FAQs
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
I've been involved with reflexology for most of my life. I was in my late teens, in Grand Junction, CO, visiting family, when I heard about a woman in town who cured headaches by rubbing big toes. My ears pricked up immediately! Reflexology was almost unheard of in the US at that time, but I found Mildred Carter's classic book, Helping Yourself with Foot Reflexology, and worked with friends informally for many years. I met SF reflexologist Linda Jennings in 1992, studied with her 1994-5, and began formally practicing in 1996.
- What types of customers have you worked with?
My most consistent work has been with homebound clients, especially those who are movement-impaired. I worked weekly for two years with a homebound client suffering from Parkinson's Disease. She was barely able to walk, and her feet were purple from lack of circulation. Each week I massaged her feet to "pinken" them to life, tone all her organs, and concentrated on points for the large intestine (for constipation due to inactivity and medications). I also massaged her arms, legs, hips, hands and shoulders; and at the end circled my hands down her body to clear and renew her endocrine system. I also worked each week for ten years with an elderly stroke victim at Hayes Valley Care in San Francisco. Circulation was also primary for him, along with digestion and spine reflexes, plus the weekly alleviation of anxiety in the face of his very difficult situation. I usually left him at the end of each session in the deep sleep reflexology often brings about!
- Describe a recent project you are fond of. How long did it take?
I recently worked with a 78-year-old woman at The Sequoias, a senior living center in SF. She was suffering from gallstones, facing the possibility of surgery. After a thirty-minute session, her pain had begun to abate, and that night slept profoundly. The next day, her M.D. made some dietary recommendations I too had suggested, and the suggestion of surgery was withdrawn.