Reflexology Romford & Central London

‘Reflexology Romford’ is part of Essential Feeling, a massage and reflexology therapy centre in Gidea Park.

Karen, part of the husband and wife runs the reflexology division team who are the only therapists who you will ever meet at the centre. Their aim is to keep the business small so that the service is always personal and tailored to each client’s specific needs. So, both Karen and Charlton, her husband, are experts in their field.

Karen has been a certified reflexologist since 2011 and is also accredited by the Association of Reflexology (AOR). This allows her to use the letters ‘MAR’ after her name. But, it also means that she never rests on her laurels. Part of being an AOR member means she must develop her skills constantly and learn new techniques.

What is a reflexology foot massage?

First off, reflexology and massage are two different techniques. Whilst we may carry both out on your feet, reflexology isn’t a foot massage. People use the term ‘reflexology foot massage’ to mean one or other of the two modalities.

Here I’ll explain foot massage v’s reflexology.

Foot massage

A foot massage is meant to make you feel good. So your feet will feel revived as the blood flows more readily. You may also feel a tingling in your toes afterwards. But the rest of your body will remain unimproved by the process.

Reflexology

Although reflexology incorporates massage techniques, it is not the process of the massage itself. Sure, reflexology is a type of touch therapy, but it isn’t really classed as a form of massage. Here’s why.

Reflexology uses acupressure.

This means your reflexologist manipulates highly targeted areas on your feet (reflexes). The deep precision also applies to the massage techniques they use in these specific places. For instance, if you have asthma your therapist will work on the ball of your foot. But they will use upwards of three massage techniques to get deep into your problem areas.

What is homeostasis?

Homeostasis is a biological state which means ‘steady’. So your internal organs and e.g. circulatory system are all balanced. This means the knock on effect of this is that your body needs the minimum amount of energy to go about daily living.

Your reflexologist brings about homeostasis by removing blockages. She does this because imagine a road block. It prevents cars from moving freely around and getting where they need to be. When this roadblock is removed, the roads isn’t jammed up anymore and traffic flows freely. We want the same state with our internal systems.

Reflexology allows movement of energy, blood flow and lymphatic drainage to move freely.

To bring about this balance, your reflexologist will work on your entire body. She’ll make sure that we remove the road blocks first off. And then once the road is clear, she’ll go back and concentrate on clearing the jam. Working this way means that your entire body is balanced and therefore better able to cope with the surge of the block.

This means you’re getting way more than a foot massage.

Because we’re working on a concentrated region. Then combining this with a focussed approach that you don’t get in a foot massage stimulates a healing response in the corresponding organs and systems of your body.

And this leads to the balance we call homeostasis.

How can this be?

Think about reflexology working in the same way as acupuncture. Without the needles!

The reflexes we’ve talked about connect energetically to other parts of your body through energy channels.

By applying appropriate pressure to the reflex/ acupressure points, we remove these blockages so that energy can flow freely without coming up against a roadblock.

Energy? Right, that sounds like a real con.

If you turn a light on and we switch the fuse off at the mains, the energy is blocked and the light won’t turn on. So our bodies are the same. Because they move, and you create energy. We can’t see energy as it transfers into solar panels. We can’t see the wind, just the effect of it turning windmills. And we can’t see the electricity in a light socket. Just the result if we switched the fuse on and the light burns.

Are we making a bit more sense?

Release the block in energy flow and we’re up and running, our light is burning bright.

There isn’t a bunch of formal medical research about how reflexology helps improve your wellbeing. The sceptical part of me may think this is because it will cost pharmaceutical companies too much money if the word gets out. I have no proof of that by the way, it’s just a feeling.

But there is a good deal of anecdotal evidence and a bunch of studies which show how clients’ health and wellbeing improves after regular reflexology sessions.

Here’s an example.

We use reflexology to help clients recover postoperatively as well as those who are in palliative care. Our experience in this area includes easing the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Our own research shows that reflexology reduces pain, it eases nausea, and it also has a wonderful effect on neuropathy. A a ton of studies which come to the same conclusions backs this up.

Here’s one. Integrative Cancer Therapies. 2015. 
“Reflexology is more effective for the relief of cancer pain and surgery than other holistic therapies.”

What can reflexology treat then?

For advertising standards reasons, we can’t officially claim that reflexology treats and there are strict guidelines around this. This all harps back to there being a lack of clinical trials on the subject.

So, here are the reflexology facts. Officially we can say that through using pressure points in your hands and feet, reflexology aids:
*release of tension
*relaxation
*improved mood
*aids sleep
*promotes wellbeing

But, we use these benefits to allow your body to better cope with the strain of a stressful life, the strain of carrying on when we feel under the weather, and the overall effect this has on our body’s ability to cope with the onset of disease through repair and rejuvenation.

