Ten Benefits of Reflexology & Seeing a Holistic Reflexologist

In this post, we’ll dive into the top ten benefits of reflexology, a practice that provides a calming, soothing massage to the feet’s pressure points, rooted in Chinese Medicine. You’ll also learn the key reasons to choose a certified holistic reflexologist.

To start, let’s review the foundations of holistic reflexology.

In reflexology, the gentle stimulation of the nervous system and energy meridian reflexes balance all organ systems and restore physical and mental equilibrium. Reflexology has been practiced for thousands of years all over the globe. In countries beyond the United States, it’s often covered by health insurance and well-integrated into the healthcare systems.

Holistic reflexology provides countless positive health benefits, and its effectiveness is scientifically proven.

The true art of holistic reflexology is preventative medicine. You want to prevent disease before it manifests in the physical body. With reflexology, you prioritize your health before you get sick.

When you see a holistic reflexologist, they focus on deep relaxation and individual care so you may reach your health and life goals. They should create the space for you to connect to your highest self and reach maximum inner peace. When body, mind and soul are in harmony then the body can heal.

Holistic reflexology allows you to detach from the responsibilities of your busy everyday life and traumatic experiences of the past. Clients often report that after the session, they feel like they have returned from a mini vacation. This is essential for healing and improving your health.

For me, holistic reflexology is a beautiful and fulfilling profession. I have been a holistic reflexologist for more than 30 years and had the privilege to start my career in the US on the team of Dr. David Servan-Schreiber at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Holistic Reflexology is sacred work. Through the soles of the feet, I am able to touch the soul of another human being.

Because it is important for you to know the difference between a Certified Holistic Reflexologist and a practitioner of other reflexology methods, I’ve included it in the ten benefits of reflexology below.

1.) Holistic reflexology is a personalized treatment plan.

A holistic reflexology client fills out a comprehensive medical intake, answering questions regarding the medical history, a list of medications, quality of sleep, family history, nutrition, elimination, pre-dominant emotions, major life events, and more. The Holistic Reflexologist then develops an individually personalized treatment plan to assist the client in the most effective way on their journey to good health and well-being.

2.) Reflexology gets to the source of dis-ease.

Holistic Medicine understands that a dis-ease begins long before its manifestation in the physical body. During the medical intake, the holistic reflexologist inquires about significant life events and trauma to understand and serve the client in the best way and create positive healing solutions.

In my career, I have seen countless cases in which a drastic life event (e.g., a move, being laid off from work, a divorce, or the death of a loved one) caused a mental-emotional imbalance, which then later manifested in the form of physical disease. I have also often observed digestive disorders in young people who leave home and go to college a couple of years after they move away.

It is important to make these connections.

Generally, holistic reflexologists will examine a client’s history from the day of a diagnosis up to five years ago and look for significant life events.

It is important to connect the timeline of the unfolding of a dis-ease, understand the cause, and then create healing solutions to bring the human being back to wholeness.

3.) Reflexology transcends fear, anger, and worry.

Holistic Reflexology points on the big toe
Teaching Holistic Reflexology Students to locate the precise and correct reflex points on the feet is essential. Students practice their sensory perception and are able to detect subtle shifts in the client’s nervous system.

In Chinese Medicine, all organ systems are associated with emotions. A certified holistic reflexologist can sense through specific reflex points on the feet which emotions are predominant in a client’s life.

The emotions that create the greatest havoc in our bodies, in our minds, in our relationships, and in our lives are fear, anger, and worry.

Holistic reflexology emphasizes guiding the client on a journey of awareness to eliminate negative emotions and transform them into positive ones. Peaceful inner states of mind are a requirement for good health.

The five elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether are reflected in the feet and relate to the stages in a person’s life.

A holistic reflexologist understands how to analyze the different aspects of the human being reflected in the soles of the feet and knows which elements are dominant, which elements are dormant, and which elements need balancing.

A holistic reflexologist is trained to teach clients holistic life tools and assist them in cultivating healthy, life-enhancing positive emotions and healthy habits tailored to their needs. They serve as health coaches who analyze a client’s feet and, based on the insights, develop a personalized treatment plan.

4.) Reflexology induces the Alpha wave healing state.

