The Power of Hope

Every few years I write about the placebo effect in this space because it’s such a crucial—and potentially confusing—player in health and wellness. The word placebo pops up just about every month in the Wellness Letter. It turns up a dozen times here in our article about reflexology.

How much do acupuncture’s apparent benefits derive from the placebo effect? That’s a key question about most complementary and alternative therapies—but also about much of mainstream medicine. Researchers and doctors have a love/hate relationship with the placebo effect. While we want to encourage it, we don’t want the benefits of our treatments to derive solely from the placebo effect. But does it really matter? And what is this mysterious phenomenon?

The placebo effect occurs when belief in a remedy or in the power of a trusted and caring practitioner actually helps the remedy work and triggers an improvement in symptoms and health. A placebo (Latin for “I will please”) is a “fake” or simulated treatment, such as a dummy pill or sham procedure, administered to someone who is unaware that it’s not a “real” treatment. As far back as ancient times it was known that the hope and expectation people experience when treated—even with a placebo—can play a large role in recovery. When it comes to pain and many other phenomena, the mind and body work together.
That makes it hard to tell to what extent beneficial results come from a treatment itself or from the patient’s positive expectations. But it’s essential to know whether the apparent efficacy of a treatment such as acupuncture is due solely to the placebo effect. The only way to find out is to test treatments against a placebo in controlled clinical trials, in which neither the researchers nor the patients know who is getting the treatment and who is getting the placebo. Even with a drug or procedure that’s more effective than a placebo, a patient’s hope and expectation that it will help can add to its effectiveness.

It’s estimated that anywhere from 10 to 40 percent of people given a placebo show some improvement for a variety of symptoms or conditions. This effect is more likely to occur when people believe that someone is trying to help them and thus expect relief, and especially if the someone is an optimistic practitioner in a therapeutic setting.

Placebos have a bad reputation because they involve deception. If I prescribe sugar pills for patients with migraines, they may have less pain for a while, but I have deceived them. Doctors are obliged to try to cure the ailment, not merely make patients feel better temporarily. But often we do both, and sometimes the latter is the best we can do. Some patients may not care if they are secretly given a placebo, so long as it helps. However, others would lose trust in their doctors if they found out. And without trust, even proven treatments may work less well.

But things are not always black or white—placebo or effective treatment. For instance, even after reading dozens of studies and reviews about acupuncture, I’m not sure how beneficial it is beyond its strong placebo effect. Still, when I was in practice I sometimes advised acupuncture and I would still do so today—at least for patients with conditions such as back or neck pain that isn’t alleviated by conventional treatment, or nausea caused by chemotherapy.

The trick is to harness the placebo effect as an ally in healing—for treatments that are of proven efficacy as well as for those of uncertain efficacy.

Walking in Nature

A few months ago I went on my annual backpacking trip in California’s magnificent Sierra Nevada mountains. I usually go with a friend for five or six days, and we do pretty well, considering that we’re now grandfathers.

Though the trips are strenuous, I always come home recharged, physically and mentally. I get a lot out of exercising regularly year-round, at the gym or running in my neighborhood, but I get so much more out of this annual trek. It’s not just exercise, or a vacation or quality time with a friend. What makes it especially restorative is being out in nature.

This nature stuff may sound touchy-feely (very “Berkeley”) but there’s real science behind it. Lately, researchers have been looking at what happens to our brains and bodies when we’re walking in a forest, in the mountains or by the sea. The study of such “green exercise” usually falls under the umbrella of environmental psychology (or ecopsychology). The Japanese, in particular, have been studying what they call “forest bathing” (Shinrin-yoku)—that is, spending time in nature for therapeutic effects.

Studies have found, for instance, that people do better on tests involving memory or attention after trekking through the woods than after walking in a city. People have increased vitality (that is, physical and mental energy) and a greater sense of well-being after walking through a tree-lined river path than after walking indoors. Other studies have even found that patients in hospitals tend to recover more quickly when they can see trees from their windows.

The proposed benefits of walking in nature include giving the brain a respite from the multitasking of everyday life. If you enjoy hiking, you know that you become more aware of your surroundings—the sounds, smells, colors. Time slows down. Somehow this refreshes the brain and makes thinking clearer. Japanese researchers have found that walking through forests can help reduce stress, lower blood pressure and heart rate and improve various aspects of immune function for anywhere from a few hours to a few days afterwards—while walking in a city does not. They suggest that various airborne chemicals emitted from plants may play a role.

All it takes is five to 20 minutes in nature to boost mood and energy levels somewhat, some research has found, though longer forays produce greater benefits. Other studies indicate that there’s a “third-day effect”—a special stage of relaxation and mindfulness that occurs after a couple days of hiking. I consistently experience that on my trips. Being out of the range of cell phones and email helps.
Not everyone enjoys hiking or can do it, of course. Other activities—by the shore or even in a city park—may be your thing. Find what kind of environmentalist you are, and enjoy.

