For reflexologists, feet lead to better general health

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN CYNTHIA MARTENS
After a long day at work, it feels good to kick off those work shoes, lie back in an easy chair and get a foot massage-if you’re lucky enough to find a family member who isn’t too tired to indulge you.

But what if you could schedule an appointment with a professional trained to massage those tired feet and help improve your general health at the same time?

That’s what James Goertz and his grandmother, Leona Goertz, offer in the same building with the Cut Above hair salon in Hillsboro.

As reflexologists, they have been trained to manipulate a client’s feet and trigger the body’s inner-healing process. Then, as massage therapists, they offer to finish the session with a back and neck massage.

“Working together with reflexology and massage, you get great results because you have the reflexology that works internally, and then you’ve got the massage that works externally-basically on the muscles,” James said.

But what exactly is reflexology?

The message from James comes through loud and clear-it’s not a foot massage.

“Reflexology is a science that deals with the principle that there are reflex areas in the feet and hands that correspond to all the glands and organs of the body,” James said.

“By working these reflex areas, we can increase circulation and blood flow, unblock nerve impulses, and normalize and help bring the body back to homeostasis, which is the normal way of functioning.”

Massage techniques rub the skin to work on the muscles, but reflexology works on points below the skin by using gentle compression techniques.

Massage also uses oils and lotions, which can prohibit a reflexologist from making full contact with specific pressure points on the skin.

In reflexology, as practiced by James and Leona, the foot is left in a more natural state.

Through stimulation, reflexology is designed to improve nerve and blood supply, and remove accumulated toxins in the body.

James has a full-time job at a salon in west Wichita. But he and Leona travel an hour to Hillsboro on Tuesdays and every third Saturday of the month to see area clients.

Their Tuesday hours are generally 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday appointments are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

They’ve been commuting to Hillsboro since 1995.

A local couple asked James and Leona to set up a satellite salon in Hillsboro. When the couple moved to the area, they needed to continue the treatments they were receiving in Wichita.

“And we took over the practice of Bob Classen, who passed away, and his wife gave us his clientele base,” Leona said.

The therapists moved into their current location about three years ago and said they plan to stay in that spot.

Working out of the two rooms they rent from the hair salon, the pair are set up to perform their reflexology in one room and the massage therapy in the second room closest to the salon.

Sessions normally last an hour. The first 30 to 40 minutes involves reflexology, and the last half of the session is usually a back and neck massage.

“Reflexology relaxes and helps you get into the muscle,” James said.

“If we went right over there and did the body massage, some people have such chronic knots that it takes a lot of relaxation techniques to just get into the muscle and actually do them some good.”

Both Leona and James are certified by the International Institute of Reflexology located in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Leona, 86, has been in the business since 1960, and is a pioneer in her field, according to James. She became certified in 1976.

And James, 24, received his certification 10 years ago.

“I was one of the youngest to be certified in reflexology at the age of 14,” James said.

Both have been trained in the Ingham Method of reflexology developed by Eunice Ingham and Dwight C. Byers.

“There are other methods, but they are not as true to the nerve endings in the body,” Leona said.

Byers travels nationally and conducts seminars attended by James and Leona.

“We attend the seminar once a year to renew our certification and learn new things,” Leona said.

The Ingham Method of reflexology follows copyrighted charts of the feet and hands,with specific areas corresponding to certain organs and parts of the body.

“It’s anatomically correct to where everything lies in the body,” James said as he pointed to the charts on the wall.

“So when we look at the bottom of the feet, we’re actually looking at the body itself. If you have any kind of imbalance in your body, usually it will show up in your feet.”

When someone contacts the institute for the name of a reflexologist in the area, they are referred to James and Leona.

“We’ve been very successful,” James said. “They keep track of that, and they recommend us.”

The two have regular clients who return on a routine basis. But when new clients come in, they fill out an information form that includes pertinent medical history.

“Medications really affect the treatment-especially if you’re taking a lot of pain killers-because the reflexes are numb,” James said.

“So after we review the questionnaire sheet, we’ll start with relaxing techniques and start right into it-starting from head to toe, basically, on your feet.”

Although they use different reflexology techniques, one method is called the inchworm, where they use the thumb to take small concentrated “bites”into specific areas on the hands and feet.

After the reflexology session is completed, the client moves into the massage room for a back and neck massage.

“I’m more of the massage guy,” James said. “I do the reflexology and the full-body massage, and she’s mainly feet and hands with a little bit on the back.”

And they both are scheduling clients on the hour.

“We are booked up quite a bit,” James said.

Those clients come from the local community and outside the area, too. Ages range from 14 to 94, but the typical age group is 30 to 55.

Both James and Leona have success stories of people they’ve helped with their reflexology.

“I’ve had doctors who have referred people to me,” Leona said.

In one case, two doctors in Andover were having trouble regulating the heartbeat of a patient.

“But I could regulate it with reflexology,” Leona said.

“And this person, I went to their house three times a week to get it regulated, and I finally got it. But medication wouldn’t do it.”

The two are quick to point out there are limitations to what a reflexologist can do.

“If they come with a serious problem, we can’t diagnose or prescribe anything,” James said. “And if they need medical help, we tell them.”

But the two therapists also have a respect for what their profession can do for their clients.

“Reflexology is complex-it’s not just seeing glands on the chart and memorizing it,”James said.

“It’s putting everything together through your anatomy. You’re eliminating problems one by one-like a detective-trying to discover what’s wrong and trying to figure out what areas to work to help.”

And as their clients put their shoes back on and walk out into the hectic world they just escaped for a brief hour, they might hear the following poem recited by Leona:

“If you’re feeling out of kilter,

Know not why or what about.

Let your feet reveal the answer.

Find the sore spot, work it out.”

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