Meet the Community: Reflexology from Pregnancy, Birth & Postpartum

so welcome Carla um thank you for taking the time to to chat with me today and educate um our community on reflexology and um sort of that uh that side of of holistic Wellness um and I would love for you to just introduce yourself to whoever is watching our video today uh who are you and what is your background hi thank you so much I'm Carla Affy from Pure Life healing I am so thrilled to be with you today um so basically um I'm a holistic practitioner I've been practicing Angelic Reiki uh for about seven eight years I mean and reflexology therapists for many years as well as I work with raindrop technique which is a body um Bodywork as well as well as guided meditations facilitating women's Retreats so I've done a lot of different things all sorts of stuff yeah also it's a lot of fun and I love working with people I think it's so important to really work with that Healing Touch in every way possible nice nice um well Helping Hands obviously we also love to use our hands to to make a difference um and today you're going to share with us um a specific part of what you do reflexology and our community is in the fertility world right so um I'm sure Reiki helps anybody with all sorts of different things but for a specifically uh our world is this kind of pre pre-pregnancy pregnancy and then right up until baby is here and been here for a bit so can you tell us in general terms for people who don't really understand or know anything about about reflexology what is reflexology so reflexology is a very well established holistic complementary therapy which treats the mind and the body as a whole holistically so people don't realize the verse approximately 7 500 nerve endings that sit in your feet which helps and when we're doing reflexology helps open the natural Pathways for your body to really heal itself and nourishes itself whether we look at all this we're looking we're looking at feet and your hands as example we're looking at to Tender and gritty spots the indicating congestion so the corresponding area so basically people don't realize there are 10 zones in your body so let's use your hands so each one is a Zone okay just like we have 10 fingers ten toes right so each one is a zone so we're going to be looking at that right so you've got a gallbladder Meridian your pancreas Meridian you've got your your stomach meridians your liver Meridian and then we come down and it also can be like we're looking at as if I touch this part of my hand for example is your kidney is an example right so the corresponding to your body and they're and people don't realize that your feet are the mirror of your organs of your body so each acupressure that we work with very gently right providing an ideal environment for the body to tap into its own healing I think it's phenomenal yeah so starting off with um people in our community who might be having fertility challenges um so we see a lot of clients who come to us after the fertility stuff has been successful but there's a whole journey um before that of trying to even conceive so what are some things that reflexology can do for someone who is going through that process so um it's fascinating that for today it's been around for many many years especially um the UK is leading the charge as well as South Africa U.S Canada not as much but it's there so there is no scientific research to prove reflexology can help with fertility kept secret right so um there are hundreds of case studies out there and people want to look what they can go look at them right and there's a lot of fertility clinics working with reflexology Specialists who are catering specifically to fertility couples right so I'm I'm a generalist but I've had different people come and go working with them um but it's phenomenal because you're basically looking at focusing on ears and your hands and being lead to specific parts of your body as your ovaries your fallopian tubes your uterus ideally the best time to start coming is before you start the IVF or any kind of fertility even thinking about baby start coming to reflexology normally I start having that Rhythm get your body into a rhythm right helping your stress and anxiety level because you're thinking about all this one bring hormones but it's not only for women but for men yes thank you because it's not just the person that's trying to get pregnant there's two people in they need that they need to be able to wait um because we're looking at their stress and their anxiety as well and supporting you know their future mamas they we really think is really important right rebalancing the hormones for both Partners right um looking at the oxytonal oxytocin and the Endorphin releases for intense relaxation will allow more flow blood flow and really looking at the ferment for example we're looking at increasing sperm count by working on the testes right and that's actually behind the behind the ankle great is where the testes are and the ovaries are so we're working on that gently working on that right liberal Improvement right sometimes your liver is a little bit down and that stress going okay we gotta do this it's like it's ridiculous right yeah also for women regulating their ovulation right and that is also Keen a part of that boosting the fertility right because you're not only relaxing but you're reducing that stress regulating periods of elation maximizing chances of conceiving for sure it's it's uh it's hard to get pregnant when you're super stressed and and trying trying so hard so now they are expecting uh which is super exciting so tell us some things that someone might want to look into reflexology for um during their pregnancy yeah definitely um but I always say that pregnancy is not an illness no it is an incredible honor and blessing with baby being a mama and a papa such a blessing and there one thing about reflexology there is a myth that you can't do anything go do it you've been doing it before even after super due to see something new please be open to reflexology be open to Cairo the Sigh is so important on every um every trimester of your pregnancy because you want that release of real you're on that relaxation and especially when your new mama your first trimester you're going to have baby nausea I'm comfortable your hormones are going to be like really high so the future Papas are like oh I don't know how I deal with this so they want to support you so definitely um we're going to be able to help you reduce the nausea right it's not gonna eliminate it right but it's not a magic pill okay there's no magic pills okay your pregnancy you're gonna work through it's your Journeys your