Reflexology and Hormones: More Than a Foot Massage

When I tell people that I am a reflexologist, and that I can support them to balance their hormones simply by massaging their feet, most of them look at me like I’m crazy! They may be right, but crazy or not, that is what I do for a living, and it is an absolute joy to support women in all stages of their life.

I have been a reflexologist now for over a decade, and I began my training after my own incredible experience of being a reflexology case study when I was deep in the infertility trenches. I had been trying for my second child for many years, and I had almost lost my life with an ectopic pregnancy. I was completely broken when I laid my weary body on that reflexology couch, but just 10 weeks later I was a totally different woman, who happened to be pregnant with her second baby! (Coincidentally, that woman also went on to have her third baby just 18 months after the arrival of her beautiful daughter.)

Reflexology is so much more than just a foot massage; it is one of the most empowering holistic tools I have ever encountered. When a client comes to me, she is very often in that same broken state that I was in when I first experienced the magic of reflexology and hormones. Stress levels are high, sleep is often not good, boundaries are minimal, and nutrition might not be at the forefront of her thoughts. These are the symptoms of modern life, and in my role, I can support women holistically to look at these areas and make some small lifestyle changes that can have a significant impact on everyday life. I then combine this with the incredible power of weekly, deeply relaxing, reflexology treatments and the results can be life changing.

What is reflexology and how might it support you?

Reflexology is a non-invasive, relaxing, holistic therapy. It can look and feel like a simple foot massage, but reflexology involves the therapist working on reflex points on the feet or hands, which are believed to correspond to various organs and areas of the body.

You can find foot maps on the internet and in books that show you the position of all the reflex points, but essentially the head reflexes are at the top of the feet across the toes, the pelvis is at the heels and around the ankles, and the organs in the middle of the body, are in the middle of the feet. The Spine runs down the inside of both feet from the big toe to the heel.

Reflexologists believe that by working on reflex points they can help clear blockages in different zones of energy flow and help the body to balance and heal itself.

As a reflexologist, I look at the feet as a reflection of your whole body, and each mark, colour change, temperature change and area of dry skin, tells me something about you, your health and wellbeing. Often, I will also pick up the energy of how someone is feeling, just by placing my hands on the soles of their feet.

As with other holistic treatments, reflexologists cannot claim to “cure” anything, and we never do. But there is increasing evidence that shows that foot reflexology can:

• Relieve stress
• Improve sleep patterns
• Bring deep relaxation, which is extremely helpful in calming the nervous system helping it to function more effectively
• Improve mood and sense of wellbeing

How does reflexology support hormonal balance?

When I started offering reflexology treatments many years ago, women would leave me after a treatment reporting that they “just felt better,” which was brilliant, but I really wanted to understand why that was, and hone my skills so that I could support them with specific issues and help them feel even better.

So, I trained in Reproflexology with a fabulous tutor called Barbara Scott (MARR), founder of the Association of Reproductive Reflexologists. I learned techniques and acquired deep knowledge on how to support couples on their fertility journey, through both natural and assisted conception.

This part of my work is very close to my heart and is an absolute joy. My current success rate for supporting couples to conceive and deliver happy, healthy, babies is 71%, which is in line with the 68% success rate in the research from Barbara Scott’s book, Reflexology for Fertility: A Practitioners Guide to Natural and Assisted Conception (2016).

I am finding similar positive hormonal shifts in the clients I work with who are experiencing difficult menopause symptoms, so what is going on?

Well, stress is, without doubt, the biggest culprit when it comes to messing with our hormones, and indeed most of the systems within our body. Stress causes cortisol levels to increase in the body and this messes with our hormone receptors that are supposed to be busy responding to the other hormones we need for a harmonious existence.

My menopause reflexology tutor, Sally Earlam (MAR), taught me this useful explanation: imagine that all your hormones are in a choir, and they need to all sing their own note to make a harmony. When you have an imbalance, some sing off key or too loudly and some are too quiet, so it sounds terrible! This is what is happening when stress creates too much loud, out of tune cortisol.

This, combined with eating highly processed foods, not sleeping well because of stress and cortisol, and spending too much time indoors, can really play havoc with our hormones and our general wellbeing.

Reflexology, alongside the small lifestyle changes that I mentioned earlier, supports the body to return to homeostasis, by providing deep relaxation and a place to be quiet and reflective. The stress begins to melt away, women begin to feel more in control of their own lives, thoughts, and feelings, they start to sleep better, and hormones begin to rebalance.

Although most of us are not trained counselors, listening to our clients carefully is also a part of our role, as it informs the way that we perform the treatment and the reflexes that we focus on. Listening is very much part of the reflexology treatment, and feeling heard is often very helpful for clients. I remember just how healing it was to be listened to, without judgment, when I was on that couch.

Final thoughts

If you feel that reflexology might be something that could help you, whether you are struggling with fertility issues, having trouble with your menstrual cycle, in the quagmire of unpredictable menopause symptoms, or you just feel a bit unbalanced, there are lots of ways to find a fabulous reflexologist.

In the UK, we have the Association of Reflexologists and The Association of Reproductive Reflexologists. They both have therapists worldwide, and you can find a therapist on their websites. I expect that other countries will also have associations where you can find highly qualified reflexologists, just type it into Google.

It truly is an honor to walk alongside women through the highs and lows of their lives, to just be that little bit of support that helps them to feel better, put themselves first and feel more empowered.