The Ethical Use Of Reflexology In Ancient Chinese Culture

* A stretch reflex is a contraction of a muscle when an attached tendon is pulled. Stretch reflexes are important in maintaining proper posture. Stretch reflexes are used to determine which areas of the body the central nervous system are not responding to. For example, if you tap your knee to check for reflex and the leg doesn’t move, you then know that the peripheral nerves that lead to the knee are nonresponsive and/or the brain is not receiving a signal from that particular area.

Reflexology is the theory that the human body can be healed from disease or imbalance through pressure to specific points on the hands, feet, and ears (http://www.doubleclickd.com/reflexology.html). This alternative form of healing is doubted by many, although there are studies that support its theory.

Reflexology is an alternative treatment that rests on the applying pressure of specific areas on the feet, hands and ears. All these pressure points are believed to correlate with internal body functions and organs. Applying pressure on these pressure points encourages proper energy flow throughout the body and facilitates self-healing.

One of the best wellness spas in Watertown, Oriental Foot Reflexology takes pampering, nourishing and relaxation to another level. The spa’s specialties lies in the art of traditional Chinese foot reflexology. The spa strives to provide its clients professional massage therapy and wellness. They put great importance in improving the overall health of their clients including relieving stress and pain. Aside from reflexology, Oriental Foot Reflexology is also a great place to get Tui Na bodywork. They also offer their signature Beijing Spa treatment, a combination of hand reflexology, bodywork and foot reflexology.

The concept of modern massage first started in Sweden from the techniques and principles developed by Per Henrik Ling (1776-1839). He developed the techniques and movements that he used to improve general health and physical conditions. The Swedish Massage was introduced which forms the basis of the European styles of massage and spread throughout Europe and later on used independently in other parts of the world. Nowadays, massage is not only used for physical relaxation but also used to help manage stress, as an aid to help people recover from ill- health.

Relieving pain in certain areas of the body can be a therapeutic method for many of us especially after a long, hard day. Reflexology is a form of therapy, which allows for controlled pressure to ease discomfort. In addition, it will facilitate and promote a healthier lifestyle, decrease the likelihood for certain diseases, injuries, and stress. The term “reflex” means “an action or movement of the body that happens automatically as a reaction to something” (Alderson 5). Reflexologists focus on pressure points within the hands and feet. By locating specific pressure points, a reflexologist can manipulate pressure points in the body that is the source of pain, potential debility, and illness, which can be strengthened

Reflexes are tested even though they do not provide a medical diagnosis because they provide information on how we integrate sensory motor information. Reflexes are involuntary movements in response to a specific stimulus. Reflexes have several useful functions including helping infants overcome birth trauma, facilitate survival, and provide a starting point for voluntary movements that will occur later in life. Additionally, reflexes tell us a lot about infants and what they perceive which is especially important because they cannot communicate verbally.

Reflexes are a nerve responses that are not supervised by the brain but are rather designed to answer in a definite way to assure your bodies safeguard. The nerves are stimulated which relays a signal to the spinal cord and a nerve loop in the spinal cord relays a message back to cause the reflex without the engagement of the brain. Some examples of reflexes would be someone touching a hot stove while cooking and quickly jerking their hand back would be the reflex or when going to the doctor's office and they hit you on the knee and your leg kicks out would be another form of a reflex.

Get massage smarts' page on the art of Abhyanga hot oil massage offers a self-oil massage video that includes abdominal massage as a part of a daily self-care routine. For those seeking touch therapy to improve digestion and the functionality of their digestive track we offer a link to our page on foot reflexology. In the middle of this page you will find a video that shows the connection between the digestive track and foot reflexology presented by Adam Thomas a Canadian foot reflexologist. At the top of the page is a link to American Reflexology Certification Board for those interested in finding a certified reflexologist in their

The Stretch Reflex- a basic operation of the nervous system that helps maintain muscle tone and prevent injury, it is initiated when a muscle is stretched, it lengthens the muscle fibers and spindles, this changes the shape of the muscle spindles which results

Massage therapy has been used for thousands of years as a form of medical care, the earliest time of use dates back to 2,700 BC from a Chinese book called “The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine”. The Chinese used this form of treatment for a person with full paralysis or an illness from fever and chills. History shows that Greek and Roman doctors also used massage therapy, as Julius Caesar had a disease called neuralgia and used massages on a daily basis to treat his condition. Hippocrates who was known as the Father of Western Medicine felt that massage therapy was effective, as it could loosen or bind a problematic joint. Massage therapy is also found in the history of Indian Medicine as the Indians used and still use

Founded in Egypt and China, massages were used as a way to relieve pain, heal injuries, and prevent and cure diseases. Written records found in Egypt and China date back to around 2500 BC, thus allowing us to take a deeper look into the believed benefits. The egyptian culture is credited to a form of massage known as Reflexology. Reflexology can be defined as applying pressure to certain areas of the hands and feet, benefiting the patient's internal organs and well-being.

Reflex can defined as “an automatic and often inborn response to a stimulus that involves a nerve impulse passing inward from a receptor to a nerve center and thence outward to an effector (as a muscle or gland) without reaching the level of consciousness” (Merriam-Webster) or more simply put-an reaction to an action that our bodies do to return to homeostasis without us having to think about it. Reflexes play an extremely important role in remaining healthy and protecting us from being harmed without having to take the time to think about it. For example, infants have a suck reflex that causes them to start sucking when the roof of their mouths are stimulated; this reflex is obviously important because if infants did not have this reflex, they could die of starvation since they would not be able to draw milk from their mother’s breast (this is actually a problem with premature infants as the suck reflex does not develop until between the 32nd and 36th week of pregnancy) (Stanford Children’s Health). There are two main types of reflexes- the simpler monosynaptic reflexes (or spinal reflexes) that can act without any input from the brain and the more complex superficial reflexes which still requiring some processing from the brain. A reflex consists of five main components, which as a group are called the “reflex arc.” Component one is the sensory receptor, which receives stimulus and then sends an and impulse to the second component, the afferent pathway. The

Central Idea: Massage therapy is practiced all over the world and has both emotional and physical benefits when received on a regular basis.

In the 21st century B.C. the beginning of a long line of dynasties began, that resulted in the complex history that we know as Ancient China. The Ancient Chinese had a long list of beliefs and inventions that contributed to life all around the world to this day. Even the geography has a major impact on modern China, that fuels success all around the world.