Thursday, January 27, 2000
Foot rubs good for the soul
Kenwood mother and daughter use reflexology to fight stress and give them more time together
BY MARSIE HALL NEWBOLD
Enquirer contributor
Beverly and Stephanie Williams of Kenwood have found a great way to relieve stress and spend a little mother and daughter time. They rub each other's feet.
It's easy to feel stressed just looking at their busy schedules. Mrs. Williams, 42, is a wife and mother of two. She is also president of the Morris Investment Co. Her younger daughter, Stephanie, 7, is a first-grader at Indian Hill Primary School and divides her spare time among
homework, Brownie meetings and dance class.
“The Hadassah group I belonged to last year had a program on wellness,” Mrs. Williams says. “They invited a reflexologist to speak to the group. She showed us different methods of relaxing. It was very inspiring.
“I wanted to find some way to make us relax and feel good,” she says, gently smoothing a stray hair on her daughter's forehead.
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GETTING STARTED
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Want to make the most of your foot rubs? Here are some great places to start:
• Get a professional. Have a professional reflexologist work on you. JAM Naturopathics, Blue Ash, 489-9328.
• Buy a book. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Reflexology: Therapeutic Foot Massage for Health and Well-Being by Inge Dougan, Anne Townley (editor), Paul Allen (illustrator), Guy Ryecart (photographer). Designed by Andrew Milne. Barnes & Noble Books; $9.99
• Soothe your sole. Origins Sole Searcher Smoothing Foot Scrub, 5 oz. $16.50; Origins Step Lively Energizing Foot Cream, 5 oz. $16.50; Origins Reflexology Socks, $12 per pair. (They have a little map on the soles of pressure points and instructions.) Available at Lazarus Fountain Place. 361-4207.
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“There are pressure points in your feet for different things,” she says. “The reflexologist showed us the basics, but just that is pretty amazing.”
Mother and daughter have turned their foot rubs into a little ritual.
“We go upstairs into my bedroom and we sit on the bed and face each other. Then we put a pillow and towel on the bed and get out our special lotion. It smells like honey and almonds and has little granules. She puts it on my feet and rubs them and I put it on hers.”
“It tickles,” Stephanie says with a big grin.
“It's really nice to do "mommy and me' things,” Mrs. Williams says. “Just the two of us. This gives us time alone together not doing "responsibility things' such as cleaning her room or doing homework.”
“Plus,” she says, watching Stephanie attempt a handstand, “It calms you down and makes you sit still for a few minutes.”
Dr. Marcia Aschendorf, a board-certified naturopathic physician and reflexologist at JAM Naturopathics in Blue Ash, says, “I think what they are doing is great. Reflexology can cause bonding between family members and bring them closer together.”
What is it?
What exactly is reflexology?
“Reflexology is the application of pressure primarily on, but not limited to, the feet, hands or ears,” she says. “It causes a physiological response in the body.”
According to Dr. Aschendorf, there was much more to playing “This Little Piggy Went To Market” than any of us knew when we were kids.
“One of the most relaxing things beginners can do is something I call “snaking,' ” she says. “You just flex and bend the toes one at a time, very gently. It feels incredible.
“A well-trained practitioner can reduce stress and tension 99 percent of the time . . . she says. "You may not get 100 percent relief, but, I've seen people come in with a migraine so bad they could hardly stand up, walk out headache free. If you reduce pain, you relieve stress. You can not separate the two.” They go hand in foot.”
Can reflexology do any harm? According to Dr. Rodney Roof, a podiatrist at the Center for Foot Care, with six locations throughout Cincinnati, “Probably not, but you shouldn't massage an area that hurts.”
“If you do something that feels good, you will probably feel better overall,” he says. But he is not a reflexology enthusiast.
“I have never referred anyone to a reflexologist.” “In my opinion, these things work because people believe they do.
“Who am I to plant a seed that it won't?” he says. “You can't argue with success.”
Touch very important
Dr. Gail H. Friedman, a psychologist (she's senior vice president of Behavioral Science Center Inc. in Mount Auburn) who specializes in stress management, takes a different view.
“What the Williamses are doing is a wonderful way to cool down for the day,” she says. “Touch is very important between a parent and child. It helps them to bond.
“But even moreso than the physical touch, it is the spiritual touch that mother and daughter are sharing,” she says. “The nurturing and pleasuring of the foot rub is good for them both. The daughter is being made to feel very special and cared for. That is where you begin to build self-esteem.
“There is a great deal of pressure on children,” she says, “They do a lot and are expected to perform, whether it is in school or on the soccer field. Cool down times are very important for children as well as adults. Rubbing each other's feet is a wonderful way to do that.”
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