Its origins

Egypt provides us with the oldest known document on foot massage. A pictogram from about 2500 before Christ depicts 2 practitioners massaging the hands and feet of two patients. The pictogram paired with a hieroglyph illustrates the dialogue between one of the patients and a practitioner:
Patient: "Please relieve pain"
Practitioner: "I will do as you please"

China has been practising it for 5,000 years and has been extolling its therapeutic virtues since then. The Chinese ideogram for “foot” means "part of the body which protects good health".

In Europe, foot massage was practised by the working class and doctors serving royalty. The first text mentioning pressure foot therapy was first published in 1582.

Today the theoretical framework explaining the specific workings of foot reflexology is rooted in the West.]

It's at the end of the 19th century that scientific reflex studies were developed for neurobiological means: Ivan Pavlov proved the linked between stimulus and response.
By admitting that a stimulus provokes a reaction, he demonstrates that impulses provoked by pressure on the reflex areas of the foot act on the autonomous nervous system that controls the neurovegetative functioning of organs, muscles and glands. Thus the mere fact of stimulating specific points on the sole of the foot provokes a nervous reaction. The latter transmits an electro-chemical message to the central nervous system that leads to a reaction in the body.

During the 19th century, Doctor Fitzgerald develops a technique of pressures on the body’s extremities in order to anaesthetize other body parts. He then becomes the father of "digitopuncture" : He divides the body into 10 longitudinal zones going from the head to the toes and hands. According to this system, each toe and finger belongs to a distinct zone. He believes that each organ belonging to a specific zone is linked to other organs within the same zone.

Doctor Riley, Fitzgerald's colleague, added horizontal divisions to the longitudinal theory zone.

Eunice Ingham (1879-1974), Riley's assistant, by demonstrating precise links between reflex points on the foot sole and their corresponding parts on the body, is considered as the creator of today's foot reflexology. She is the first person to have drawn a map of organs reflected on the feet.

Today
As a session of relaxation and wellness, this massage offers a great antidote to the negative effects of stress. It helps eliminate the tension and fatigue of modern life and acts as an excellent complement to western medicine.

A few sessions can eliminate tensions due to stress and overwork, act on sleeping, digestive, neurone disorders and relieve migraines, as well as alleviate muscle and joint pains.

It is important to point out that this massage cannot be used as a substitute for a doctor's visit. It can however be a great complementary therapeutic care.

@ Estelle Taraud

06 60 14 33 00

@ réalisation GAR