HISTORY OF REFLEXOLOGY

 Most people if asked would consider reflexology as a modern day therapy,whereas the opposite is in fact true and whilst the exact origin is unclear, it is known that it is an ancient art practised thousands of years ago, maybe in a cruder form but with the same princples. The ancient worlds of China, India, Japan and Egypt have written documentation and traditions passed down through generations that confirm the use of pressure points/techniques on the hands and feet. In 1897 a tomb discovered in Egypt very clearly depicted a form of hand and foot treatment that dates back to 2500 BC. In 1917, american doctors William Fitzgerald and Edwin Bowers ( influenced by observing Cherokee tribes and widely believed to be the forefathers of modern day reflexology ) discovered that pressure in the hand/foot produced pain relief in distant parts of the body. It was found that reflex actions lay within ten invisible longitudinal zones through the body and that by working within a zonal area,that it affected everything along that zone.