maternity Journey so going to the first one then we go into the second trimester for example we're going to go into working with swelling right endema right gestational my diabetes might show up I'm surprised we're going to help to prove be preventative of that and really work on it and flush out through the blood and really secrete that circulation through the body through the feet right and really pushing it through and we can also because your hands are gonna get swell too sometimes right and some women don't just hold it at all okay if everyone is different and unique right we're all we're all there to help support them in every way right and then um working with you know things like that come up might come up hemorrhoids that come up right working with that and then we go to the third trimester as you're working through that pregnancy back issues sciatica hips because there's a lot of pressure in your lower back right bending that you can't see your toes right no you're not gonna be able to see your twos because your baby gets you know bigger right which is amazing constipation right all that reflexology will be able to create that stimulation and working through all those organs your colon your kidney your liver your kidney your liver your kidneys like here I call it your washing machine Let's Get It flush let's get let's get moving that whole moving because like you're gonna by the end you're gonna be like struggling right more than there are women who are slow jogging like I'm incredible which is awesome right still deal with it like I know sure the doulas also say that right do what you've always done continue doing it yeah and listen to your body your body if you're in your heartbeats like mile a minute you're like the stress is sitting there maybe you need some Healing Touch yeah to bring you back to balance bring you back and ground you to where you need to be and I would imagine that that would help with preparing for the birth itself so as they get closer to the big day or maybe even over um over the due date which is a silly thing because it's never uh when when they say but um what is some things that reflexology can do to help get ready for birth or maybe help to get labor going sooner rather than later so definitely um especially um if you find your if they can be induced the way of their reduction or they might be late in their pregnancy there's no late in pregnancy the baby's gonna come when they're going to come right we work a lot with the uterus and we're going to be able to do and we're going to send messages to the uterus as we're gently massaging that area saying uterus do what you're supposed to do which is fire up and start Contracting right well when you're ready right it's a slow thing it is not a voodoo or right a stimulating reproductive endocrine reflexology zones okay increasing the blood flow the lymphatic system the nerve signals those areas that the cells are nourished and healthy functioning so to be promoting whatever it looks like at that stage for that end of Labor and really getting a relaxation and really feeling okay and when you get off the table you just you've had the best sleep for about hour and and you're just walking on a cloud going wow this is fake right and and and and Papa's are more than welcome because puppies get jealous because they want Healing Touch Too of course of course so now baby has arrived and we have um you know new parents and specifically um birthing parents who have just delivered uh so some of the things that you mentioned in pregnancy I would assume would also uh carry through to postpartum so uh reducing swelling reducing tension um and helping them sleep better is there anything else postpartum that really um reflexology can help with I think postpartum I think I mentioned this before basically in the first postpartum is the full year it's not just the first 40 days and in the western Society women are like the super human beings and they're like go go go and it's like no that you need to pay attention to your body and if you can't do it you can't do it give yourself permission to heal like your body is being stretched to the limits yes right you need to come back and really regroup and say okay before you hit that burnout and your emotions are all over the place right feeling that repeat maybe depression may be sneaking in that Mama Bear fierceness like listen right like and pay attention but I think I need a timeout and when you come through reflexology especially getting back and really relaxation and having that release right and you get and you're and it's a safe place you can cry sleep Jenny back whatever you want right and especially at the end right really working on all those different things so that you're the best version of Mama and it's also from for Papa's the best versions for Papa's to come so that when they have baby and that's that one hour is the world right that world opens up of being allowing yourself to really but yeah understanding that yes I needed that and yes I'm I'm now ready to be you know the best mama and really take care of my baby and really be present for sure well I think a lot of people don't realize that that time that they take for self-care really does give that energy right like when we go go go push through push through um it it just it does lead to that burnout it leads to um just that lack of energy and when you take that little bit of time for yourself all of a sudden now you can take on the responsibilities that that you need to yeah so important and I'm glad that you talked about both the birthing parent as well as the supportive parent um you know the there's two parents involved that can both have anxiety and stress and tension and lack of sleep and all of that kind of stuff so important that both parents are are thinking about self-care and encouraging each other to to do that self-care um it is really important so then we also have newborns we have babies who are now in the world and they are um adjusting there's so much new stuff that they have to to take in um so what are some things that reflexology can can help with for infants for infants so um it's amazing I've had two things of my own and I wish I had reflexology 21 years ago and I didn't realize even existed until many years later so but especially when you have babies that are incessed crying that inconsolable crying you know something is up because as a mummy and a daddy you'll start learning the patterns of cry hungry cry sleep cry incessant colicky cry yeah you know that and they're pulling up their knees and they're up to their stomachs and like they're like and you can feel that you're like and my mama and a puppy like