Hand and Foot Reflexology - Brossura

Kunz, Kevin

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0671763199 ISBN 13: 9780671763190

Casa editrice: Touchstone, 1984

Riassunto

Here's a revolutionary way to fine-tune your relationship with your body, reduce stress, and feel better all over: Stimulate the reflexes in your hands and feet!
It's all in this hands-on encyclopedia of personal reflexology information. Here, Kevin and Barbara Kunz (authors ofThe Complete Guide to Foot Reflexology) bring you their unique self-health approach to wellness. Through reflexology, they teach you how to free and channel your pent-up energy -- and to prevent and correct common health problems.
With more than 500 detailed instructions, this book includes:
* Why your feet and hands are "important sensory organs," and their "special relationship" with your whole body.
* Why reflexology works.
* Specially designed pressure and movement techniques that reduce stress and actually alter the body's tension level. Fully illustrated, with step-by-step procedures, for quick and easy application!
* Treatment plans for specific aliments, from acne to whiplash.
* Stride Replication, the Kunzes' latest program of foot and hand relaxation.
* A more in-depth look at body parts and their corresponding areas in the hands and feet -- all conveniently indexed.
Whether you are using it as a quick reference or as the basis for further study. Hand and Foot Reflexology: A Self-Help Guide tells you what you need to know about the simple but potent experience of eflexology -- by yourself and for yourself.

Su questo libro

L'autore

Kevin and Barbara Kunz are researchers, authors, practitioners, and consultants in the field of reflexology. Kevin and Barbara are innovators of illustrative, descriptive information on reflexology.

Their further work in reflexology includes that of co-directors of Reflexology Research Project, researching and developing information on reflexology. In addition, Barbara and Kevin are the authors and editors ofReflexions, a quarterly journal.

Estratto. © Riproduzione autorizzata. Diritti riservati.

THEORY AND PRINCIPLES

THE FEET, HANDS AND BODY: A Special Relationship

To the body, the feet and hands are special. No other sensory organ reaches out to touch the world around us, to travel through it and to manipulate it. The feet and hands sense what is underfoot and what is in hand.

The task is no small accomplishment. The infant struggles to stand and begins a life-long, two-legged, weight-bearing activity commonly referred to as walking. While it is not the fastest way to move about, walking on two legs provides a mobile platform from which the hands are able to interact with the world.

The demands of staying upright on two feet require a special communication between the feet, the hands and the rest of the body. The "language" the body uses to accomplish this is actually a combination of the stretch of muscles, angulation of joints and deep pressure to the bottom of the feet. This form of communication is indeed a silent one but it is most vital for it determines our very survival.

The feet and hands not only allow us to react to danger but they themselves also consume energy to meet the ordinary demands of the day. Survival and the energy necessary for survival link the hands and feet into a special relationship with the body. In case of danger, both feet and hands participate in the overall body reaction to ensure survival. This reaction is familiarly known as "fight or flight" because the body gears its internal structures to provide the fuel for either eventuality. The feet and hands must be ready to do their part. The hands are readied to reach for a weapon while the feet are prepared to find firm footing or flee.

The inextricable link between hand, foot and body is thus forged. The hands and feet provide the necessary moves while the internal organs provide the fuel. A special communication and relationship is required for such a system.

The system is also a participant in more mundane daily activities. For example, upon waking, the body not only assesses internal organ measurements but it also requests body position information. The feet are polled in this positioning process. The rest of the day is spent in silent dialogue between internal organs and the organs of movement. Every move made, whether to walk, sit, stand, jump, run or skip, requires up-dated information and continual communication. Every move made requires an allocation of the body's energy.

Thus the feet and hands are a part of day-to-day energy consuming activities. This demand forms the basis of very strong links within the body's communication system. To ensure continuity from day to day, the body learns a communication operating pattern. In locomotion, continuity is all important; any interruption in the communication or energy systems could be catastrophic, resulting in, for example, a fall. Therefore the signals of locomotion have major impact on the energy system, the sensory system and the overall tension level of the body. Tension is a state of readiness occurring throughout the body. A footstep requires a great deal of tension to be successful.

This high degree of muscular readiness not only consumes a great deal of energy but it also must be matched by the readiness of the internal environment. The readiness of the body to respond to any eventuality exists as a level of tone or tension throughout the body. Tone describes the constant communication with all parts of the body which provides the capability to move and to survive. This calls for knowledge of the position of every muscle, joint and tendon. The ability to survive requires a perception of the internal and external environments. The pooling of the information about both provides an opportunity of interaction for the parts of the body we cannot reach in and touch. As active perceivers of the external environment, the feet and hands thus communicate with the internal environment.

