Experience 25: Reflexology
They Touch My Feet?
Now, on paper, someone touching my feet is my worst nightmare. I can’t bear to touch my own feet most of the time, so letting someone else go near them fills me with horror. I’m not too sure if it’s because as a rule, feet are pretty ugly or if it’s because it tickles so much, or is it because they are like some necessary evil on our bodies?
I mean, I know feet are pretty useful to have and I do fully appreciate having two working ones that in the main, don’t give me a huge amount of trouble. The ankles attached to the feet are a whole different matter but the actual feet and all ten toes are all present, correct, smelling fine and currently painted with a bright red polish. I have no bunions, no extra toe and no hard skin that would give the pumice stone a good workout. But yet, despite having pretty normal feet, they are still (in my eyes) a monstrosity. But then I’m sure even Bradley Coopers feet are ugly.
Venturing Out of the Comfort Zone
So, as you can imagine, having a reflexology treatment was massively out of my comfort zone. Whilst I was looking forward to the experience in a funny way, I also really wasn’t. And as per usual, with all of these experiences, I sat in the car and thought, ‘what the hell am I doing?’. I went through all the reasons why not to go in to the therapists’ room, yet I still found myself crossing the threshold just a few minutes later desperately trying to silence the inner chit chat.
I lay back on the couch and let the plinky plonky music drift over me as Jane gently rubbed something that smelled delicious into my right foot. Ok, this is not too….whoooo, ticklish – bad, I thought trying not to flinch as she massaged my toes. Relax, I told myself, just relax, close your eyes and let Jane work her magic. Ahhhh.
They Can Tell that From My Feet?
‘Do you have back problems’, she asked quietly? My head shot up and I frowned, wondering why / how she knew this. ‘Erm, yes, on and off. It can be very bad, and I’ve had a slipped disc before’, I replied. She smiled knowingly and nodded, still gently massaging my foot. ‘I can tell here (prod) and here (owww).’ And that was it – I was fascinated.
I recall my lovely Mum having reflexology a few weeks before she died and being told she wasn’t drinking enough. Little did we know at the time that her kidney was starting to fail, but the therapist certainly knew something wasn’t quite right. I also remember being totally fascinated back then as well and maybe, if I’m honest, a little skeptical. I mean, seriously, how can your feet tell you all this information?
And…I’m Hooked
But as Jane continued, she identified sinus problems and asked I’d been run down lately…..erm, yep! Big fat tick in that box! As she moved around the foot she asked about colon / bowel problems….erm, yep! Big fat tick number two! (No pun intended!!) And even though I twitched a lot when she moved onto my left foot (the very broken one!), I didn’t want the session to end. I could have quite happily continued for another 30 minutes and had Jane list off many more of my 49-year-old ailments.
So, despite not relishing the thought of a foot massage, I am very glad I quite literally stepped out of my comfort zone and had a reflexology session. And if you’ve never had one, I cannot recommend it highly enough – and you never know, you might realize you have a secret foot fetish!
