Total Reflexology: The Reflex Points for Physical, Emotional, and Psychological Healing Paperback - 2008 - 1st Edition

The Principles

From Reflex to Consciousness
     The Total Reflexology Therapy method presented in this book is distinguished from other methods by the following essential facts:
     -The holistic principle “All is in all and all is the cause of all” is fundamental: it is based on the dynamic unity of the body in its self-regulating and self-healing abilities.
     -The craniosacral principle dear to osteopaths resides in the study of the fluctuations of the cerebrospinal fluid, which acts on the nervous system by means of the primary respiratory mechanism (PRM). Total Reflexology Therapy is the first to have applied these principles to foot reflexology and integrated their consequences into this practice.
     -Perfectly mirroring the afflicted regions when their reflex point is painful to the touch, the occipital zones confirm which zones on the foot need to be worked on--whether the problem is structural in nature or originates in the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous systems.
     The human being is an emotional, mental, and structural whole (bones, muscles, nerves, organs, fluids). Therefore, a simple physical treatment applied to a reflex point or a zone of the foot can affect a particular organ or region of the body beyond the physical plane, on the psychic or even the mental plane, triggering a healing emotional release. A pain in the stomach, for example, could reveal a difficulty in digesting not a food but a traumatizing event, even one that occurred in the remote past.
     As all these principles come out of a strict discipline, appropriate treatments will require a precise diagnostic choice followed by a precise working of the corresponding points and zones on the foot. This precision can exist only if infallible and invariable anatomical benchmarks are used as points of reference. Only the human skeleton can provide these elements.
     Let it be emphasized here that the plates presented in this book are not simplistic textbook diagrams of organs; they represent the precise zones correlated with each unique organ and its particular systems following years of research and experimentation.

The Different Systems of the Body
     After asking the patient the preliminary questions, palpating the occipital zones, determining his or her bio-type, and in some cases charting the effects of stress, the practitioner should take great care in considering the different treatments that might be applied to treat the pathological conditions of the particular systems involved.
     It is necessary to distinguish the following and take an exact measurement of each of them:
     -The symptom, or the sign, perceived by the patient or established by a clinical examination
     -The syndrome (or set of symptoms) that best sums up the pathological process
     -The illness (or description of the associated syndromes)
      The practitioner should always keep in mind that he or she is treating not a disease but a patient.
     The practitioner should also pay special heed to Hering’s law, which provides the basis for meticulously following the evolution or involution of an illness, when overseeing the treatment’s progress.
     The symptoms should move in the following way:
     -From the top to the bottom of the body (descending)
     -From the inside toward the outside (exiting)
     -From the present toward the past (moving back through the previous stages of the illness or disorder)
     In what follows we shall review the principles of the following systems in succession, from both an anatomical standpoint and a consideration of overall health:
1. The skeletal system
2. The digestive system
3. The urinary system
4. The respiratory system
5. The cardiovascular system
6. The lymphatic system

1. The Skeletal System
     Standing posture reveals the vitality of the subject.
     The skeleton experiences profound transformations over the course of an individual’s life. It becomes more fragile during times of hormonal change (growth, puberty, and menopause).
     The skeleton supports the body and contains minerals that in some ways constitute the bricks of the body.The parathyroid glands, controlled by the liver, regulate their fixation, and the pituitary gland acts on growth.
     The skeleton requires a balanced diet that includes vitamins C, D, and B; proper intestinal absorption; a hormonal system in good function; and regular physical activity, which stimulates the formation of bone cells. A deficient and acidic diet (sugars, tomatoes, citrus fruits, tea, coffee) is harmful. Stress blocks the stomach. Acids will then irritate the mucous membranes, hindering their ability to absorb minerals. Should this problem reach a crisis point, eliminate meats, processed lunch meats, fish, and dairy products from the diet as well.

Martine Faure-Alderson, D.O., had integrated naturopathy, acupuncture, and homeopathy into her medical practice for 25 years before she began her training in reflexology in the 1960s. She combines all these complementary holistic disciplines in her treatment and diagnoses of patients and in her research and teaching at her Total Reflexology Therapy school in Paris. She also gives seminars throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, and Europe. She lives in England.