Hand reflexology is efficacious for curative objectives. It is equally useful to keep the body toned and tuned and prevent any disease or disorder.
Minor ailments like headache, pain in the back, stomach, stressed eyes keep bothering us from time to time. The immediate reaction is to pop-in some over the counter medicines and find relief.
But is that the right thing to do? Does not consuming harmful painkillers create long term complications for the body?
But is there any easy, effective, and safe alternative to this? Yes! Hand reflexology can solve these minor problems very efficiently, and it can be self-administered. Read further to know in detail about hand reflexology.
Hand reflexology
Hand reflexology is a massage therapy that is very effective and powerful. Various points, both on the palm and at the back of the palm, co-relate to different body parts.
Proper stimulation of these points energizes the corresponding body part, and Qi (life energy) is directed to that body part. This kind of stimulation alleviates pain or any discomfort there.
Hand reflexology chart
Numerous hand reflexology charts are available for use by therapists and enthusiasts as well. The one shown below is a fundamental kind of chart, which is good to use. The points co-related with body parts are clearly marked.
Although the chart is self-explanatory, just to get started, we can find points for some parts of the body. For instance, the liver is located on the right hand, simply because the liver is on the right side of the body. The point for the liver is in the right palm, as well as on the right back of the palm.
So one has to stimulate these points to cure the liver or keep it healthy. There are specific techniques of stimulating the points in hand and foot reflexology.
Techniques of point stimulation
The thumb is used for stimulation of points in the hand reflexology. There are two reasons for that. Firstly it is more comfortable to hold the treated palm with the fingers of the other hand placed below it. Secondly, the thumb is right to exert the required pressure.
The fingers holding the other palm from below and thumb exerting the pressures is a natural pose also, and it is easy to move the thumb around the palm. Try doing this to get a feel of how it goes.
There are four ways to use the thumb to stimulate the points:
- Use the thumb to exert pressure, just by pressing it on the point. Simple and straight forward.
- Make the thumb walk on the palm, by flexing it about the first knuckle. It will require some practice. But within minutes, one can do it well.
- Make small circular motions with the thumb, with a gradual increase in the pressure.
- Pinching action using the thumb and forefinger.
Use one or more than one of the above techniques to stimulate a point on the hand.
Some useful points on the hand chart
Beginning from fingertips, the following are the reflexology point on the fingers and thumbs of both the hands.
The tips of the fingers
The hand chart identifies the tips of the fingers with the head and brain area. Starting from the pinky finger, pinch all over the uppermost segment of all the fingers one by one for about 20 seconds. The pinch technique should use the thumb and forefinger of the other hand.
Do not forget to do this, on the other hand, as well. So, for all head related ailments, like headache or stress, stimulation of these points will provide the desired effect.
Interestingly the fleshy center part of the thumb houses the points for Pineal, pituitary, and hypothalamus glands. These glands are related to the hormonal secretion and balance in the body. Insomnia and such other hormone-related disorder can be set right by stimulating the fleshy part of the thumb.
The part of the finger, between the first and second knuckles
This part of the digits represents the neck. The corresponding part of the thumb, however, represents the throat.
With the thumb and forefinger of the other hand press, massage all over this segment of the finger. Massage the thumbs as well. Repeat this with the fingers of the other hand also.
This stimulation is very beneficial in a stiff neck, the tension in the neck or pain in the neck.
The part of the fingers between the second and third knuckles
This part of the digits represents the eyes and the ears. Use the thumb and forefinger to stimulate this part by press-release technique.
The tiredness of eyes, pain, or any other discomfort of the eye will be alleviated. Similarly, the ringing of the ears, stuffiness of ear, and such other ear-related issues will subside with this massage.
Till now, we focused on the fingers and the reflexological points therein. The co-relation with the body parts was also enumerated.
Reflexological points on the palms
The reflexological points on the palms are
The fleshy uppermost part of the palm where the fingers join the palm
This fleshy part at the junction of the finger and palm represents the chest, breast, lungs, and bronchial area. It is true in the case of all the finger and palm junction.
The exception being that the fleshy part just below the pinky finger represents the shoulder along with arm on that side. On the left hand, it will be for left shoulder and left arm and similarly on the right hand, for right shoulder and right arm.
Since we are on the palm now, the stimulation will be done by only the thumb, and other fingers will support the palm from below.
The stimulation technique that can be used for this reflexological point can be thumb press or thumb circular motion, as explained in the section above.
For any disorder related to the chest or lungs, stimulate these points on all the ten fingers and experience relief.
The zones just below the middle finger
Imagine a line from the base of the middle finger to the first wrist crease line. Leave apart the top chest and lungs zone, and divide the area remaining till the bottom of the palm into four parts. These parts, starting from the top, represents
- Solar plexus
- Adrenal glands
- Kidneys
- Intestine.
Use the thumb to slide and press from top to bottom, right till the wrist crease. Repeated massage of the palm will relax and relieve all the disorders in the above parts.
The line along the side of the thumb up to the wrist line
The line starting from the tip of the thumb to the base of the wrist represents the spinal cord. This area is massaged on either hand, with the pressure of the thumb moving from tip of the thumb to the wrist crease and again repeated for a couple of times.
This reflexological zone takes care of the pain and disorder in the spinal cord.
The zone from the base of the pinkie finger to the wrist crease
This belt on either hand can be divided into three zones. On both the left and right hand, the topmost zone near the pinkie finger, as pointed out earlier, is the arm and shoulder of the respective side of the body. The lowermost region on either hand represents the hip and thighs of the respective sides.
The middle zone in the left hand represents the heart and spleen because these two body parts are located on the left side of the body.
Whereas the middle zone on the right-hand side represents the liver and gall bladder. Because even in the body, the liver and the gall bladder are on the right side of the body.
Similarly, as mentioned in the reflexological hand map, various other parts of the body can be identified. However, the majority of the parts are in the explanation above.
There are two ways to use reflexology therapy. Firstly, use it as a treatment therapy. In that case, whenever any body part is not well, the co-related point on the palm can be stimulated for decreasing the pain or disorder in the organ.
The second way to use reflexology is to ensure good health and proper functioning of all the body parts. For this objective, every day or once in a couple of days, stimulation of all these points one by one by pressing, sliding, or rotational movements of the thumb will keep the parts healthy and functioning well.
The hand reflexology just needs your hands and some information about how to do it. With this simple technique, one can get rid of at least the minor ailments. This knowledge and skill may come handy and useful for you and your family.