Reflexology How to Relieve Back Pain

So if you want to use reflexology for back pain you're gonna want to focus on spinal reflexes, have health for future, healthy lifestyle.

So we'll start there; so you actually don't have to move the other foot up but just for our purposes you could see this medial aspect; usually the person can sit with both their feet in front of you. So the spinal reflex is just from here all the way down this side of the foot. So we are gonna start at the base and we're gonna work our way all the way up. Depending on where the pain is in the back you might wanna stop and give a little more attention to either where you're feeling a little change in that tissue texture or if they've indicated they have lot of pain around their cervical area or their mid back or their lower back. And you'll just either stay there a little longer or you can work that area from different vantage points. So here we're just doing thumb walking, taking little bites, all the way up this medial aspect of the foot, right up here getting into the cervical spine reflex and actually go all the way up; I'll go past the very top and into what are brain reflexes just on the great toe. If you really want to give a lot of focus to that area, you could start at the top and go back down again; there is certainly no reason why you can't do that a couple of times. And if you also want to, like I was saying if someone's having mid-back pain you can give a little more attention to the mid-area, you could actually, using your thumb or your fingers, you could do a little walking across the reflex point, you go there and then maybe move down and go across again. You'll wanna do that bilaterally, so you'll wanna do both feet, you do the other side. You can also give some attention to the legs and the lower legs and so it'll be right, this is the fifth metatarsal here and this is the base, this is the calcaneous, that heel bone and right in between there is the knee and hip reflex. It actually goes back here to some of the hip reflexes; it can be really intense; you wanna check in with your person; if they start to pull away, definitely ease up. We could do a little bit of finger walking in there. And then the last point will just be a solar plexus hold. So with your thumbs at the diaphragm line we'll come across through here, find the point; you just lean forward into there and that's it; that'll be the protocol if someone is experiencing some sort of back pain anywhere along their spine.

Reflexology How to Relieve Headaches and Migraines

The reflex points we're going to focus on for migraines and headaches are the reflexes to the brain, head, neck reflexes, the spinal reflexes and then we'll end with the solar plexus, have future health, ỉmprove our healthy life for me today.

So, we'll begin using thumb and finger-walking techniques. And we'll start with the toe, work our way down. So, with the toe you always want to support the ball of the foot. The whole top of the foot here. And then you can finger or thumb-walk down. So, supporting the toe in the back you can thumb-walk down the toe.

You want to be extremely thorough if this is something that is important for your friend or family member that they're struggling with. So, you'll want to thumb-walk down, up, across. You could do it here. You could also lift and go into a point a little bit more. You could go at a slight angle on your way up. You can support and use your thumb and your finger and go down at the same time. And you could use your finger-walking on this part. So, again you're just coming down with the finger-walking right here, future healthy life. You can give attention to the pituitary gland reflex. You can give attention to all these brain reflexes. You could use a little bit of your knuckle at the top, if you want, to get in there a little deeper. I don't use a lot of knuckle techniques. I don't think they're necessary. I think the thumb-walking is very effective.

Once you've done your whole toe, the neck reflexes here, the brain reflexes here - coming down you want to do the spinal reflex. So, with the spinal reflex you're going to come all the way from the top and do the entire spine. So, I'll start here. Always supporting. And then I come down with thumb-walking. And I just move as I continue on. And I'm taking really small bites here, so you're not doing big if don't want to miss any area. And you're going through different parts of the spine, too, healthy life tomorrow. You're going through at the very of your cervical spine and your thoracic spine and your lumbar spine. And these are the end points. You're sending a message from this end-point to the corresponding area to relax. So, you don't want to rush that. Just take your time.

So, you'll want to do it bilaterally. You'll want to do both feet. In addition to that big toe you're going to want to do all the toes. So, with the neck reflexes here, it's the same with the other toes. You also have the sinuses that come down right here. So with each toe just give a little bit of attention right there as well. And of course at the very top we have the brain reflexes. You give attention to all the toes, both feet and then the spinal reflexes on the way down.

And then I always end with a solar plexus hold. So, you take your thumbs here. This is the diaphragm line. You're going to come across here. Right in the center, there. That's your point. And you just lean forward.

Reflexology for Allergies, Asthma, Stress! Immune Boosting DIY How to Self Foot Massage for Feet

As we know about the benefits of reflexology, now I will introduce you how to do reflexology to cure allergies, asthma, and stress to have healthy life for me

6 Techniques Reflexology for Cancer Patients

So, as we know the benefit of reflexology and cancer. There is so much research that's been done over the years. And certainly research that's being done right now. So if you're curious about reflexology and cancer, I so encourage you to look into the studies. There's a major one being done right now with the National Cancer Institute in this country, the United States, with the NIH.