The alpha wave level activity of the brain, specifically the brain wave level activity between 8 – 9.5 hertz, is a unique state of mind. It is a feeling of floating between falling asleep and awakening.

In reflexology sessions, clients often experience dream-like states, vivid memories, and solutions to problems in the form of new ideas. This is a level in which the body’s self-healing power is activated.

To support this special healing state, a holistic reflexologist will not engage with their clients in mundane, everyday conversations. Instead, they guide their clients on a peaceful meditative inner journey, which allows the client to drift off into these special states of mind, which connects them to their higher selves and provides deep relaxation and stress reduction.

5.) Holistic reflexology untangles trapped energy and trauma.

Dorit Brauer and her Holistic Reflexology Teacher Gilad Shadmon from the Mahut College for Complementary Medicine and Holism.
Dorit Brauer and her Holistic Reflexology Teacher Gilad Shadmon from the Mahut College for Complementary Medicine and Holism.

A holistic reflexologist is trained in Energy Medicine and can untangle trapped energy and trauma through specific reflexology techniques.

During my holistic reflexology training in Israel, I learned an ancient reflexology energy medicine method that has proven beneficial for clients with trauma, PTSD, endometriosis, PMS, and more.

When I taught my first Holistic Reflexology Certification Program in the US in 2012, my student Christine Heller-Rieck, a holistic nurse and mid-wife from Germany, shared that she learned this powerful energy healing modality during her further education training as a holistic nurse in Germany and it proved very beneficial in her work as a Holistic Nurse and midwife.

A holistic reflexologist will balance your energy bodies and chakras through specific reflex-points in the feet.

6.) With holistic reflexology, you actively participate in your healing journey.

Holistic reflexology clients have asked me: “How long will it take, and how many sessions do I need to get better.”

The answer to this question depends entirely on the client’s readiness for change. A disease can not be healed from the place that created it. For healing to happen, something needs to be different: the mindset, thought processes, emotions, environment, and all contributing factors.

A holistic reflexologist opens the door to healing and teaches you to see your life, past, and body in a new, loving way. They will also give you tools for your inner evolution and assist you in shifting your perception of reality from polarity to unity, from victimhood to being 100% in charge of your life.

The client is an active participant in their own healing journey, and they receive the tools to maintain good health and well-being between the Holistic Reflexology appointments. When the client is ready, a shift can happen.

With that in mind, following the first few sessions, the holistic reflexologist generally has an idea of how quickly the client may feel improvement. This depends on the client’s responses, the differences of energy in specific reflex points from session to session, and the client’s participation in evolving consciousness assignments in between sessions, e.g. meditations, intention setting, cultivating an inner sanctuary, and holistic time management.

A Client With Migraines Case Study

I recall a female client who suffered severe migraine headaches, which began during puberty, intensified while she was in college, and accompanied her throughout her adult life.

In my experience, holistic reflexology is an effective modality to significantly lessen the occurrence and symptoms of migraine headaches. If a client sees me once a week, generally, they should feel improvement after five weeks.

This female client felt temporary relief, better sleep, and less anxiety after the session, but no significant difference in migraine symptoms by session eight. I had a different vision for her health when I began seeing her.

Finally, I asked if she could envision herself without the migraine headaches, and without hesitation, she loudly exclaimed: “No.”

“So how do you expect to get better if you cannot see yourself without the migraines?” I asked.

We began creating healing images of how her life would look like without migraine headaches. Every day, she made lists of activities she would enjoy if she were migraine headache-free, including family vacations, which she had missed because she fell ill.

As she started focusing on the vision of her “Healthy Self,” her health improved, and the specific reflex points in her feet showed less resistance. Stagnant energy began to move, and she felt more hopeful and positive about the future. She started participating, and the results were life-changing.

By session twelve, she felt significant improvement and less frequency of occurrence, and by session 15, the migraines that had plagued her throughout her entire life were gone. This client continued to see me once a month for prevention and to maintain her new level of good health.

7.) Holistic reflexology supports your health and isn’t another medical diagnosis.  

I too often hear stories of clients who tell me that a “Reflexologist” gave them a medical diagnosis while touching their feet for the first time (e.g. “I see something is wrong with your stomach.”)

