Evidence of Reflexology existing in ancient cultures has popped up around the globe. Archeological findings suggest this method of applying pressure to the feet and hands is that of an ancient tradition.
Reflexology’s Early History
A high-ranking official during the time of the Egyptian Sixth Dynasty, 2323 to 2150 BCE, was buried in the ancient burial ground at Saqqara. His tomb is especially interesting to the medical professions as pictographs display multiple scenes of people undergoing medical treatment. Ankhmahor’s tomb also holds a pictograph demonstrating work on the hands and feet. The hieroglyph translates as “Do not let it be painful” and “I do as you say.” In their book Reflexology: Health at Your Fingertips [2003 Dorling Kindersley, ISBN 0789493535] authors Kevin and Barbara Kunz note another Egyptian pictograph was found in the temple of Amon at Karnak during Ramses II reign of 1279-13 BCE and depicts a “healer tending to the feet of foot soldiers at the battle of Qadesh.”
It is thought that this foot therapy spread from Egypt through the Roman Empire. The Roman Emperor Octavian, 62-14 CE, mentions the foot massages Mark Antony, 83-30 BCE, gave to the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII, 69-30 BCE, as “pathetic enslavement…he even massaged her feet at dinner parties.”
Even ancient China has a trail of foot therapy in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The feet have held an important position in Eastern cultures including Buddhism. It would appear that the feet have held symbolical importance for both spiritual and physical well-being from all parts of the world.
The Western “Rediscovery” of Reflexology
The term Reflexology was first coined by the Russian neurologist and pysychiatrist, Vladimir Bekterev, in 1917. Through the discovery of the nervous system and the response internal organs had to external stimuli “reflex therapy” was born. At the same time U.S. physician William Fitzgerald discovered zone therapy in the early 1900s for anesthetic purposes. His colleague, Dr. Joe Shelby Riley, found this work fascinating and passed the enthusiasm to Eunice Ingham, a physiotherapist for Dr. Riley in Florida. Ingham further studied Dr. Fitzgerald’s findings and developed her foot theory in the early 1930’s. She brought popularity to the field in the 1940s and 1950s with two publications, Stories the Feet Can Tell, and Stories the Feet Have Told.
Modern Reflexology
Reflexology today is being practiced and taught around the globe. Eunice Ingham’s nephew, Dwight Byers, picked up the Ingham method and has been teaching this style of Reflexology since the late 1950s under the original title The National Institute of Reflexology and later as The International Institute of Reflexology®. The school now has branches in Japan, Australia, Canada, England, France, The Netherlands, Portugal and New Zealand. The headquarters are still located in Florida, USA and are still under the guidance of Dwight Byers.
Doreen Bayley is attributed as sparking the interest of Ingham’s work in the United Kingdom. In Germany and parts of Switzerland Hanne Marquardt was the driving force behind the modern use of Reflexology in many parts of Europe. And for Asia, the rediscovery of this ancient foot method happened through Father Josef Eugster, a Swiss Priest with a parish in Taiwan, in the 1980s.
Many Forms of Reflexology
Because of the many cultures contributing to Reflexology around the world there are many styles of Reflexology. The basic elements are:
- Stimulation is through varying pressure to a specific reflex point
- The reflex maps are an exact mirror of the human body and includes reflexes for every organ, gland and body part
- These maps are based on the body’s extremities: the feet, the hands, the ears and in some cases the head
Amy Kreydin - Amy Kreydin, NBCRT, CCAP, BD is a Board Certified Reflexologist and Clinical Aromatherapist.
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