Run Off My Feet

End of An Era and No One Knows what the Future Holds

The end of the school year, work reopening and the process of moving my parents all collided the end of June and beginning of July. Plus father's day, an 18th birthday, a 16th birthday, my mom's birthday, our 21st anniversary, and the graduation that wasn't. So time for blogging is few and far between. 

The farm has been in my family since 1913, and since the 70s, my parents have also farmed my grandmother's family homestead. That's over a hundred years of deep roots to dig up since they have sold it to a neighbour and decided to move to town. It took the whole first week of July to just deal with the clutter that needed to be disposed of properly. Paint cans, electronics and glass were hauled to the transfer station for recycling. A load of building supplies to the Habitat for Humanity Re Store, another to the thrift store. Anything that can be recycled or repurposed is something that stays out the garbage.

My favorite part of this picture is the black
cat sitting on the post under a full moon. 

It's not just the physical work of cleaning out sheds and hauling stuff from the basement. It's also the emotional tole that it takes on all of us. Everything on the farm was built and used by my great-grandparents, my grandparents, my parents, my brother and I, and my kids. I see our sweat and our pride everywhere I turn. The barn is over a hundred years old, and my great-grandparents lived in half of it until their house was built the following year. My grandparents saw the advent of some machinery without horses, plumbing, phones, and electricity. My parents spent a lifetime not only modernizing the farm, but also creating an oasis of green on the dry, hot prairie. My dad started life farming with horses and attending a one room school house. By the time he retired, he was using zero till and GPS.

The family that bought the farm are neighbours and friends.  He babysat my brother and I when we were kids. Our kids played together as children. They have been renting the land since Dad retired and have always treated it as their own (this is not true of all renters). If it can't stay in my family, there is no one else that I would rather have it. Another generation of farmers will grow up there. 

Reflexology - Hand and Foot

The Physician's Tomb contained paintings and hieroglyphics 
of hand and foot reflexology. 
This is hanging in my massage room, printed on papyrus. 

Reflexology is my favourite treatment to receive and one of my favourites to give. To me, nothing can beat a hand or foot massage! Depending on your practitioner, you can have a wide variety of philosophies and practices with reflexology. Some view it as part of a medical treatment (such as Chinese Medicine) and will use the session to diagnose ailments. Some only practice reflexology and nothing else and are purists in terms of their techniques. Some feel that it's just a nice foot rub. It's a huge spectrum.

Although I have been a reflexologist almost as long as I have been a massage therapist, I'm still an RMT first. Any study I do or technique I add to my practice, I do it through the lens of massage. I would never use reflexology to diagnose a problem (not a doctor, can't diagnose even if I wanted to) because my mind is always going to past injuries, gait analysis, compensating pain and shoe wear. There are just too many factors and influences on our feet.

The basic premise of reflexology is that there are zones in certain areas of our body, most notably the feet, hands and ears, that influence or are connected to other areas of our body. Although some are skeletal-muscular, the vast majority are organs, lymph nodes, glands and the nervous system. Some reflexologists have had great success assisting women who's pregnancies are reluctant to end.

I have studied reflexology and practice both hand and foot, but I won't pretend that I have a deep understanding of it. At my core, I'm a very concrete person, but I have seen the results and felt the results, so there is a dichotomy of the physical and energy work that I have not been able to resolve. At the moment, I'm OK with that. I'm not here to convince anyone, one way or another. Although I have strong opinions, I have rarely been black and white on a subject. There is almost never just one right answer.

The thing about scientific studies is that they are expensive, and usually funded by pharmaceutical companies and universities (who train doctors in western medicine). There isn't a lot of motivation to study alternative therapies. So most of the research in non western methods do tend to be about cancer, they have a lot of funding and a lot of willing research participants to try something that might help. Currently, most of the scientific studies (that I'm aware of - I'll be honest, it's been a while since I've looked) about reflexology have been about pain and symptom management in cancer patients. These generally show a positive effect from treatment. 

I have a new massage table in my treatment room
that props up for reflexology

A reflexology treatment feels quite different from a foot massage. Rather than a stroking motion with lotion or oil, pressure is quite deep on a point, then released and moved to the next point. The reflexologist will follow a routine which ensures complete coverage of the whole area. It's not unusual for spots to be quite sensitive or even painful. The feet can accumulate minerals like calcium that feel like salt or sugar crystals under the skin. I follow the reflex points with a calf or forearm massage to loosen the muscles that connect to the feet or hands.

Foot reflexology is the most widely known

Reflexology promotes circulation, making it an ideal treatment for diabetics, lymphatic concerns, gout, arthritis, or anyone who experiences edema or swelling. It has a positive effect on pain management by lowering cortisol and increasing endorphines, so I recommend it for injuries that are too acute to work on directly (like a recent surgery or whiplash). Foot reflexology also relieves foot pain for people who are on cement floors all day or have footwear that causes pain and fatigue (like high heels or work boots). It's my top recommendation for plantar fasciitis, bunions, and recovering ankle sprains.

Hand reflexology is an excellent option

Hand reflexology relieves hand and arm pain for people on computers or work with tools. I usually perform a hand reflexology treatment at a manicure table with the clients forearms resting on a pillow. After the reflexology techniques on the hands, I continue on with a deep tissue treatment up the forearms, to just above the elbow. It's an excellent treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, texter's thumb, and trigger finger.

Ear reflexology is more common in
Eastern traditions than Western

An acuflex or similar tools help save
wear and tear on the therapists thumbs.
They can also be used for self massage at home.