Managing Stress with Reflexology

Feeling stressed? Put your feet up and enjoy the benefits of Reflexology

Stress is a part of modern life, and is unfortunately having a detrimental effect on the vast majority of the populations health. It is now reported that 90% of illness is due to stress.

Stress is caused by a variety of external factors but the physiological effect on the body is the same:

Your heart rate, blood pressure and respiration rise to ensure an adequate oxygen supply.

Blood flow increases to the muscles and brain, where it is most needed, while blood flow decreases to the 'rest and digest' areas of the body (such as your gastrointestinal tract) because these areas are less important in moments of crisis.

Sweating and muscle tension increase to help adjust body temperature and prepare for movement.

Blood sugar increases to boost energy resources.

When a physical or mental event threatens this equilibrium, we react to it. This process is often referred to as the fight or flight' response. We prepare for physical action in order to confront or flee a threat.

Most modern stresses, however, do not call for either fight or flight. Our experience of stress is generally related to how we respond to an event, not to the event itself.

There are a number of ways of managing and counter balancing stress but Reflexology is perfect, as its a natural non-intrusive treatment that works directly on the 7000 nerve endings in the feet that correspond to the bodies systems and organs. Applying acupressure to these reflex points helps ease the nervous system as a whole, which is key to combating and managing stress.

It also helps boost the bodies circulation and lymph flow, aiding the blood flow function to all of the organs of the body and promotes optimal function, and aids deep relaxation.

Reflexology is a versatile treatment which is tailored for specific conditions, its non intrusive as its carried out upon the feet alone and is highly beneficial in dealing with stress and helping to prevent illness by promoting relaxation and optimal health.

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What is stress?

Stress (roughly the opposite of relaxation) is a medical term for a wide range of strong external stimuli, both physiological and psychological, which can cause a physiological response called the general adaptation syndrome, first described in 1936 by Hans Selye in the journal Nature.
An emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health which can be characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability and depression. Stress does not cause migraine but can be a migraine "trigger".
A condition in which the organism is subjected to unfavourable or unfamiliar environmental conditions, resulting in some alteration in normal physical functioning. Short-term stress can often be overcome. Long-term stress can reduce resistance to disease and parasites, inhibit self-healing processes, and reduce life-span.