Reflexology  with  Catherine Kydd (MAR) member of the association of reflexologists  

History and Origins of Reflexology

Is a non-invasive holistic treatment performed on the hands and feet.

The definition of “Reflex” is “an involuntary or instinctive movement”. It’s believed to of began back with the ancient Egyptians, found on pyramids in hieroglyphics. Zone therapy was used back as far as 2500BC.

Reflexology is also known to of been performed in ancient Indian and its believed that Buddhist monks went to China and then spread to Japan and throughout the world. The Chinese had already been performing acupuncture and by 2500BC they also used longitudinal meridians with dividing the body into different zones.

In the early 20th century Dr William Fitzgerald (1872-1942) headed the Nose and throat Department at St. Francis Hospital, Connecticut. USA. This is where he realised that applying gentle pressure on the soft tissue in the nose, gave an anaesthetic result. He took this further applying pressures over the hands and feet and found it gave great pain relief. He then set out dividing the body into ten longitudinal zones mapping these areas know to us as zones, hence the term Zone therapy.

His therapy was very controversial but some Osteopaths and Dentists believed in it and used it with their patients.

It was when Physiotherapist Eunice Ingham (1889-1974) continued Dr Williams Fitzgerald work and mapped the feet and hands to correspond to the organs and glands of the body realising that pressures also helped stimulate healing as well as pain relief. She devoted 40 years to reflexology devising the most effective system known now as the “Original Ingham Method” This has been developed even further by her Nephew Dwight Byers who founded the International Institute of reflexology and is still the director to this day in St. Petersburg. Florida and continues to train and educated the world based on Eunice Ingham’s “Original Ingham method”