The Case For Zones

I love the fact that because of Finger Free® Reflexology I get to travel all over the UK and also get to teach in many wonderful places in the rest of the world. There is one thing that is disturbingly common though, and that is the lack of knowledge in one of the key foundations to Reflexology......the Zones.

It seems that most schools teach Zones in their 'history of Reflexology' lesson, and very often this is early on in the course. Sadly what gets taught early then gets forgotten and then not added into a Reflexology treatment.

A Reflexologist should look at Zones as an acupuncturist would look at Meridians: They are a pathway for energy for the reflexes of the feet. If that pathway is blocked, the energy will stagnate and not flow freely. No wonder some reflexes will refuse to 'balance' like we want them to, or throw up strange reactions that we don't have an explanation for. If we regularly incorporate zone work into our practice, we can ensure the free movement of energy (also known as Chi or Prana) and this harmonious flow can then lead to better health.

Let me give you an example of how things can go wrong if you forget your Zones:

A client comes to your clinic and she repeatedly is getting eye infections. Each time you treat her feet have a very uncomfortable reaction over the kidney reflex, the reflex are also looks red and sore. If you are not remembering your Zones, you will probably ask if the client is drinking enough (thinking she could be dehydrated). You may think there is the possibility of a urinary tract infection or kidney stones. But she replies that she drinks plenty and she never has issues with her kidneys. Now you are at a loss. To top it all, when you work over her eyes, there is no reaction at all!

The answer is that both of these reflexes (the eye and the kidney) lie in Zone 2. The eye is not reacting as there is a blockage at the point of the kidney reflex, so no wonder it is red and sore! There is then a deficiency of energy to the eye and its reflex, causing the physical eye to be prone to infection and the reflex doesn't have any energy to do its job of helping create balance.

Working the kidney reflex and the whole of Zone 2 will then allow the flow of energy to be re-established and then when you go to work that eye reflex, it will respond as you had thought it should and the body's natural healing elements will do as they should have done to fight off the eye infection.

Conversely, you may have had a reaction to a reflex that just will not calm down. Don't worry: Work the entire zone. You might well find a huge reaction elsewhere along the line and if so, work this until it resolves - you have now cleared the blockage. Work the rest of the line and go back to the reflex that was sore and grumpy. Try working it again and it should now behave and balance nicely.

Enjoy working the Zones. They are what Reflexology is based upon and they are our history. They are there to help create better health :-)