Reflexology Can Really Get On Your Nerves

Reflexology can really get on your nerves. The nerves in your feet, that is!

Over 7,000 nerve endings in each foot are worked during a reflexology session which translates into a session rich in communication with your nervous system.

Consider these facts:

• The feet have more nerves per square inch than any other part of the body.

• Reflexology stimulates neural pathways.  We’ve all heard the saying “use it, or lose it” and this applies to neural pathways, as well.  The more electrical impulses that travel along a pathway, the stronger that pathway becomes. 

• Because we wear shoes most of the time, the nerve endings on the bottom of our feet go under-stimulated.  Working the feet helps stimulate the nerves so that the pathways remain open to provide key information to the brain about the position of joints, muscle tension and speed of movement.  This, in turn, helps us maintain good balance and proper body alignment.

• Research shows that the vagus nerve (the body’s major parasympathetic nerve) is directly affected during a reflexology session thereby slowing heart rate, facilitating digestion, and promoting relaxation.

• Reflexology’s stimulation of the nerve endings in the feet creates activity in the “default mode network” part of the brain helping us adapt to a changing environment and process emotionally relevant information.

• Dr. Manzanares, a medical doctor who practices reflexology in Spain, found that the “congested” areas in the reflexes on the feet are an excess of tangled nerve fibers.  Working these entanglements with special reflexology techniques helps break the biochemical link for inflammation and pain.

Book with Michelle on Mondays, Tuesdays + Fridays. Evening appointments available by request.