The National Institutes of Health For Future. It's Michigan State University and they are doing incredible work on breast cancer patients and reflexology. This is their second grant and it's really astonishing work. So just research it if you like. Branch Reflexology. Barbara Bower. There's some wonderful people doing that. So it's out there.

With cancer, it really depends on the person you're with. If they have cancer, it's really important that you're communicating with them the whole time. If they're undergoing some kind of chemotherapy, they might be really, really sensitive in their feet. So you might want to focus more on relaxation techniques. So we'll start with those, ỉmprove our future health

Some of the ones you can use might be the lung press for example. With the lung press you're going to go ahead and make a fist and you're going to with your thumb go ahead and insert it there. And then this hand will support the foot. So this part of the hand will be on the ball of their foot. So we bring it right there and we're just going to support with these fingers. Then to do the lung press we go ahead and press forward and then we kind of wave their foot towards us back. And we go front and back. We're going to do this bilaterally. So it means we're going to be doing it on both feet. We could do it the other direction too. You'll do the other foot as well, have a healthy lifestyle.

Some of the other things you could do could be the metatarsal mover. Just with your thumbs moving the metatarsal heads ever so gently. Again it's really important sometimes the just gentlest of touch for someone who's going through cancer is really, really special. So I encourage you to look into how to be present with your friend or family member and even just holding the feet can be really valuable.

You can also work on the foot, in general, as a whole. So you could do all the reflexology techniques. You could do the thumb walking, the finger walking, in particular for the entire body. So we can for instance to the whole arch or belly of the foot. You could do the thumb walking up. You're passing through all of these wonderful vital organ reflexes. Certainly get your maps and look at what you're passing through. You might want to give a little more or less attention to something depending on the kind of cancer your person has.

In addition you also can do thumb walking on the heels. You could do it on the ball of the foot. The whole lymphatic system falls through here and across here. So certainly you could do everything, but the relaxation techniques tend to be very popular amongst cancer patients.

5 Basic Foot Reflexology Techniques

So, there are four basic foot reflexology techniques, to have health for you, for me tomorrow. I am going to add one. There is reflexologist named Dr. Manzanares from Spain and he does something called a press and slide which I think is really effective. The other four will be, thumb walking, finger walking, a hook and back up and rotation on a point. So, let's start with thumb walking.

With thumb walking you're basically going to be using the little part of, just this joint. Right, so you'll just be doing that. A lot of times people will say to kind of come up and back down. I want to really stress that if you can come down and maintain pressure and just come up a little bit and then back down again, improve our future healthy lifestyle. So, you are moving infinitesimal, you're barely moving. You can practice on your forearm here. You're going to be doing that. So you're just inching ahead and again you're not going to pop up. A lot of people when they are teaching that, they pop up, so just be sure not to do that.

You're going to with a foot, you're going to press down just a little and come up and press down and come up, press down and come up. Now sometimes just wave the foot a little bit towards me and that will allow you to go a little deeper. As similarly, you could do finger walking. With finger walking I generally use it on the top of the foot. We could also use it on the sides of the foot. But generally not on the bottom plantar aspect. So, with that, you're just going to be doing the same kind of thing where you come down and come back up and back down again.

And you'll see, I am supporting the foot with my thumb on the other side. So, my thumb is moving to, you could actually move down between all of the metatarsal's here. Hook and back up, you're going to be using our thumb and you'll go into a point and then you press down and then you're going to have pull out just a little bit. It can be very deep. So, just be mindful and check in with your person, make sure you're not hurting them.

So again, you're going to press down and lean in a little bit and then back up. Generally points that are really good to use that on are the spleen reflex and the gall bladder reflex which are on either side of the feet. So, with this side you'll go hook and back up.

Rotation on a point. You're going to also use that thumb walking and you're just going to rotate the foot. So, it's right under the metatarsal heads, you come down and you just rotate over. I am actually going to walk the, what is called the diaphragm line. So, you go in and you're just going to rotate there. You can go over the entire diaphragm line.

Again, if somebody is you know, really anxious or feeling stressed out, that diaphragm line, the solar plexus point, which is right here, and the adrenal gland reflex are really powerful. And the last point is the press and slide with Dr. Manzanares. This is if you really want to get deep and you don't want to miss any points within there. So you're going to actually press down, you lean in, and you just slide a little bit and check in with your person, make sure you're not hurting them. You know, you want to kind of kick into it a place of parasympathetic, you know, relaxation. If you go beyond that, it's not serve going to them. So, again you press in and then you go up. Press in and slide and there will be continual pressure.