This is dangerous and irresponsible. Only medical doctors are qualified to diagnose using medical equipment. A holistic reflexologist or any reflexologist cannot diagnose health conditions.

8.) Reflexology awakens the natural healing power of your body.

A certified holistic reflexologist will never recommend that you take supplements.

At the beginning of my career in the US, in 1998, I offered holistic reflexology for a few months at a spa in Downtown Pittsburgh. One day, the owner called me in for a meeting, and she “ran the numbers.”

The owner said she had a reflexologist in her spa before me, and this reflexologist sold supplements by telling her clients that she could see that they needed liver support, kidney support, or different vitamins. The owner pointed out that the supplements were sold at the spa, and with the percentage of the sales, I could increase my income by half or even more.

I was shocked!

This practice is not only unethical but can also be detrimental to a client’s health. First, a reflexologist cannot evaluate through the feet if any supplements are necessary.

On the contrary, I, along with the certified holistic reflexology graduates of The Brauer Institute of Holistic Medicine, assess which medications a client takes and for how many years, as well as which supplements they take and for how long.

We do so to determine how “burdened” the body’s cleansing systems (the liver, kidneys, and lymph nodes) are and how much we need to focus on cleansing and detoxification during sessions.

A truly holistic approach does not allow to add a burden.

Less is more.

Additionally, inappropriately recommended supplements might interact or interfere negatively with prescription medications. And there are cases of supplementation toxicity, including peripheral neuropathy caused by vitamin B6 toxicity.

Instead, the goal of a holistic reflexologist is to awaken a person’s natural healing instincts and re-align them with their natural state of inner balance.

Over time, holistic reflexology clients are taught to trust their inner guidance system and develop healthy instincts.

A Holistic Reflexology Client Learns to Trust His Dreams for Guidance

A client saw me after a cold to strengthen his immune system. During the session, he relaxed deeply and went into a dream state during which he saw himself drinking fresh-squeezed orange juice. The client followed his inner guidance and bought oranges after the session. The body’s need for Vitamin C expressed itself in the dream, and obviously, it’s easier for the body to absorb the Vitamin in its original form instead of taking a synthetic supplement, which is more difficult to absorb and utilize.

What a Client Learns about Rest from Holistic Reflexology

Another client suffered from burnout and mental exhaustion, and I suggested taking half an hour to relax and do nothing once a day. This would help to restore mental equilibrium and connect her to her inner self. The concept of “doing nothing” was very foreign to her, but eventually, she gave it a try. She reported that after work, she would silently sit, look out the window, and watch the sky.

After a few sessions of Holistic Reflexology and her new practice of doing nothing, she reported a surprising fact: “I used to eat a lot of chocolate every day, and now I only feel the urge for chocolate every few days.”

The desire for chocolate was replaced with the sweetness of life, her new joy of taking care of herself, resting, and watching the sky.

Following the first cleansing sessions, Holistic Reflexology clients often experience new urges for different foods, such as vegetables or fruit, which they then incorporate into their healthier lifestyles. It’s a reset for the body.

9.) Holistic reflexology bridges allopathic and integrative medicine.

A holistic reflexologist will not see clients who refuse Western Medicine. The goal of a holistic reflexologist is to work hand-in-hand with the medical profession to find the best healing solutions for the patient and adhere to the highest standards of ethics and care.

A holistic reflexologist will never suggest that a client stop medical treatment or discontinue taking prescription medication. They are not allowed and are not qualified to do that.

Unfortunately, over the course of my career in the US since 1998, I have seen several cases where patients refused medical care. A painful example is a client who was diagnosed with a curable form of cancer.  She refused medical treatment and put together her team of ‘healers.’

They all suggested that she didn’t need medical care and that they could heal her. She also asked me to be one of her ‘healers’ and I said:

“I can only see you if you follow the protocol of your medical team, receive the required treatments, and put me in touch with your doctors.”

She got very angry and proceeded on her path.

A family member of hers informed me about what happened next:

Two years went on until this woman suffered so much pain, and the cancer tumor had grown so much that she finally approached her medical doctor, ready for conventional treatment. But it was too late. The cancer had spread to other organs and was inoperable. She could only be admitted to hospice care and died shortly after.

A holistic reflexologist will never see a client who refuses medical care.