running around going okay what do I do how do I help this poor boy boy gave you mine right yeah Etc so here's a two quick little techniques is gently rubbing just rubbing like you know how the foot has a little bit of a curve in your foot so right underneath you got your toes to see these your toes the bottom of your toes so in the middle is there's your stomach Meridian right just a gently clockwise rub okay just clockwise rub on the bottom of your toe of the foot right do it for five minutes only every day and put them on the bed make it a game singing like whatever song that comes to your head right and and smiling and and just soothing voices and slowly the baby will actually calm down and have a little bit of relief if you need to do it again in three or four hours do it again but my suggestion is with five minutes every day and even just include that as part of your play time every day in the afternoon one thing is don't do it right after you're feeding okay and don't do it to a hungry baby right make sure you fat you've fed them whether you've nursed them or formula whatever you've done half at least 30 minutes afterwards and then do that and you still even you can tell after 30 minutes to an hour you can do that I would just do that potential rubbing in the middle of the foot for five minutes every day and it just helps the digestion and really relieves that baby and so question for parents who do want to do that are they doing five minutes on each foot are they doing one at a time or both at the same time for five minutes just for some clarification good question I would do it five minutes each foot separately right okay um yeah but you can also create so for example put the both thumbs at the same time right here which is this support right there yeah just to support them at the same time if you find that baby not going to sit still then do it both times both feet the same time and also on the I forgot to mention on the heels just a little bit of clockwise motion on the heel as well so you've got and it could be all of five minutes the whole foot nice while they're their feet are not very big this is a long time and even if two minutes that's fine too right just like any kind of motion to get that flush or that release and that gentleness that helped baby feel a little more comfortable perfect and what about when it comes to um lactation so we have a lot of um people in our community who are learning um how to breastfeed or they've just had a baby and they're they're trying to help with um their milk transitioning and coming in and then now milk um production so what does um reflexology do to help with that reflexology is awesome for for milk production and there's so many cases around the world except for Canada and it's a conversation so um yeah milk production is awesome because lactation promotion to support the health and development of the baby right and the first week the colostrum the first first and then the first week reflexology is awesome when you if you can get away for an hour for the first week even 30 minutes you think I got 30 minutes um 30 minutes yes and we will we will uh create basically the lymphatic system to get and let's have set here for example and then to again increase that breast production and being able for for for enhance that relaxation because mummies are tense and balancing relaxation and the balance to the body and allow what the body needs to do bring in the milk for baby and and really help and and monkeys can also do a suggestions love is on their own I take a little homework afterwards if they can also gently massage the top of the foot the little bit of body cream the top of the foot when they're home that'll also help ongoing to help soothe and relax their bodies and their partner can do that as well massage top of their foot for them on going just for five minutes is it a clockwise motion over over the tops of their feet as an example are their hands too and it'll help also with milk production and easier the relaxation of the body hmm and another big focus when it comes to our community is mental health and so we have the mental health of families going through fertility we have the mental health of um perinatals so during pregnancy as well as postpartum so what does reflexology do to help with sort of the the mental health of someone um yeah I think Therapeutic Touch is just huge with reflexology and just feeling that relaxation as we start doing the gentle acupressure no tools are used by the way gentle acupressure touching all the extremities and just working through each one of them and just feeling that relaxation and allowing your body to release that stress release the tension right because the Journey of maternity is just huge and it's life-changing from the beginning whatever you're doing in the beginning when you're conceiving through the pregnancy and the postpartum is as building your strength building you're physically mind emotionally my body is all totally connecting everything at the same time and allowing yourself to really be balanced right and that grounding and remembering Who You Are because you're still you you haven't eaten you're still you no matter what um yeah well thank you for all of that is there anything else that you would like to share that we haven't spoken about [Music] um anything to add um I think reflexology is the modality is a best kept secret I really believe that I think uh it's not as you know even though it's getting better and better um I think um people are getting more aware of it and and and especially when people don't want to get into the conventional drug therapies and they want to do it more of a natural way of allowing give yourself the opportunity to do it naturally in any way stay performed and that support is so important as well I think that reflexology will bring that to the Forefront every time that's wonderful so how do people get in touch with you they can go to my website www.purelifehealing.ca nice um you can do my email Carla purelifehealing.ca yeah um you can follow me on Instagram you can follow me on Facebook okay all over the place I'm in North York so I'm in the middle of the city you can catch me anytime all right lovely and we will put the contact information in the description as well so thank you so much for taking the time to educate us today about reflexology um it's just so lovely that there are things different things out there to support uh families and you know doulas were the best kept secret for a while and now the secret is out which is exciting for us uh and so hopefully that will happen if we exology as well thank you so much great thank you so much thank you everyone pleasure