FootNotes

Last Monday I taught a self care class about hand reflexology. Then Saturday a 6-hour class called Self Care and Family Care Reflexology created by Judith Nourse, an RN, massage therapist and National Board Certified Reflexologist.  Talk about stepping out of my comfort zone.  Yes, I have over 300 hundred class hours myself and over 1000 hours working with clients, but I’ve never taught a class before.  And last week I taught two.

What I learned in my first class is the words don’t matter in a how-to class as much as the doing.  And reflexology classes are about doing, using one's hands, fingers and thumbs to palpate upon reflexes indicated on reflexology maps.  The minute I started showing people how they could relieve a sinus headache or a lower back ache working with their fingers on their own hands, the room got quiet and people began feeling things in their own bodies.  Several actually told me they even felt better.
 
One woman in the hand class had something called a trigger finger.  She told me that the finger on her left hand was tight and I could see she could not straighten it.  So I gently reflexed her palm, working up and down, and back and forth.  Then I gave her a golf ball and asked her to lightly roll the ball between her two palms.  At the end of class she told me it was the best her hand had felt in a long time.  All we did was increase the circulation in her hand and kindly stretch the tendon. This was now something she could do for herself while she decided what to do medically.
 
On Saturday, I used flip charts and hand-outs to explain reflexology.  The day was good because the eight students were excellent.    They had come to learn something new and everything I talked about was new to them.  But again the quality of the room changed when they worked on themselves or  each other.  For me, the best part of the day was when I led them through the foot routine and they worked on each others’ feet.   People relaxed so deeply, some actually said they fell asleep in the hands of their classmates. 
 
Reflexology is truly a gift we can give each other. A gift of relaxation and balancing that we so need in our culture.  I am amazed how easy it is to teach…this profession that took me years to truly learn.  And so, of course, I’m going to teach again.  And get a bigger room.  And make more interesting flip charts.  What I know is I can teach what I love.  Hooray for going beyond one’s comfort zone.  I hope you try it yourself soon.