This is how we can help so many people with such an array of conditions. It’s not us helping per se, all we do is free up space so your internal system has enough energy and resource to help itself.

We therefore by default use reflexology to induce overall relaxation and stress reduction, but to improve many other conditions too.

Reflexology can improve sleep patterns right the way down to improving anxiety. At Essential Feeling, we often work with clients dealing with infertility or dementia. But the list goes on, as ultimately cells not being balanced and therefore not reproducing effectively cause all disease in its first instance,. Bring that back and we can improve how we feel. We don’t cure diseases; we work to improve balance, and then our body has more chance of healing itself.

What is the history of reflexology?

Feet reflexology has roots dating to ancient Egypt and China, but an ear nose and throat doctor, William H. Fitzgerald discovered it in the West. He called his development of this body treatment, ‘zone therapy’. The concept was then further developed by American physiotherapist Eunice Ingham in the 1930s. Reflexology is therefore linked to traditional medicine, even though what emerged from the research is classed as a holistic body treatment.

Book online now.

If you’d prefer to speak to us, or if you don’t find what you’re looking for on our site, you probably understand by now that it doesn’t mean we can’t help. This website is divided into the most common conditions our clients come to us with but if you have something in particular that you’d like to discuss with us.

Drop us a text on 07941 668456 and we’ll come back to you as soon as we’re free to talk. We can’t always answer right away if we’re with a client, which is why texts are much easier when we’re between clients and don’t have time to call.

How long does it take for reflexology bodywork to work?

Everyone is different. And the effects happen in a unique pattern and timeline. So, if you adapt really well, it will obviously take less time for your reflexology to help you than if you are more resistant. Just like with different drugs from the pharmacy.

But the first thing that usually happens is that you’ll immediately feel less stressed and then you’ll improve your sleep.

Why does reflexology hurt so much?

Most people find reflexology to be really relaxing. If there are any tender points, they are the indicators that the point that section relates to in your system is more unbalanced than those that aren’t so tender. However, an entire reflexology session will not hurt. And over time, you’ll find that even the pressure points that were more sensitive are no longer so because as these imbalances disappear so too does the tenderness. Let’s be clear. It’s tenderness, not pain.
This is because your body has time to work out that imbalance with the help of reflexology.

Your reflexologist will also use different pressure according to your desired outcome.

For instance, Karen is more likely to use deep pressure to stimulate an area of your system, which is sluggish. This may feel more sensitive than if she is calming an overactive gland. This is because of the more gentle approach required to calm than stimulate.

Though, reflexology is a gentle treatment and relaxing experience — the benefits of reflexology far outweigh any temporary tenderness while we fix you from the inside out.

What do you call the practitioners of reflexology?

Anyone who practices reflexology is a reflexologist.

Anyone who is qualified in reflexology is called a ‘reflexologist’. This is regardless of whether they work on hands, feet or any other part of body. Karen uses feet and sometimes hands to work on during your session.

However, there are different levels of qualifications.

Some practitioners who call themselves reflexologists only take a 1 day course.

This is crazy. Karen, your therapist at Essential Feeling, completed around one hundred hours of practical sessions during her training. She also qualified at an equally high standard in anatomy and physiology. This means she understands how the body is affected by disease. This understanding allows her to know how to use reflexology to ease pressure on your system and ease the side effects of wellness issues.

On top of this, being a member of the AOR (an institute of reflexology) means that she continues to learn through her professional development every year with advanced training, qualifications, and reading.

Being a member of the Association of Reflexology means that Karen carries the letters MAR after her name. This means that when you book you are getting the best reflexology near me if you’re in Gidea Park or Romford and its surrounding areas.

If you’d like to book an appointment, then you can give Karen a text or call on 07757 946023 or use the online booking facility. If you want an appointment today, she may have last-minute appointment availability.

Where abouts are you?

We base reflexology Romford on the outskirts of Romford at the Essential Feeling studio just off Gallows Corner in Gidea Park.

Being on all the local transport routes means Reflexology Romford is easy to reach, however you’re travelling.

You won’t find Reflexology Romford when you pass by, this is because we don’t accept walk-ins. We’ll send you the address and directions when you make a confirmed booking at Reflexology Romford.

Please note:
Specialising in using reflexology isn’t enough for Karen. To always give her client’s their best likely outcome, she has trained in nutrition and counselling. If your case warrants it, and if you are open to it, she may combine some of these elements into your sessions.