When the mind, body, spirit are balanced and centered, abundant health will result. When we use the term ‘balanced’ in reflexology, we are talking about homeostasis in all body processes. Homeostasis refers to the body’s ability to maintain a stable internal environment (regulation of hormones, body temp, blood pressure, water balance, etc.). Each physiological condition has a particular set point - a specific value around which the normal range fluctuates. Our bodies are constantly making tiny adjustments to maintain that set point to operate in homeostasis – balance.
Think about it in this way – when you have thirst, that is your body saying, ‘Hey up there, I’m getting dehydrated and need some fluids’. Or when you feel a chill and reach for a sweater, or feel too hot and start peeling off layers – that is your body saying, ‘Hey, my internal environment is getting out of its optimal operating zone – please turn up the heat or cool me down’. Hunger, tiredness, even cravings for various foods are all cues from your body telling you that something is out of balance physically, or nutritionally and it is trying to get itself back into balance.
In a like manner, if your life is full of stress and you burn your candle at both ends not taking time to have healthy rest for your body and mind, or if you constantly eat on the go, whatever you can find or consume energy drinks to keep you going, over time you can throw your body systems out of balance and physical issues can begin to manifest.
The wonderful thing about our bodies is that they give us many subtle cues that something is out of balance long before disease – “dis-ease” – ever manifests. In reflexology, that cue can be a tender point on your foot, or the tactile feeling of lumps or grit under the skin, that a skilled reflexologist will feel as she works the pressure points across your feet. These are signs that there is a blockage in a meridian flow or zone, or an imbalance elsewhere in the body. By working the corresponding points and stimulating the circulation, reflexology can break up those blockages, smooth out the energy flow and help the body return to homeostasis. And when the blocks are removed and the body can operate in complete balance, health will come.
As a reflexologist, my job is to help center the body – find and remove the blockages, bring it back to homeostasis – and then once in balance, the amazing machine that is our body can heal itself.