Feel Good

Have you ever tried reflexology? Here’s why you should

This week we spoke to Rachel Hunter, founder of R&R Therapy in South Gosforth to find out why reflexology is good for the 'sole'...and we can't wait to try it.

Written by High Life North

Published 23.01.2021

Reflexology has been on our list of holistic therapies to try for a long time.

After speaking to Rachel Hunter, founder of R&R Therapy this week, we can’t wait until covid allows us to book an appointment and try it out. We’ve had friends who’ve tried and the experiences have always been positive, with a few friends saying they actually cried from the release of stress and emotion they felt when they first had it. So what exactly is reflexology and how can it help us? We spoke to Rachel to find out…

The first thing that we wouldn’t normally mention but really stood out for us in this interview it how comfortable we felt with Rachel on our Zoom interview. What a truly lovely woman. Which we think is important when you’re entrusting someone to massage your feet for holistic healing. In Rachel’s words, she’s fallen around laughing and been on the brink of tears with clients, and it’s easy to see why people open up to her.

So Rachel, tell us a bit about your background – how did you get into holistic therapies?

I’d worked with children for over 30 years and changing careers wasn’t remotely on my agenda. It was actually my own life experiences that took me down the route of using holistic therapies myself. Working with children I used to have lower back problems and went for back massages to try and relieve the pain. One time I was offered reflexology. I didn’t know much about it but it absolutely blew me away. It sparked an interest in it and when my children grew up I thought now is the time to do something different. I was 47 at the time and said to myself, if not now, then when? I enrolled in college and loved the course.

At that point, I was going to create a mobile business, but I decided to go for it, I was offered a therapy room and I opened my own practice. From there the business has steadily grown and two years ago I moved my practice to South Gosforth. As time has gone on I’ve extended the range of therapies that I offer and I now practice several types of reflexology as well as aromatherapy blending, crystal healing, hand massage, Indian head massage, reiki, meditation, and holistic facials.

When I first set up in 2014, the majority of my clients were people who had become disenchanted with Drs and wanted to try and take control of their wellbeing. Now, following the pandemic, it seems to have really made people re-evaluate the way that they live their lives and realise how important our health and wellbeing is. I always say, if we don’t take care of our bodies, where else do we have to live?

Can you tell us about your reflexology services specifically?

Well, reflexology is my passion. I offer reflexology for conception, women’s health, maternity reflexology, baby reflexology, hand reflexology, and also facial reflexology as some people don’t like having their feet touched. It’s a really safe space – my clients just love having that space to offload, relax and have an hour to block out the world.

So how does reflexology actually work?

When a client comes in to see me and I’m working with their feet, it’s hands-on but I actually look at their feet as well. Colours, temperatures and tension within the feet all link to the reflex points that connect to the nerve endings. We’ve got over 7000 nerve endings in each foot so if you think about those nerve endings having pressure and massage applied to them it starts to have a positive impact throughout the body, the circulation improves and blocked energy begins to clear.

Clients often comment on tingling sensations throughout the body as the treatment progresses, bringing with it a deep sense of relaxation and an improved sense of wellbeing.

How does it make you feel?

Some people laugh, some cry but most become very quiet or actually fall asleep.

Other benefits include improved sleep, reduced pain, healing, and improvements to feelings of stress and anxiety. I’m currently studying mindful reflexology which will help clients dealing with stress, depression, and anxiety – areas of life that many of us are currently struggling with due to the pandemic, so when I do finally re-open, I can offer a more specialised routine.

How often should you have a session?

I recommend coming on a monthly basis. It depends on what’s going on – if someone is having a particularly difficult time I might suggest coming in weekly, but for the majority of my clients monthly is ideal. The lockdowns have been difficult for many clients, they’ve said they didn’t realise just how important reflexology is to them and how much they’ve missed their sessions. It’s been quite overwhelming for me at times, waiting and hoping to reopen as soon as possible. I’m so looking forward to getting back, seeing regular clients, and meeting new clients too.