The Reflexology Spa

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF REFLEXOLOGY

The ancient healing art of Reflexology has been known to man for many thousands of years. It was first practised by the early Egyptians and Chinese.

In 1913 Dr Fitzgerald an American Ear, nose and throat surgeon introduced his therapy to the west. He noted that pressure on specific areas of the body had an anaesthetising effect on a related area. Developing this theory he divided the body into 10 equal vertical zones. This was later called zone therapy.

In 1917 Dr Fitzgerald published a book called Zone Therapy. In this book he explained his success with relieving pain using various devises on the hands and feet. It so happened at a fateful dinner party a well known concert singer announced that the upper register tones of her voice had gone flat. Dr Fitzgerald asked to examine her fingers and toes and after told her the cause was due to a callus on her right great toe. After applying pressure for a few minutes the patient remarked that the pain had gone and then to quote from the article that was written �whereupon the doctor asked her to try the tones of the upper register miraculously it seemed to us that the singer reached higher notes than she had ever sung before.

Eunice Ingham extended the work of Dr Fitzgerald and mapped the feet with all the corresponding organs and glands of the body. In the 1930�s Eunice Ingham further developed and refined the zone theory which is now known as foot reflexology. She found that tension in a part of the foot mirrored tension in a related part of the body.

Eunice Ingham is still known as the pioneer of modern reflexology and she authored two well-known books "Stories the Feet Can Tell" and "Stories the Feet Have Told". They have since been combined into one volume. In addition to her writing and lecturing, she, along with her nephew Dwight Byers founded the International Institute to continue her work.

Dwight Byers is the current President of the Institute. He worked for many years with his Aunt and is equally keen that her work and that developed by the Institute more recently, should be passed on for the benefit of many people.

Throughout her forty years of experience treating many thousands of people, Eunice Ingham devised a system of techniques which enable the practitioner to contact the reflexes in the most effective and economic way. This system is known as the "The Ingham Method" and though this method has been refined still further through research by Dwight Byers and staff at the Institute, her legacy is still thoroughly entwined in the practical techniques that we teach.

Eunice Ingham died in 1974 aged 85, having devoted forty years of her life to reflexology. Today, her legacy continues and she would be proud to see how reflexology has been developed into a profession.

Reflexology has been very successful in relieving many acute and chronic conditions. An increasing number of people are using this safe, natural therapy as a way of relieving tension. It brings the body into balance and so it can be effectively used as a preventative measure to ensure good health.