We know that once a physical disease has manifested in the physical body, it can only be treated on the physical level—only medical doctors can do that.

Scientific research has shown that in oncology care, holistic reflexologists can assist in reducing pain, the occurrence of nausea and vomiting, and other negative side effects after chemotherapy and radiation. 

 

10.) Holistic reflexology reharmonizes the body to allow your life force to flow.

Recently, I received a message from a woman who said that she had just seen a reflexologist in Pittsburgh who told her what was wrong with her and that this reflexologist diagnosed many of her past problems through her feet. She wanted to know if this reflexologist was practicing my method.

A Brauer Institute-Certified Holistic Reflexologist will never tell you what is wrong but will instead create an individually tailored healing plan and share tools for everyday healthy living.

We have to realize that during sickness, while a few cells dance out of the natural rhythm of life, simultaneously, billions of cells function wholesomely, are perfectly healthy, and maintain homeostasis.

A holistic reflexologist affirms what is working well for the client and assists in creating more well-being instead of looking at what is wrong.

We create health by focusing on health, not by focusing on illness.

We create happiness by focusing on what makes us happy and doing more of it, making us even happier.

We create fulfillment by having a positive vision for the future and seeing ourselves as healthy, well, and filled with exuberant life force.

A holistic reflexologist is trained to detect the energetic, emotional currents in a client’s body that contribute to a lack of life force and aims to re-create the harmony within to allow life force to flow.

How do you select a qualified professional holistic reflexologist?

Ask the following questions:

  • Where did you receive your education?
  • Are you a certified reflexologist?
  • How many hours were required for you to become certified?
  • Who is your teacher?
  • How many hours of your education were in-person classroom hours?
  • How many years of practice and practical experience do you have?
  • Do you complete further education classes?

Brauer Institute: The Highest Level of Excellence in Holistic Care

2013 Brauer Institute for Holistic Medicine 300-hour Reflexology Graduates
Graduates of Brauer Institute for Holistic Medicine

Brauer Institute Holistic Reflexology Graduates complete a 300-hour reflexology certification program, which includes 200 classroom hours and a 10-week case study. The Brauer Institute provides specific hands-on coaching and real-time case feedback.

The 100-hour-plus home study includes practical work on clients, the practice of guided meditation and stress reduction techniques, an earthing protocol, and evolving consciousness assignments.

Brauer Institute Holistic Reflexology Graduates are eligible for Advanced Reflexology Practitioner membership with the Reflexology Association of America, which is the highest level in the US.

The Brauer Institute Graduates continue their further education classes for a minimum of two years after graduation which allows them to integrate the comprehensive class material and receive guidance with client cases and specific applications.

The Brauer Institute offers further education courses on the following topics:

  • Holistic Reflexology for Cancer Care
  • Holistic Reflexology for Strong Roots and Ancestral Healing
  • Holistic Reflexology for Auto Immune Disease
  • Holistic Reflexology for Grief and Prevention – Understanding How Grief Manifests in the Body
  • Holistic Reflexology for Fertility
  • Holistic Reflexology for Hospice Care and End-of-Life Transition
  • Holistic Reflexology for Healthy Relationships
  • Holistic Reflexology for Hashimoto
  • Holistic Reflexology for Menopause
  • Holistic Reflexology for ADD and ADHD in children

 

Schedule a Holistic Reflexology Appointment with Dorit Brauer.

Start the Application Process and enroll today for the Brauer Institute Holistic Reflexology Certification Program.

Summing up the Ten Benefits of Reflexology

Hands on practical work is an important part of the education for Brauer Institute Holistic Reflexology students.

These ten benefits of reflexology highlight the potential of reflexology’s holistic approach to health and well-being, offering much more than simple relaxation.

By addressing the root causes of dis-ease and promoting harmony within the body, this ancient practice empowers individuals to take an active role in their healing journeys. From personalized treatment plans to releasing trapped emotions and energy, the advantages of reflexology are profound and far-reaching.

Choosing a certified holistic reflexologist ensures tailored care rooted in expertise and ethical practice, bridging the gap between traditional and integrative medicine. As you explore the healing potential of reflexology, you not only nurture your body but also reconnect with your inner self, paving the way for a more balanced and fulfilling life.

Embark on a fulfilling career path in holistic reflexology.

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