Reflexology 101: Getting Off On the Right Foot

By: Gaia Staff  |  May 2, 2014

If you want to balance your body, relieve your bodily pain and relax, would you look to your foot first? Probably not, but that may just be because you haven’t explored foot reflexology.

According to practitioners, foot reflexology is a simple, non-invasive method to help balance the body. It has been described as a natural therapy that requires the application of a specific type of pressure on particular areas of the feet. It gets its school of thought from the principle that there are reflexes in the feet which correspond to every part of the body, so by understanding the “maps,” you can do anything from relaxation to improved circulation, and also add a general feeling of wellness. It’s like a massage for your feet…that affects your whole body!


Why is it so popular? Those who undergo treatments credit this therapy with:

  • Profound relaxation and stress management
  • Aches, pains and tension relief
  • Digestive and elimination solution
  • Improved sleep patterns
  • Increased mental and physical well being

As for the basics of how it works, foot reflexology simply refers to the reflexes that have been mapped out in the foot. There are many different foot reflexology charts that show where the reflexes are for every part of the body. Although it is like a massage, its principles are entirely different. It is thought that reflexology works through nerve endings, while massage focuses on the muscles and soft tissue of the body. This is where the practice gets its name; it works on the reflexes, not just the skin, muscle, or tissue. It should not be painful, though like in a massage there could be stressed areas of your body that are more tender or uncomfortable. However, the applied pressure to those areas, the less tender they will become.



The Basic Areas

Basic Areas


Basic Areas: Sole


This is a great beginners and professionals reflexology foot map. Learn the basics of these, and you will be able to provide solutions such as relief from blocked sinuses. For instance, you locate the sinuses area on the map above (tips of all the fingers and toes), repetitively squeeze and release the sinus area for twenty seconds on each finger or toe (begin on the right hand/ foot with thumb along to little finger, repeat on left hand/ foot), and gently rotate all the joints on each finger or toe (begin on the right hand/ foot with thumb along to little finger, repeat on left hand/ foot).

Basic Areas: Inside


This diagram focuses on movements to do with the spine, which is the most important reflexology area because it’s the super highway for all the talking your bones, nerves and muscles do with your brain.

![Basic Areas: Outside](/sites/default/files/reflexology4.gif” width=”300″>


Using this chart, you can perform something like pain relief for the shoulders. The proper technique here would be to find on the foot the part of the spine that is level with the shoulders (from bottom of big toe to where the ball of the foot finishes), locate the part of the spine that is level with the shoulder area (from the base of big toe to where ball of foot finishes), thumb walk this part on the spine area up and down for several minutes, and then thumb walk the entire shoulder area.

Basic Areas: Meridian Toe Points

Meridian Toe Points

When stimulating the meridian points, apply gentle but firm pressure to each point, moving in a clockwise, then counterclockwise motion.


Gaia Staff



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