This week (16 June) is a public holiday in South Africa called Youth Day. In today’s post, we’ll consider the value of Therapeutic Reflexology for the youth; including children, teenagers, and young adults.
Young people in contemporary society are dealing with so much more than what I did as a child, teen, and young adult. There is so much pressure on young people today due to constant interaction on social media, constant sexual explicit material readily available on social media platforms, constant racial bias or an attempt to create racial bias, peer pressure fuelled by social media and the highest unemployment rate that makes it extremely difficult to find work increased by racially biased legislation discriminating against certain racial groups even though it is written into this legislation that such discrimination is not discrimination if it is done against people of certain skin colour.
On top of these normal challenges, COVID-19 and the national lockdown just added so much more stress on the youth because their whole generation is about social interaction while the lockdown is forcing them to be isolated which may increase the fear and anxiety they are presently experiencing as a result of a global pandemic.
It is not all bad. The youth in the 21st century has many benefits that I did not have as I grew up like connectivity with others by the use of cellular phones, internet, and various social media platforms. I remember with my first research degrees how I had to spend time going from the one library to the other and spending hours findings documents and paging through it in order to obtain the relevant information; today I am once again busy with a research degree and I do not even have to visit any library as I have full access to libraries via my laptop and I can study anywhere I am by easily going through a document and finding the relevant information in the document with a simple search function. Life is definitely easier in many respects. Electronic communication and global travel have made the world a smaller place as globalisation has set in and evolves rapidly.
As with everything in life, there are advantages and disadvantages to most, if not all, things. As the world evolves into a truly global community, there are huge advantages as well as disadvantages. The young people are experiencing it first-hand.
Therapeutic Reflexology is a wonderful way for the youth of the 21st century to control their stress levels while increasing overall wellness, especially midst and post-COVID-19 lockdown.
Therapeutic Reflexology is a professional healthcare modality formally registered and regulated by the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (AHPCSA). Therapeutic Reflexology is non-invasive as it usually begins by working on a patient’s feet and the patient does not have to get undressed; even ideal during the cold winter months. As treatment is customised for each individual, the Therapeutic Reflexologist may also work on other parts of the patient’s body like the hands, legs, arms, face, or ears. Every Therapeutic Reflexologist has their own approach, but personally I always include work on the feet, unless there is a reason why treatment on the feet is contraindicated. That is a personal preference based on experience and seeing the results on many patients.
Therapeutic Reflexology is the ideal modality for any age group, including for the contemporary youth. Children of all ages may benefit from Therapeutic Reflexology, although the really young ones may not be able to remain on a therapy bed for an hour; for them, the treatment is adjusted and shortened to provide great results without having to force them to be still too long. Teenagers and young adults usually enjoy a full hour treatment. Treatment may also be adjusted for the youth as their feet may still be growing and depending on the size of their feet, the duration of treatment may be customised.
Overall, the youth experiences extreme relaxation as a result of Therapeutic Reflexology which is ideal for them to get away from their constantly busy and interactive lifestyle. It helps them to quiet down their minds and bodies while giving their bodies the opportunity to rebalance itself and attempting to remove all imbalances that resulted due to a busy on-the-go lifestyle coupled with the use of fast food and a high-paced life of constant social media interaction.
Therapeutic Reflexology does not tell you to change your lifestyle, although you may realise that some changes may be necessary, as the youth of the 21st Century are living a unique lifestyle of their own; instead, Therapeutic Reflexology assists young people to destress and hopefully maintain a healthy holistic balance as they continue living an interactive lifestyle that is fast-paced.
The youth deserves a healthy way of finding peace and calmness in the midst of organised global chaos resulting from constant social media interaction that does not include the abuse of substances that may be harmful to their bodies and minds; Therapeutic Reflexology offers such a healthy alternative.
Young people that have not experienced Therapeutic Reflexology before, may want to consider it and make an appointment to experience true calmness and relaxation.
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Christo A. Scheepers: Therapeutic Reflexologist
Dip.T.R.(Cum Laude) [IARAMT]
AHPCSA: A11945
Pr. No.: 1080000737453
Tel. 072-800 7243