Video introduce Reflexology

As we know the definition about reflexology, now watch this video to know more about it. This is a simple insight into Refexology discussing what it is, how it works and how the foot is mapped out. This tutorial also covers the basics of what to look for, therapist and client positioning and some of the common movements used within this treatment. It may be helpful for therapists who are training or clients who are interested in knowing, have health for me

more about the treatment they receive. There are many different methods used and this is only one of them.

What Does Reflexology Do?

The Ingham Method® of Reflexology is used primarily for relaxing tension. Doctors agree that over 75% of our health problems can be linked to nervous stress and tension. Reflexology improves nerve and blood supply, and helps nature to normalize.

What Special Equipment is Needed?

Only the hands are used, making it a safe, simple, yet effective method without the use of gadgets. Let your fingers do the walking.

What to expect and benefits from reflexology treatment

What to expect from reflexology treatment

When first visiting a Reflexology practitioner, a detailed medical history will be taken. The patient will then be seated in some form of recliner chair or similar sitting position and will be asked to remove the shoes and socks.

The practitioner will initially examine the feet before commencing with the precise massage movement. The particular type of massage involved requires the application of a firm pressure using the side and end of the thumb. In some instances, the fingers may also be employed. All areas on both feet will be massaged.

Areas corresponding to parts of the body which are out of balance will feel uncomfortable or tender when massaged and the degree of tenderness will indicate the degree of imbalance. The sensitivity of the feet varies from person to person and the trained practitioner will understand the correct pressure to apply and how to interpret the tendernesses felt. The massage should not be very uncomfortable to even the most sensitive of feet.

The full treatment session will last approximately three-quarters of an hour and at the end of a session the feet should feel warm and the patient relaxed. The number of treatment sessions required will vary depending on the condition being treated, ỉmprove our health for me.

Following treatment, it is sometimes possible that the eliminating systems of the body become more active in order to rid the body of unwanted toxic matter. However, if treatment is correctly applied, these reactions should not be severe.

The benefits of reflexology massage

"Some of my clients have been coming for nearly 20 years… First they feel better, then they feel well, then they stay well,” laughs the reflexologist Rosanna Bickerton. “A new client will tell me they haven’t had a cold this year for the first time ever, that they have more energy. Reflexology definitely helps the body, even if we don’t quite understand how.”

What you notice during a session with the charmingly perspicacious Bickerton, 53, is that she can send even the most thought-addled brain into delicious shutdown. “The anxiety state is what I see most often. Which means that all the energy is in the head, so the rest of the body doesn’t have enough energy. My work triggers the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing anxiety, stopping the fight-or-flight response, and letting the body heal.”

The aim of reflexology is to “create homeostasis, which means that the organs in the body are all working together and at their best, ỉmprove our future health, cure some disease.”


Bickerton trained in Beijing with the legendary Professor Hang, the former chairman of the China Reflexology Association. Hang recommended that health issues be targeted with daily sessions over 10 days. “No mean feat in London,” she concedes, “but the results can be remarkable.”


She recalls one client who had for years suffered 16 days of PMS per month – after 10 days’ treatment, this was reduced to two. That said, Bickerton sees most people once a week for at least six weeks. She also teaches DIY points so clients can work on their issues at home, an approach common in China.

What is reflexology? Can it relieve stress?

Besides acupuncture which is used to press the point, Reflexology is the application of pressure to areas on the feet, hands and ears. Reflexology is generally relaxing and may be an effective way to alleviate stress, have a health for me tomorrow.

The theory behind reflexology is that these areas correspond to organs and systems of the body. Proponents believe that pressure applied to these areas affects the organs and benefits the person's health.

Reflexologists use foot charts to guide them as they apply pressure to specific areas. Sometimes these practitioners use items, such as rubber balls, rubber bands and sticks of wood, to assist in their work. Practitioners of reflexology include chiropractors, physical therapists and massage therapists, among others.

Several studies funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health indicate that reflexology may reduce pain and psychological symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, and enhance relaxation and sleep. Studies also show that reflexology may have benefits in palliative care of people with cancer.

Reflexologists claim that reflexology also can treat a wide variety of medical conditions, such as asthma, diabetes and cancer. However, scientific evidence is lacking to support these claims.

Reflexology is generally considered safe, although very vigorous pressure may cause discomfort for some people.

Is reflexology suitable for me?
Reflexology is a therapy which can be received by anyone at any age, from newborn babies to those receiving end of life care, and everyone in between. However, there may occasionally be times when it is not suitable to provide a treatment. The best advice we can give you is to give your local reflexologist a ring and ask!