching to battle. Later, in ancient Egypt, around SO
artefacts tracing the ancient history of reRexology have oo:, Roman emperor Octavian noted Mark Anthony's
been discovered by archaeologists. Although details of "pathetic" enslavement to Oeopatra, commenting that
the exact principles and techniques are lost to us, the he even massaged her feet at dinner parties - giving
discoveries that have been made testify to the role her an early reflexology treatment.
that this ancient therapy has long played in the health
and well-being of people around the world. BUDDHISM A D ASIAi; CULTUR.ES
References to the association of feet and hands with
R.EFLEXOLOGY I ANCIENT EGYPT health and medicine is found throughout Asia. Some
Among the oldest relics are pictographs of hand and 5,000 years ago in China, the medical text Hwang Tee
foot reflexology dating from 2330 aa, which were fncemof Texc included The Method of Toe Observations. In
discovered at the Tomb of the Physician In Saqqara, Nara, Japan, the Yokushiji (Medicine Teacher] Temple
Egypt. Carved Imo stone, these pictographs are included includes a bronze statue of the "Healing Buddha" with
with others showing medical practices of the time. depictions carved onto the feet and hands. Also on
Temple grounds is the Bussokudo, a building housing
The Egyptian pictographs the famous stone bearing the footprint of Buddha
are among the oldest known (Bus-soku-sekl'). "Medicine Buddha" figures have been
found across Asia as well as "Buddha's footprints" dating
depictions of medical care. From 400 !CI. These include similar depictions carved
onto the feet and hands. While much of the meaning
When translated, the hieroglyphs' message resonates of these artefacts has been lost In history, their presence
with today's renexologists: "Don't hurt me;' to which testifies to the importance of feet and hands in
the physician replies, "I shall act so you praise me." Buddhism and in cultures across Asia.
Further references to reflexology span later years
in ancient Egyptian history. The victory of Ramses II at UNDERSTAND! G THE R.EFLEX
Qadesh in 1276 BCI is commemorated with a carving in Why all this interest in reflexology? The answer lies
an obelisk at the temple of Amon at Kamak. A worker perhaps in reRexology's more recent history. Discoveries
is depicted tending to the feet of footsore soldiers made by researchers exploring the nervous system in
THE HISTORY OF REFLEXOLOGY 11
One of the earl est depictions of foot and hand therapy as different organs and specific areas of the skin in a
part of medical care is illustraled in this wall pa1nung from model known as "Head's Zones." Reflex zone massage
an Egyptian tomb, dating from 2330 ecc. was launched in Germany and, In the United States,
Dr. William Fingerald (1872-1942) developed his system
the mid to late J800s showed the potential of the reflex
as a health tool. As medical doctors in the United The reflex was seen as a
Kingdom, Russia, and Germany sought to understand window of opportunity for the
how the nervous S)'Slem woro, altemitive schools of
thought, research efforts, and published a11icles were provision of health treatment.
directed toward the reflex, which was seen to offer an
oppo11unlty for the provision of health treatment. of "zone therapy," which he used in his eye, ear, nose,
Physicians of the late nineteenth century and early and throat practice. His ideas were picked up and
twentieth century began to utilize reflex treatment and, developed, most notably by physiotherapist Eunice
in 1917, Russian physician V. M. Bekhterev (1857--1957] Ingham (1879-19741 who extended the original simple
coined the term reflexolog)( British physician Sir Henry ten-zone concept, mapping the reflex areas of the hands
Head (1861-1940) developed ideas for the therapeutlc and feet and their corresponding body parts. Her woric
uses of reflex actions, mapping the connection between of 1938 marics the beginnings of today's reflexology.
1 l PRINCIPLES OF REFLEXOLOGY
The h~nd is a sensory organ,
capable of receiving and
commumcatmg sensauons
such as pressure. stretch. and
movement Hand reflexology
uses tlus ability to send a
message of relaxation to the
body, resulting m an improved
re)pom<! to daily stresses.
HOW REFLEXOLOGY WORKS I l
HOW REFLEXOLOGY
OR.KS
Hands reach out to touch the world, befriending and defending as well as picking up the pieces when
necessary, and helping us to survive. Pressure sensors in the hands give us the ability to communicate
with others and to manipulate our surroundings, carrying out the daily tasks that make up our lives,
and using the tools and equipment that we routinely employ in the performance of those tasks.
At the most fundamental level, the hands are essential techniques, the worlc interrupts panems or stress and
to our survival, creating shelter, providing food, and prompts a general, whole-body relaxation response. If
nurturing our young. In times of danger, the hands practiced sufficiently often, reflexology worlc not only
participate in the overall body reaction that ensures interrupts stress but also conditions an improved
survival. This reaction is commonly known as the "fight response to it.
or Right response" because it enables the body to gear
its internal organs and muscles to respond to either Refl~ology works as a stress
eventuality. The sudden adrenaline SU'ie that enables a reducer in the nervous system,
person to lift a car following an ;iccident is an example
promoting beneficial effects
of this extraorolnary response to stress.
on the whole body.
I ER.R.UPTING STR.ESS PATIER. 15
The same stress mechanism is also at worlc as we Reflexology techniques provide stimulus to pressure
respond to the demands or the day. When sustained, sensors or the hands, prompting a reflexive response
however, such stress creates wear and tear on the body. throughout the body, including on its internal organs.
Accoroing to researcher Hans Selye [1907-19821 75 A reflex effect occurs as the body automatically and
percent of all Illnesses are stress-related. He argued that unconsciously resets its stress mechanism. When
interrupting the panern of stress provides a break In reflexology techniques are applied to a specific part
the routine, thereby resolving the wear..:ind-tear effect or of the hand, a specific relaxation response occurs in
continuous stress. Hand-reflexology worlc taps Into this a corresponding body part reflexo!ogy maps or the
relationship, Interrupting stress and helping to reset the hands show this relationship (stt pages 16-19).
body's overall tension level. As the hand responds to Reflexology worlc affects the body in three ways:
the new sensory expeliences of reflexology's pressure a general relaxation response, a specific reflex effect,
and a rejuvenation of the hand itsel[ It also improves
Continuing use of reflexology the flexibility or the hand and helps to develop hand
results in improved response awareness, thus lessening the potential for injury. In sum,
reflexology worl<s as a stress reducer in the nervous
to the stresses of the day. system prompting an effect on the whole body.