Any sensory information gathered must be evaluated as a potential threat. For this reason, any sensory signal can be viewed as a stressor, demanding interaction with the body's tone. Thus, as a sensory organ, the feet and hands contribute to the body's tone. The contribution is made in the body's language of proprioception. Gathering information about movement are some very sophisticated gauges, such as deep pressure to the bottoms of the feet, the angulation of joints and the stretch of muscles and tendons.

In summary, because the hands and feet are sensory organs of locomotion, they have a special relationship with the body. Furthermore, because of the special relationship, they can serve as a means of interaction with the state of tension and energy consumption throughout the body.

THE BODY MANAGER: TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE WAY THE BODY WORKS

For every individual an opportunity exists to communicate with the whole body through the hands and feet. The special relationship between the feet, hands and body can be used for the purposes of:

* stress reduction

* energy savings

* building greater body awareness

The possibility for interaction becomes an opportunity for management when sensory experience is applied on a frequent and consistent basis. The body manager is one who deliberately interacts with a part of his or her body, in this case hands and feet, to influence the whole body. Such interaction allows one to manage the body's resources more efficiently and is at the very heart of the concept of "self help".

Energy

Energy is a body resource, a basis for the body economy. It exists always in limited supply, but there is a potential for regulation and an opportunity for conservation.

A certain amount of energy is required to move a certain distance. Each footstep can be seen as a unit of energy expended. Small savings on each footstep can add up to large gains. When one provides sensory experience to the hands and feet with this program, it helps break up the patterns of stress and allows one to begin to accrue savings and it makes it possible to apply these as investments in the body's total energy reserves. Energy-saving techniques for everyday activities may be applied to form a practical conservation program. So energy expended for tone or overall body communication may be influenced by applied sensory information.

Sensory Signals

Sensory signals provide a link of communication with the outside world and "local reporting" of information from the sensory organs which affects the body's economy. The sensing of the ground underfoot, such as in walking through sand, creates a demand on the whole body's economy and participates in the expenditure of the body's resources.

The application of consistent, frequent sensory stimulus creates a variety of signals which re-sets the body's tension level. In any learning situation, the more time a body spends "practicing" an event, the more proficient it becomes at it. The practice of variety lessens the demand on any one part of the body.

Locomotion

Locomotion is

r* the expenditure of energy

* a sensory signal

* a participant in the body's readiness system

Tone

In terms of the body's economy, it is a major consumer of the body's resources. The possibility for interaction and for taking advantage of the way the body works exists because locomotion demands organization. The hands and feet are a part of the organization, the body's economy. They are a part of the body's

(1) energy consumption

(2) tension/tone level, and

(3) body awareness.

Tone budgets the expenditure of energy, taking into account past expenditures, present demands and future concerns. It is the active decision-making process involving these expenditures that is necessary to maintain readiness. Sleeping, for example, requires a state of readiness different from that of wakefulness.

Tone is an on-going changing process which is influenced by sensory signals, particularly those of locomotion.

The body manager uses interaction with the hands and feet on a frequent and consistent basis for the purposes of:

* energy savings

* stress reduction

* building greater body awareness.

PRINCIPLES OF BODY MANAGEMENT

1. It is possible to affect the body through sensory signals.

2. The feet and hands are sensory organs which gather information.

3. The primary information gathered is about locomotion (walking, running, standing).

4. Locomotion is part of the survival mechanism ensuring the ability to fight or flight.

5. Information about locomotion and internal organ function is pooled to ensure survival and to set a state of tension throughout the body on a day to day basis. Locomotion as an activity has a major influence on tension levels throughout the body.

6. Locomotion takes energy.

7. The consumption of energy for locomotion can contribute to "wear and tear" on the body.

8. As a learned activity, elements of locomotion can be practiced to become a more efficient activity which lessens the consumption of energy.

9. The elements of locomotion communicate through pressure, stretch and movement of joints, tendons and muscles.

10. It is possible to affect the body by mimicking the sensory signals of locomotion. The feet are of particular importance in the sensory/locomotor system. The frequent application of varied sensory signals to the hands and feet produces a cumulative effect, the net result of which is to break up patterns of stress, resetting energy consumption levels throughout the body and achieving a greater body awareness.

