New Thing #74 - Reflexology aka A Good 'Ol Foot Rub

Today I went to my first reflexology session courtesy of Groupon (or a fancy word for a foot rub). What's better than a glorified foot rub, you ask? Rainbows and unicorns, maybe, but that's about it.

I enjoy a good massage just like everyone else, but my feet are usually at the end of a full-body massage, so they don't really get as much attention as I'd like sometimes. Years of wearing heels, along with weekly torture in my salsa shoes, have left me with occasional foot cramps and the beginnings of plantar fasciitis. Joy.

So imagine my delight when a Groupon for a 60-minute reflexology session came up. A whole hour devoted to my tuckered out tootsies. I was so flipping excited. From the website: "Reflexology, a gentle, effective therapy relieves tension and clears blockages by stimulating the 7,200 sensory receptors in the nerve endings of the feet. Properly administered, it can provide relief for many health problems in a natural, non-invasive way." I don't really have any health problems I'm trying to fix, but I still wanted to give it a try.

I called to make my appointment, and was immediately greeted by the answering machine. I left my message, and then promptly forgot about it. Days went by and I realized no one had ever called me back. I dialed the number again, and instead of an answering machine, I heard the familiar 3 notes indicating a number no longer in service. I panicked, then got kind of ticked off that I had purchased a Groupon for a company that went out of business. I tried again, and realized I must have dialed the wrong number the first time, because this time it went through just fine. But, I did get the answering machine again. However, the lack of a response, the failed dialing attempt and the fact that I was getting the machine again, did not put me in a good mood. So, I don't think my second message was all that jovial.

I did finally receive a response back, the lady apologized for taking so long, and now we're the best of friends. Not really, but at least she made amends. My appointment was scheduled for a Friday afternoon after I got off work, and it couldn't come soon enough.

Well, that day arrived today, and I plugged the address into my GPS and drove the short 7 minute drive to my destination. As I got closer, I realized I was driving through a suburban neighborhood. I thought that this is kind of a weird place for an office. Until I passed my destination, only to realize that it was indeed a house I was looking for.

Uh, I don't know about this. Nothing on the website said "Hey, I practice out of my house. Don't worry, it's cool. I'm not weird or anything." As I pulled up in front of the house, I double checked the website for the address (thank God for smart phones), when a lady poked her head out of the house and told me it was okay to park in the driveway. Um, ok. What am I getting myself into?

I walked in to said lady's living room, and she was dressed in athletic shorts and a tank top. She introduced herself as Elaine, and pointedly remarked about how it's nice to finally meet me. I could read the subtext a mile away, lady. You're not happy with my snarky message. I get it. But taking over a week to get back to someone is not good business.

I'm feeling a bit uneasy at this point, because I have no idea what to expect. She apologized for her attire, saying she's usually more professional, but, she had just finished yoga before I got there. Well, it's not like I called to say I was dropping by. I've had this appointment set for awhile now. She knew I was going to be there! Whatever, I could care less what she was wearing. As long as it wasn't a robe or a dress made out of human skin, I'm good.

She asked me why I was looking into reflexology, and I didn't have the courage to tell her that I was mainly doing it for the blog, and that I really don't know what reflexology is. I just wanted a foot massage. So, I fudged my answer a bit and said that I have bad feet from salsa dancing, and I was just looking for a little relief. Which, in all honesty, is true. Not the whole truth, but whatever. She asked if I have pain along the backside of my lower calf, and I said no, mainly on the balls of my feet. She shook her head and said that I have bad shoes. "Well, they're salsa shoes, they're not exactly supportive", I replied. She rolled her eyes and still said "They're not good shoes. Get new ones." or something along those lines.

I didn't feel like arguing, so I just let it go while she walked me into her massage room. It was just a small room to the side of her living room that could easily have been a sitting room or an office. In the middle was the massage table, but there were no doors, just curtains to block out the rest of the house. Fortunately, this was just a foot massage, so there would be no de-clothing, but still. Interesting set up.

I lay down on my back with a travel-type u-shaped pillow around my neck and head. She wrapped me in a blanket, washed my feet off and got to work. All the while, she was rattling on about feet and dancing and I don't know what else. If she expected me to fall asleep, like she said I probably would, chatting my ear off was not really going to help. An eye mask followed, along with some aromatherapy and interesting mood music. She told me the music was the result of a doctor playing different sounds for people, and recording the effects on their brain. I think the "music" I was listening to was the result of all of the soothing sounds he played. Ooookkaaaaay.

She could have just played some Enya, and I would have been fine. Worked like magic in college when I needed to take a nap.

She started with my left foot, lightly pressing different areas, and explaining that every part of the body is reflected in the feet. Hence, the name reflexology. She jabbed the end of my big toe and said "that's your pituitary gland."

Cool. Can you stop stabbing it now?

The next half hour was a mixture of torture and awesomeness. She explained that your feet can have blockages of energy and they need to be cleared. It seemed like my feet had similar "knots" like my shoulders do when I get massages there. She spent a lot of time on either side of my heel, below the ankle. That's where she inflicted the most pain. One side was connected to my hip flexor and the other my pelvis. She said that due to all of my dancing, it makes sense that that is where blockages would occur. Sounds logical enough.

Plus, my plantar muscle - where the arch of the foot is - was also incredibly tight. "That's because of high heels." I felt like she was scolding me. I imagine if I could see her, she would have been rolling her eyes by now. Fine, lady, I'll wear orthopedic granny shoes for the rest of my life. Will that make you happy?!

She didn't leave a centimeter of my foot untouched. The toes, in between the toes, the ball, the heel, the top, the arch, the ankle, the lower calf/achilles tendon, you name it, she worked her magic. I may have been skeptical when I walked in, but this lady knew her stuff. And she used enough pressure that she didn't tickle my feet. That would have been awful.

I tended to tense up a lot though. You would too, if someone was repeatedly jabbing your foot. I don't know how many times she told me take deep breaths to work though the soreness. She kept telling me to relax and stop flexing my butt muscles. I didn't even realize I was so wound up. Nor did I realize she could tell I was flexing my butt. Interesting. There was no way in hell I was going to be able to fall asleep if I had to constantly force myself to relax and breathe deeply. Not to mention that I was getting a bit warm wrapped up in that damn blanket.

Eventually she moved on to my right foot, and I have to say that my left foot felt good. I couldn't really tell an immediate difference while I was lying on the table, but it felt lighter somehow. It's difficult to explain, but it didn't hurt. There was no residual soreness from all of her massaging, and even though I didn't have "pain" walking in there, I felt like any underlying tension was gone. When she finished a half hour later with the right foot, I felt the same way. Like I had new feet or something.

She finished in exactly an hour, as promised, and I struggled to shake my lethargic limbs back into alertness. Her website had mentioned that a good reflexology massage can feel the same as getting a full-body massage. I didn't think that was possible, until I tried to sit up from the table, and I was light-headed and sleepy, like I always am after a full-body massage.

Once I was finally revived, I thanked her for her help, and asked what I could do to stop the plantar fasciitis from getting any worse. My mom has it, and I knew that it wouldn't be long before I was in the same kind of pain she's in. She left the room for a minute, and came back with a golf ball. "Here, this is the easiest, most effective way to help with that. Take the golf ball and roll it under your feet and between the toes on a regular basis."

"Oh, and it sounds weird, but you can also walk backwards from time to time."

I think I'll stick with the golf ball thing. My boss might look at me weird if I'm walking backwards around the office.

If you have problems with your feet, or really anything, try reflexology. It's more effective than I thought it would be! And don't be freaked out if it's in someone's house. You never know what you might miss out on.