Therapeutic Reflexology is a touch therapy offering a healthy form of human touch leading to a feeling of really being touched by another human being and in today’s post, we’ll consider the touch from this touch therapy.
Human touch is something every human being needs from infancy through childhood through the teenage years and right through adulthood. Human touch forms part of normal human development, especially social development where human beings interact with one another. Think back to the day you were born; the touch from the doctor that delivered you is the first point of contact you had with the human race. As you grow up, touch forms part of your normal everyday life; a handshake to greet somebody, a pat on the shoulder when you do something well, giving a high five to a buddy when you are excited for reaching a goal, a hug to comfort somebody or a soft caress when you want to show your love to another person.
These are all forms of touch needed to develop as a human being.
People have different levels of touch; one person may love to touch and be touched while another may avoid touching other people while not liking to be touched. This is all normal and part of human preferences, but regardless of preference, a human touch is crucial for the human race although the level of touch may be different for each person.
Touch is not always healthy and many people may have a recollection of a negative form of touch in their pasts; an abusive form of touch that places a negative connotation of fear to any form of touch while sexual abuse may lead to the rejection of any form of touch as being devious and leading to inappropriate behaviour, fear, and repulsion.
In the world of counselling touch is a topic to be discussed as well because although touch is part of human interaction and may be part of the healing process, the wrong form of a touch of a patient may lead to more harm for a fragile person often in vulnerable circumstances.
Touch is part of the healthcare industry, especially when it comes to physical forms of therapy like physiotherapy, massage therapy, or Therapeutic Reflexology. It is a well-known fact that touch is part of healing and provides not only comfort to the patient, but healing in many forms. Realising that patients may be comfortable or uncomfortable with different levels of touch due to personal preferences or past experiences just adds to the responsibility placed on the therapist to remain professional when offering therapy.
Therapeutic Reflexology is a formally regulated healthcare modality in South Africa and offers one of the best forms of non-invasive touch therapy a patient may experience. Therapeutic Reflexology is a modality where the therapist works on the reflexes (or nerve endings) on the feet (and sometimes other parts of the body like the hands, face, and ears depending on the patient’s needs and comfort with the body part being worked on). Therapeutic Reflexologists usually works on a patient’s feet.
Working on the feet is non-invasive as the patient does not have to get undressed and only the feet is touched, but the therapy itself is not invasive either as it is calming and very relaxing although some areas on the feet may be sensitive, but an experienced Therapeutic Reflexologist knows how to deal with sensitivity on the feet. It has been said that a person has never truly experienced human touch until experiencing Therapeutic Reflexology because it offers a healthy form of human touch on a usually sensitive body part that offers tremendous relaxation and ultimately the potential of the body to heal itself or at least balance itself.
Healthy human touch is often needed, but especially when a person’s boundaries of touch have been breached, such a person usually does not want to be touched by somebody else. It is often said that if your touch boundaries have been overstepped, healthy touch may be needed to overcome the fear and hurt, but such a person usually does not want to be touched. In such instances, Therapeutic Reflexology may be a wonderful healthcare modality to consider as it offers a healthy form of touch on the feet without being invasive. I have personally worked with numerous patients that experienced abusive relationships in the past including sexual abuse like rape and long-term sexual molestation and these patients do not want to be touched, especially not from a male therapist if the perpetrator was a male.
Therapeutic Reflexology offered such a wonderfully safe environment for these patients and once experiencing a healthy form of human touch (even from me as a male therapist), it is almost like they realise that touch is not the problem, the perpetrator was the problem, and it may often help in the healing process to overcome the past and enter the future journey of healing.
Sometimes people do not want their feet to be touched because they may not like feet or they may not even like their own feet. If this is really a problem, the Therapeutic Reflexologist will usually work on the patient’s hands, but the patient may want to consider having the therapist work with their feet as it is ultimately the domain of the Therapeutic Reflexologist and offers tremendous relaxation and calming effects. You may feel uncomfortable with your feet, but realise that the Therapeutic Reflexologist is not and work with feet daily; all kinds of feet in all kinds of conditions. The Therapeutic Reflexologist does not feel the same about your feet as you may be feeling and touching your feet is a privilege the Therapeutic Reflexologist will always be grateful for; providing you with a healthy form of human touch through your feet.
Therapeutic Reflexology offers a healthy human touch that we all may be craving at this time after the COVID-19 National Lockdown has isolated people from each other that lead to a lack of human touch and continuous social distancing where the human touch is discouraged. When living like this for extended periods of time, the need for human touch increases, but it is not the time to break the safety regulations that are in place just to be touched; protect yourself and others as far as possible while considering a healthy form of therapeutic touch instead.
If you have not experienced Therapeutic Reflexology before and you are craving healthy human touch, why not make an appointment with a properly qualified, experienced, registered and formally regulated Therapeutic Reflexologist that complies with all the necessary COVID-19 safety requirements while being able to offer you a healthy touch therapy that will make you feel like you have really been touched.
When you offer your feet to a Therapeutic Reflexologist for therapy, you have the opportunity to be touched in a healthy way and as a Therapeutic Reflexologist, that makes me feel honoured to be entrusted with your feet and your body and only the best form of therapy is offered to you; healthy human touch.
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Christo A. Scheepers: Therapeutic Reflexologist
Dip.T.R.(Cum Laude) [IARAMT]
AHPCSA: A11945
Pr. No.: 1080000737453
Tel. 072-800 7243