LEARNING THE BODY'S LANGUAGE

The body manager's role is to mimic some of the key sensory signals of the body in order to communicate with it. Our tools for the manager are reflexology, stride replication® and propriocise®. (Propriocise® will be fully discussed in other written work). These three fields of interest represent an organized application of key sensory signals to the hands and feet.

The key sensory signals are those of locomotion. To provide locomotive sensory information, proprioceptive sensations are mimicked. Proprioception is the body's self-perceiving mechanism, its picture of itself in motion. Reflexology, stride replication® and propriocise® merely practice proprioception.

Proprioception: The Language of Movement

The body's practice of proprioception actually begins at childhood and continues throughout life (see box). The stress placed on the body by walking and its sensory signals of proprioception establishes a pattern of tension throughout the body. Repeated exposure to stressors on a continuous basis produces "wear and tear". The repeated demands of walking over a lifetime can be a contributor to the gradual wearing down process known as aging.

Breaking the pattern of tension, however, can interrupt the cycle, providing a "vacation" from the usual routine. A program which mimics proprioception interrupts the usual pattern of tension by placing new and different demands on the body. An "exercise" of proprioception yields results appropriate to the way the body works. Improved adaptability, flexibility and a change in energy all result from the repeated interruption of tension. After all, repeated exercise improves muscle tone and circulation. Why then should the body not respond to the deliberate exercise of proprioception by improving its overall function in a similar manner?

The exercise of proprioception is the practice of its elements. Reports from muscles, tendons and joints are taken in the body's language of pressure and movement. An opportunity is thus provided to the individual to interact with the body in its own language.

BODY PERCEPTIONS

"Proprioceptive sensations are those that apprise the brain of the physical state of the body, including such sensations as (1) tension of the muscles, (2) tension of the tendons, (3) angulation of the joints, and (4) deep pressure from the bottom of the feet." Guyton, Arthur C., Function of the Human Body, W.B. Saunders Co., 1969, p. 272.

"Anyone who has watched an infant grow can appreciate the complexity of learning body positioning, especially in sitting, standing and walking. The waving of hands and feet in the newborn exhibits the beginning of a positioning awareness. The intricacies of sitting up are such that it takes two months for the infant to master it. Standing usually requires six months of experimentation, walking takes nine months, and bowel and bladder control take two years. Even at two years most infants have not perfected all of these tasks. The experimentation with possibilities of positions and movements can be seen throughout childhood. Tricycle and bicycle riding are ventures into balancing. Swinging on playground equipment, jumping rope, and other forms of what is considered 'play' are actually an educational process for the body. The awkward teenager is living testimony to the fact that this educational process is at least sixteen to eighteen years in duration." Reflexions, May/June, 1981, Vol. 2, No. 3.

"The positioning education of the body is a process of experimentation throughout childhood and even into the young adulthood ages of 18-20. An example of the body's learning process is practicing free throws in basketball. The first attempt may be far from the basket, but the body makes the gradual muscular adjustments to achieve the goal of putting the ball through the hoop. It is possible to consciously judge the ball as 'on target but too short' or 'long enough but off to the side'. But the actual means by which the body directs this muscle and that muscle to correct for 'off target' or 'too short' are unconscious and totally left up to the body's automatic positioning mechanism. It is this mechanism which receives its education in childhood.

What happens to this positioning mechanism in adulthood? The learning continues. The proprioceptive feedback is constantly provided and responded to. As we all know, however, the body response and performance is not quite the same in adulthood. That free throw is not accomplished with such ease at age 40 or 50 as it was at age 20 or even 30. Perhaps that crick in the neck does not allow ease of movement of the arm. Or perhaps the knee is not providing the spring it used to. What has happened?

The continuing education for body positioning in adults contains elements not present in childhood. In addition to the body's natural aging process, these elements include the body's experiences -- that sprained ankle, the crick in the neck from sleeping on it wrong, the pain in the stomach. All of these experiences cause the body to hold itself differently. The tasks of walking, standing, and shooting basketballs are all modified by the body's experiences. That sprained ankle caused the body to make changes in its method of walking to minimize the amount of pain felt from the ankle. These changes range from the noticeable to the barely perceptible. The tightening of just a few muscle fibers, however, requires a corresponding shift in other fibers. The effect echoes throughout the body. The cumulative effect...

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Touchstone
• Data di pubblicazione: 1984
• ISBN 10: 0671763199
• ISBN 13: 9780671763190
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Lingua: Inglese
• Numero di pagine: 224