Feel the surge

SALLY Hanley probes at her partner Brian Johnson's foot. The tips of her fingers and thumbs knead and press, searching for what she calls "hotspots" that indicate some problem. All the while, she watches Brian's face, alert for signs of pain or discomfort.

She concentrates on an area just beneath his left little toe, which she says feels hard. "Is that uncomfortable?" she asks, kneading at it. "Is it tender? Is it painful?"

"I can feel it," Brian says. "But it's not uncomfortable."

He certainly doesn't look uncomfortable, relaxing back in a reclining chair, one of his bare feet covered by a towel while Sally works on the other. Sometimes, he grins, with the relaxing music and aromatic fragrance that Sally likes to use in her treatment room, it is easy to go to sleep.

This week is World Reflexology Week - which made it a perfect time to find out just what this form of complementary healing is all about.

Although only introduced in the West in 1913 it is based, Sally says, on ancient Egyptian, Indian and Chinese traditions of medicine - on the idea that there are energy channels or 'meridians' in the body. "And if there are blockages in these energy channels, the body becomes dis-eased," she says, deliberately breaking the word into two for emphasis.

The key to good health, according to this theory, is for the energy channels to be unblocked, allowing the energy to surge freely around the body once more so you achieve a state of balance or equilibrium.

Reflexologists do this by applying controlled pressure with the thumbs or fingers to specific areas of the feet, or occasionally hands. According to the theory, every structure in your body has a connection with a specific part of your feet - and a problem in any part of your body is reflected in the related part of your foot. By probing and applying pressure to the feet, therefore, the reflexologist claims to be able to bring 'ease' to the related part of the body.

Sally, a former catering manager at Drax power station, recently completed a year's part-time training with the Northern School of Reflexology in York to qualify as a member of the Association of Reflexologists.

She runs her fingers briskly down the sole of Brian's foot to demonstrate the various points.

"The toe is the head, neck and shoulder," she says. "Then you go on down to the hip, and that's the spine." She gives Brian's foot an affectionate squeeze.

Reflexologists insist that they don't themselves provide a cure. Rather, they encourage the body's own healing mechanisms to restore its natural equilibrium.

The therapy is not intended as a substitute for orthodox medical treatment, the Association of Reflexologists stresses. And because it is essentially about improving circulation, there are certain conditions a reflexologist won't attempt to treat, Sally adds, because they could make the condition worse. They include thromboses (blood clots) and cancer.

But the therapy is great for a range of problems such as back pain, migraine, arthritis, sleep and digestive disorders, sports injuries and a range of stress-related conditions, she says.

It is also deeply relaxing. Sessions generally last about 45 minutes. "Many people say they feel as if they are walking on air when they walk out of the room," says Sally.

Brian agrees. And while, so far, reflexology hasn't been able to help much with his psoriasis or the tinnitus (ringing in the ears) he has suffered from for the past two years, it has definitely helped him with a range of aches, pains and injuries, he says. "I was having a lot of pain in my knees, and it has certainly helped.

"I hurt my shoulder once, moving a ladder around. It was awful. I was white with pain. I sat here, and Sally worked on my foot, and after about a quarter of an hour the pain had gone."

So what made Sally want to train as a reflexologist, after more than 20 years as a catering manager, many of them spent at Drax?

She's always been interested in complementary therapy, she says - and once, long ago, was told she had 'healing hands'. So when, a few years ago, she was offered voluntary severance from Drax, she took it. First she set up in business as an image consultant - something she still does - and then, in September last year, began training with the Northern School of Reflexology. "I like the hands-on approach, the holistic approach," she says. "People can talk to me about anything they want during the consultation. It is a caring discipline. You don't just attach someone to a machine and walk off and leave them."

When she qualified in July this year, she set up one of the bedrooms in her comfy home in Copmanthorpe as a treatment room, and has been practising ever since.

Go to her for treatment and you will have an initial consultation of about an hour and a half. During that time, she will ask you a number of questions about your health and your medical history, and then carry out an 'investigative treatment', probing your feet gently to find any hotspots that need working on. She will then make a reflexology chart of your feet, marking any problem areas she found.

Subsequent treatments generally last about 45 minutes - and patients usually come to see her about five or six times to complete a cycle of treatment. "And then we'll review the treatment," she says.

Sessions normally cost £20 for an initial consultation, and £15 thereafter. But to mark World Reflexology Week Sally is - this week only - offering 'taster' sessions for £5; money which is redeemable if you then go on to book a full consultation.

To book a taster session or full consultation with Sally Hanley call 01904 702734.

Updated: 10:52 Monday, September 22, 2003