Reflexology for Stress: The Path Back to Being

Recently I learned that my friend, a reflexologist, reiki master and minister at The Home Spiritual Center has been guided to use vocal toning - and channeling her voice - at the crown of her clients. I would assume the modality is so effective because she's directing her sound into that toroidal field of the client which travels through the crown and through the body.

And it's the same for the reflexology ~ just opposite of the crown. Not only do I access your organs and body systems through the reflex points of the feet, but I access the field of your energy that flows back to your heart, and flows through the six meridians present in your feet.

With spiritual intention, pressure from my fingers, palms and knuckles, and the vibration of weighted tuning forks, my reflexology purpose is simply to clear congestions and activate the circulation of vital Chi energy, which revitalizes the whole body.

“When the waveforms of our electric body are harmonious, we have a harmonious experience of life. When they are restricted, distorted, clouded over, locked down, fearful - then we have that experience of life. Harmony is all around us - we have never left the Garden.”

~ Eileen Day McKusick

Sound Soles Reflexology is "Sound" Relaxation~

One of the most noticeable things about a reflexology session aided with tuning forks is the gradual feeling of letting go.

As you first settle into the treatment, I activate and hold up to your ears tuning forks from the Harmonic Spectrum set, following a sequence that promotes grounding and relaxation. Each fork used holds a different note of the scale (C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C). And each has a slightly different frequency. The sound waves travel through your ear drums, to your brain stem, and the brain processes the disparity between the frequencies and generates an internal "beat" that synchronizes brainwave activity. This process shifts the mind from high-frequency beta waves (active thinking) to lower-frequency alpha or theta waves (relaxation and meditation).

The shift encourages your body to gently relax. To allow your breathing to slow and to deepen as you listen to the tones of the sequence. Hopefully your muscles continue to soften as you sink in to the massage table and receive the sound. And hopefully you begin to let go of every distracting thought, and emotion going on in your day. And replace it with a feeling of love for your body ~ that resilient vessel that rises each day and carries you forward on your path to be-ing.

And it's my sincere hope that clients find the deep sense of worthiness that comes with a session of self-care. The inner voice that whispers, "You are worthy ... You are worthy to receive this pause in the day, and nurture your body, mind, and soul."

The aromatherapy and hot towel wrap soothe your senses and aid in this process of deep relaxation.

Some clients fall asleep. Which is a wonderful indicator that the parasympathetic nervous system is activating, allowing the body to shift out of "fight or flight" mode into a state of deep "rest and repair".

And when clients apologize for falling asleep, I usually chuckle and let them know it's great that they did so because it allows for greater receptivity of the treatment. Sleep minimizes the energy spent on movement and digestion, allowing resources to be redirected toward tissue regeneration, immune function, and cellular repair, so it's very complementary.

Whether you fall asleep or not, after spending so much time “do-ing,” simply lying still and receiving a luxurious reflexology treatment makes an impact on the stresses of life.

Reflexology and sound healing are so profoundly valuable together: they pave the path for soul level renewal and help the body walk the path ~ back to vitality and homeostasis. Back to be-ing in a do-ing world.

first of all,
I want to say
thank you

for the heart you kept beating
even when it was broken

for every answer you gave me in my gut

for loving me back
even when
I didn't know how to love you

for every time you recovered when I pushed you past our limits

for today,

for waking up.

--

This poem titled A Love Note to My Body by Cleo Wade captures the resiliency of our bodies as we experience the harsh truths of reality - heartache, sickness, and hopelessness.

As I sit here writing on the eve of August and the calendar turns to September, the scent of fall drifting in from the window, I reflect on all that I have accomplished, felt, thought about, and prayed for in the last 6 months. Every person I have encountered - whether well or sick. Every decision I wrestled with for days. It's a lot when I add it all up. Even though six months is a blip in the span of a lifetime, what comes into our lives in such a seemingly short time can be immense.

And so many of us ask too much from ourselves day after day ... after day.
Life never seems to slow down. And even when the day finally ends, our minds can keep going long after our bodies have stopped to rest.

Most people I know are actively on a path of growth. They have goals and desires for the future. This growth takes work. So even as we trudge the path to our be-ing, a place of inner peace and joy, we fill our days with do-ing.

What brings me peace this evening is knowing I have planned self-care moments for this week. Acupuncture and a visit to the EESystem ~ little gifts to myself, that will bring me the reminder to exhale and renew.

And rest.

That ... rest... is one of the reasons reflexology can be such a beautiful form of self-care for stress. It not only provides deep restoration on a cellular level, it offers an opportunity to step away from the demands of everyday life and give your body a chance to settle. And your mind a chance to consciously send love your body. Saying, "I've got you. I care for you. I thank you."

And why does it work so well for stress? Because...

Your Nervous System Is Always Listening ~

Your nervous system helps regulate many of the things you don't consciously have to think about like heart rate, breathing, digestion, blood pressure, and other essential functions. And it also responds to your environment.

So when you experience stress, your sympathetic nervous system helps prepare you to respond. Your heart rate may increase, muscles can become tense, breathing may become shallower, and digestion can take a back seat while your body prioritizes immediate action.

This response is incredibly useful when you actually need it. But the problem lies in the fact that modern day life and realities such as death, car accidents, job losses, and even what shows up on our screens to watch, can make it difficult to turn off that fight or flight response.

Our bodies spend too much time in a state of alertness and too little time in the restorative state associated with the parasympathetic nervous system - the “rest and digest" system.

Your Feet Will Lead You Back ~

As discussed in my last blog post, at Sound Soles, I practice Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Reflexology, working with the life force energy that flows along the energy meridians of the body.

Rather than thinking of the body as a collection of separate parts, TCM traditionally views it as an interconnected and interdependent system. And that stimulating the acupressure points may stimulate the piezoelectricity that modern science confirms resides within our collagen-rich tissues, like fascia.

At Sound Soles I work almost primarily through the feet ~ but the experience of tuning forks and reflexology together engages your whole person and your biofield, the invisible energy that surrounds you.

Research of the HeartMath Institute, identifies the human body as being surrounded by a measurable toroidal electromagnetic field generated primarily by the heart. This field has been detected 3 to 6 feet from the body and is 100 times stronger electrically and 5,000 times stronger magnetically than the brain's field.

The torus shape is defined by energy flowing out from the heart, curving around the body, and returning inward, traveling through the feet and up the legs back to the heart creating a self-sustaining loop. The electromagnetic nature of this field has been documented using magnetocardiography.

“There is no true healing unless there is a change in outlook, peace of mind, and inner happiness."

~ Dr Edward Bach
M.D., bacteriologist, homeopath, and spiritual writer, best known for developing the Bach flower remedies