Learn to treat yourself and others in a few days, with one of the simplest but most effective healing techniques. The main focus of this book is to get people practicing and enjoying hand reflexology as quickly and easily as possible. The techniques are ideal for people who have a busy life, and want to promote their own good health and help others. A ten minute massage once a day can reduce stress and stimulate the immune system, give us more energy and make the body stronger.

We do not have to study and practice for months or years to become an effective reflexologist, anyone with a good heart and just a little regular practice can easily become of great service to others. In Healing Hands the simple techniques are explained clearly and within a few hours the reader could be competently treating themselves or others. This book is aimed at those interested in learning the basics, how to give yourself and others a full treatment, the fascinating story of reflexology, how hand reflexology works and the various things we can do to support the healing process.

The reader learns the techniques step by step, they gradually increase their knowledge of anatomy and physiology, together with developing a more accurate awareness of the hand reflexes and how to treat them accurately and successfully.

Reflexology has never truly been presented as a therapy for mental and emotional healing and that is also addressed through heart-felt wisdom from the Buddhist tradition of healing.

Extract from the book

Introduction from Healing Hands

In recent years hand reflexology has become better known and more widely used than ever before. One of the obvious benefits is the ease of access to the hands and no one minds having their hands massaged; sometimes foot reflexology can be inconvenient and might feel too ‘invasive’ for some people. It is also very easy to treat yourself with hand reflexology but not so easy to reach your own feet! Bearing this in mind and the fact that the results can be at least as successful as foot reflexology, this simple but powerful healing technique seems set to stay.

I became interested in reflexology after suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome for a few years. A friend told me about it so I looked in a local telephone directory and found a qualified therapist. The first treatment was so relaxing that I fell asleep and there was a definite improvement in my mental outlook after the second and third treatments. Each time I went for a treatment I also felt that some kind of natural healing process was being triggered or stimulated within my body. At the same time I became aware of two other types of natural healing therapies, Reiki and the Bach Flower Remedies. Through combining these three therapies my health gradually improved and I was able to lead a normal life again. I was so taken with the gentle power of reflexology that I decided to train to become a qualified practitioner.

Hand reflexology can work on many levels; you can just regard it as a physical therapy for relaxing the mind and stimulating the natural healing process within the body. However, the power of hand reflexology is often underestimated, sometimes just holding someone's hand when they are in distress can be very healing. It would not have the same effect if you held someone's foot when they were upset! When you hold someone's hand it is almost as if you are holding their heart. If someone allows you to hold their hand it is as if they are opening their heart to you and in this sense hand reflexology can be more powerful than foot reflexology.

All deep, long-lasting healing comes from healing the heart. What is the "heart"? Thoughts and feelings are part of the mind and the heart is a special part of the mind, the center of the mind, the center of our being. Illness can often result from having and holding negative thoughts and feelings and healing can often result from transforming our negative minds into positive minds. By healing the heart we are going to the heart of the problem, where all thoughts and feelings come from. To have a healthy heart means to have a sense of inner peace, to be at peace with ourselves and the world around us. If we have inner peace ourselves we can give it to others, hand reflexology is a great way to pass this on.

We are influenced greatly by the people we spend time with and as therapists we are allowed into the close personal space of another person, because of this we can influence them greatly in obvious and more subtle ways. Spending time with a therapist who has a deep sense of inner peace, apart from their physical skill, can be a large part of the healing process. So if you want to become a successful healer you need to learn the physical skills required but you also need to learn how to heal your own heart, then you can help others do the same. If you have a sense of inner peace, contentment, and happiness there is not much more that you need in life. Taking the time to develop these inner qualities is really the solution to so many of the problems we experience in daily life.

Everyone is looking for happiness; all the decisions and choices we make come from this one wish. We choose our career, partner, house, etc. because they make us feel good in some way. Even when we choose a particular brand of biscuits we choose one that we like, we never choose to suffer. Yet happiness is just a state of mind.

A happy mind means a happy life; even if you experience health, relationship, or financial problems if you can keep a happy mind you will be happy! This is easier said than done, but it can be done if you train your mind wisely and patiently over months and years. This training is one of the main aspects of the Buddhist path but you do not have to be Buddhist to benefit from these teachings and they can be very valuable for a healer/therapist to learn. Often physical healing comes much more swiftly to someone with a happy and peaceful outlook, and it is obvious that strong negative states of mind like depression and grief have an adverse effect on the body.

So, in conclusion, if you learn the techniques in this book you will become a good healer but if you also learn to heal your heart you will become a special type of healer, the type of healer that the world really needs. For this reason I have included some information on the Buddhist path, which may give you some helpful ideas and start you in the right direction, but if you want to take this further the best way is to find a qualified teacher (see links to meditation/Buddhism).

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Reviews:

Promising good health and inner peace, this practical guide to reflexology techniques may not be a glossy affair but it is thoroughly and clearly illustrated. Hand reflexology isn't as well known as the foot variety, but it's undeniably effective and, perhaps most usefully, it's a technique that can be applied for self-treatment. Whatever the healing process is that you're going through, whenever you're experiencing it, Healing Hands can support your journey.

Wave magazine, 2004