Reflexology has been in existence for many thousands of years already. A number of Egyptian hieroglyphics of doctors working on people's hands and feet have been found, indicating that reflexology may, indeed, have begun as early as 2330 BC in ancient Egypt.

Modern reflexology, however, began only in 1917 with the development of Zone Therapy by Dr. William Fitzgerald. Zone Therapy has the body sectioned into ten zones; each zone represents a particular organ or system. While working on people's hands and feet, Dr. Fitzgerald discovered that the act offered a certain relief from pain. As you must know, the feet alone have thousands of nerve endings that are somehow connected with the other parts of the body.

A lot of people are benefiting from reflexology, and many of them live on to tell of the wondrous health benefits of reflexology. Stroke patients, diabetics, people in their menopausal stage, and many others, have only great things to say about reflexology. It's a non-invasive therapy complementing traditional medicine and even alternative medicine. Reflexology helps bring back balance to the body, thereby restoring the normal functions of the different organs and systems of the body. By bringing balance back into the body, blood circulation is expected to improve and with it, too, the improvement of the lymphatic function. Reflexology also helps reducing stress, the culprit in many diseases.

Now what can you expect from a foot reflexology session? First, the reflexologist or trained personnel applies gentle stretching techniques in order to keep the foot relaxed. This is very important as you cannot have feet that are too tight or swollen. They have to be relaxed in order to maximize the benefits of a foot reflexology. He or she then gently presses over each reflex area to provide essential stimulation of the reflex point. By so doing, the blood flow to the organ or system the reflex point interconnects with is increased or facilitated.

A foot reflexology session typically lasts for about an hour or so. Clients who have just undergone a foot reflexology session often report a marked improvement in their general well being. Specifically, they feel that their feet are so light and free, so relaxed, to say the least. Indeed, your feet deserve some tender loving care after a whole day of using them at work and home, and the best way this can be done is by submitting yourself to a foot reflexology session. You must understand, though, that it may actually take between three and six sessions more before you can really say that reflexology has worked wonders on your condition. Still, it's definitely worth the wait, isn't it?

With all the modern equipment and technology now being made available and accessible, you'd think that nobody would give a care to modern reflexology or to some other natural approach to health, but a lot of people do care. If truth be told, reflexology, along with massage and acupuncture, remains one of the more popular natural means of staying at the peak of health.