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By using pressure to stimulate specific reflex points on the foot, toxins are released.

For 10 years, Diana Khoury lived the busy life of a corporate marketer in the music and software industries.

Then came the dot com crash and the opportunity to get out of the corporate rat race.

“I decided to change my career path,” explains the Monroe woman. “I really didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I did know that I wanted to be involved in some sort of helping profession.”

For ideas, Khoury went to the library and checked out books on various subjects. When she read a book on Reflexology, something clicked and she knew right away that was the field she wanted to pursue.

“I answered the call to be a healer,” she says.

After doing more research, Khoury found Seattle Reflexology and Massage Center and a year and a half later, she received her certification as a Professional Reflexologist.

Reflexology is a scientific art based on the premise that a virtual map of the entire body exists on the bottom of the feet.

By using pressure to stimulate specific reflex points on the foot, toxins are released and the corresponding area(s) of the body are positively affected. Khoury explains, “The body is always working to achieve a natural state of balance within. When imbalance occurs, illness, pain or disease may become present in the body. By stimulating these points, congestion and tension are released and the body’s natural tendency towards balance is restored. This moves the body into a state where its natural healing abilities can work at optimal levels.”

There is debate in the Reflexology community as to where and when this practice actually originated.

Some practitioners and scholars believe that it dates back 5,000 years to ancient Egypt, but all agree that working with the feet has been a focus of healing in cultures throughout the world since ancient times.

Khoury explains that the foundation of modern Reflexology was created by medical doctors in the U.S. in the early 20th century based on Dr. William Fitzgerald’s and Dr. Edwin Bowers’ work on Zone Therapy. The two physicians outlined 10 main zones of the body, demonstrating the interconnectedness of the entire body with the feet.

Dr. Joseph Shelby Riley, a student of Fitzgerald’s refined the techniques and created a basic map of Reflexology points on the bottom of the foot.

And Riley’s assistant, Eunice Ingham continued the research by refining Riley’s basic foot map until it became a map of the entire body. Ingham is often called the “Mother of Modern Reflexology” and is regarded as the founder of foot Reflexology as it is practiced today.

There are numerous benefits to Reflexology, including stress relief, relaxation, pain reduction, improved circulation and revitalized energy.

“Reflexology is a profound and effective healing practice,” comments Khoury, “and its benefits can be felt by anyone. I have clients of all ages, from all walks of life, who come for a variety of reasons. There are business professionals who come for stress relief, diabetics who come to improve their circulation, people with chronic pain who come to reduce their pain, women who seek to balance their hormones for their monthly cycle, for menopause or during pregnancy, and then there are busy moms who come to just relax in an environment where they don’t have to ‘do’ for anyone else.”

Khoury continues to explain that the duration of the benefits depends upon the client’s lifestyle, habits, attitude and beliefs. Ongoing relief can be experienced through regular sessions, which can also be viewed as preventative measures. Many people view Reflexology as simply foot massage, but Khoury is quick to correct by differentiating the two.

She says, “While both Reflexology and massage serve to relax the body and relieve stress, Reflexology is further able to access the nervous system and the internal organs and balance the body’s systems from the inside out. Some massage therapists offer Reflexology as part of their service. Many were given an overview of the practice as part of their training, however, a Professional Reflexologist completes over 200 hours of classroom instruction and practice specifically in the field of Reflexology before being award certification.”

In a typical session, the client removes shoes and socks, is given a brief foot bath and then lies down on a massage table with his/her feet elevated on a pillow.

The practitioner then does gentle relaxation work on each foot, followed by specific Reflexing, using a variety of movements.

During my session with Khoury, she kneaded and stroked my feet, used her thumbs to press along the sides of each foot, did some range of motion work to flex and extend my feet and ankles, held different points that correlated to my thyroid, pituitary and adrenal gland reflexes and performed other Reflexology actions that overall had a soothing, relaxing and almost narcoleptic affect on me.

At certain times, I could feel a tingle in a certain part of my body, signaling me that the work was targeting that particular area. Since I had come in with a specific issue, tightness and tension in my neck, shoulders and upper back (resulting from a condition called “frozen shoulder”) Khoury directed some of the session towards promoting circulation and alleviating these symptoms. As she applied firm and consistent pressure to those points on my feet corresponding to the affected areas, I felt some initial discomfort, which was soon followed by sweet relief. At the end of my session, I felt as if I had been given a total body massage and detoxification treatment, when in fact it had only been my feet that had been touched. My face color was better, I looked more at peace and I had a renewed sense of energy that had been lacking when I had walked through the door an hour ago.

Because only the feet are involved, Khoury views Reflexology as accessible to anyone. “It’s not invasive,” she says. “And yet, it’s so powerful. I just want to educate more people about it so that they don’t see it as some New Age treatment. It’s very grounded and real.”

For this practitioner, helping people to relax, balance and heal within their bodies is the ultimate reward. “By keeping my senses open and paying attention to body cues, I adjust what I do to best assist my clients and move them towards a further state of balance,” comments Khoury. “That’s the key. And for me, the greatest satisfaction is helping people make a positive difference in their lives.”

For more information, call: (360) 794-4428 or visit: www.banyanstudio.net/reflexology.