Reflexology Lymph Drainage 'In her own words' - Reflexology book club

well hello book club i'm not sure if anybody's there i'm a few minutes early so um i've just logged on a little bit early um just to make sure i didn't have any technical difficulties oh hi laura thank you thank you for letting me know you're there so i have my book here with uh endless um bookmarks and post-it notes and so i'm looking forward to reading from it so we'll just see um give people chance to join thank you laura thank you for joining lovely to see you too hi caroline i've actually earmarked one of your case studies in the book to read i've got rather a lot earmarked so i don't know if i'll get through everything but i'm certainly looking forward to sharing hi hi belgium hi dorothy in belgium thank you for joining hi nina so hi lee anthony so lee anthony taylor is going to be doing a live uh in his own words for us in january sometime hi angie lovely to see you too so who'd have thought when we started book club back in march that it would be november and we'd still be engaging still be in various stages of lockdown and certainly a nice place to lose yourself within the reflexology community so hi annika in south africa thank you for joining well because i joined a bit early we'll give everyone time to log in and chat i'm going to try and answer any questions as we go and anything that i miss i'll go back through and um comment hi jill good question what have i done to keep my dog quiet okay i took him for a very long walk in fact it was a wonderful walk because we just found this perfect carpet of copper beach leaves just was breathtaking um i've also pulled the blinds down at the front of the house to stop embarking uh to anyone going past so hopefully that will keep him quiet i don't want to speak too soon though so um yes he's good company i have to say and we did have a really wonderful walk this morning there was nobody else around it was it was breathtaking it was just when you catch it just right the light the colors it was it was breathtaking it was really lovely so so how is everyone do let me know if you have any questions um drop them in the thread and um if i miss them as i'm going i will go back to them so thank you for joining i hope everybody's keeping well i've certainly enjoyed uh the other presentation presenters in his own words and in her own words i really enjoyed listening to the author explaining and uh hearing their words themselves it was actually a really nice thing so i've i've got lots of post-it notes lots bookmarks in my book um so hopefully i'll be bringing it to life for you so we will start in a few minutes hi pauline gosh hello from barbados how lovely hi chris hi sharon hi mary hi paula okay i have to say when i was at school i was terrified of having to read out loud absolutely terrified the english teacher used to come and bang on the desk beside you if you stumbled over your words and all it did was just make you so nervous so i've always had a bit of a thing about reading reading out loud um but i think i'm going to enjoy reading some of my own words from my own book after all is a labor of love for anybody who writes their own book it is a labor of love so i think i might make a start um and i love the way sam believes uh likened this to being in church you know and we're now going to start on page uh page 13 so that's what we are going to do hi fiona hi from the south african reflexology association welcome thank you for joining okay so i'm going to start at the beginning i'm going to start with the introduction and uh which is kind of where it all starts really seemed like the right place to begin so introduction this is actually jokey aside this is page 13 for anybody else who wants to follow this book is a labor of love about my reflexology journey and the creation of reflexology lymph drainage rld you will learn about the first principles of rld and how the desire to help patients with breast cancer related lymphedema inspired me to research and develop the original treatment protocol for this innovation to be successful i had to think outside the box and forge my own pathway as a result i figured out how to isolate the reflexes of the lymphatic system on the feet and work in a methodical order to cause a beneficial effect on the body this approach has delivered consistent phenomenal results the facts and figures underlying the impact my method rld has when these techniques are applied there is such a positive ripple effect on quality of life when the swelling diminishes and the lost self-confidence returns to many people it is a gift of hope in a previously hopeless situation from my clinical experience i knew rld was working and being able to measure the results is an exciting prospect for us all you will find out in this book what happened when i took a few small steps towards research see the ripple effect and the results of the studies which followed learn why rld flows sequentially and how each reflex has a role in stimulating the drainage function discover how to map these reflexes on the feet and hands using the anatomical reflection theory of reflexology and understanding the relationship of each for this purpose i've included a simple review of the lymphatic system that explains why rld moves in a defined logical sequence to achieve these potentially life-changing results follow the beautifully illustrated step-by-step guide for reflexologists to implement the rld protocol laid out in this book it can be used as a standalone treatment and ultimately it provides a simple and effective tool for the reflexology toolbox one that is easy to integrate into your everyday practice learn how reflexology treatment enables tangible and intangible outcomes to be measured and why data collection and analysis is beneficial to our profession consider the value in the eyes of other healthcare providers and importantly those who are responsible for the allocation of future healthcare funding bridging the gap between reflexology practice and proving its worth is notoriously difficult i hope that my initial rld research project may form the cornerstone of future studies which will contribute to the understanding and integration of reflexology by working together in a consistent manner to build a compelling body of evidence i believe we can continue to expand the credibility and reach of our profession together and i've got a nice quote from plato here human behavior flows from three main sources desire emotion and knowledge the creation of rld came from the desire to help relieve the physical and emotional symptoms of lymphedema with knowledge of the lymphatic system and manual drainage i learned to question things rather than just to ask questions i invite reflexologists all over the world to join me on this remarkable rev reflexology journey and this book shows how you can be part of it so that's the introduction i think i might just see if there are okay hello um nikki i'll get back to you with that one um well actually i might as well answer now so you've asked when treating people with leg lymphedema do you omit the arm reflexes and only work the leg ones you can do this if there's only swelling in the legs or there's no harm in working both so it depends on the individual client and it's entirely up to you hi joan kit helen hello helen um mary thank you mary mary did a great talk the other day in her own words i'm really looking forward to her book coming out uh hi dee lovely okay i shall carry on so i'm going to carry on with section one my reflexology journey and just share some of this with you because we all have to start somewhere um so chapter one my reflexology journey reflexology serendipitously found me when i needed it most and like a magic carpet it picked me up before i hit rock bottom since then this magic carpet has truly taken off at times with me hanging onto the fringes for dear life as it continues to gain momentum i'm learning to avoid resistance and to enjoy the ride and just go with it i was introduced to reflexology in 2004 by a family member who was a big fan of complementary therapies during a stressful time she invited me for a session with a reflexologist that she used to see every few weeks to help me cope with everything i was going through i was absolutely amazed at how much better i felt by the end of the reflexology treatment i felt normal again and all the stress and pressure had lifted i felt lighter which was a strange and unfamiliar feeling a peaceful respite from stress and anxiety my head was clear and my stomach was no longer tied up in knots i felt so relaxed relaxed and it was the first time i had felt this way in a very long time this first experience of reflexology was like being thrown a lifeline and it was crystal clear to me i needed to find out more about it within a few months i enrolled at the local further education college on a holistic therapy course which included reflexology since then i've realized that most reflexologists find their way into the profession through personal experience of the therapeutic effects and benefits you never forget that first positive reflexology session and to this day i completely understand when people say they feel normal and lighter whether it's physically or emotionally is all good initially i was only interested in the reflexology course but this was part-time and expensive luckily the full-time course was free to adult learners in wales and it included reflexology i shall always be grateful for the opportunity that funded adult education in wales gave to me the syllabus included several modalities massage aromatherapy reflexology anatomy and physiology health and safety it was just the beginning of an enlightening and inspiring journey into the world of complementary therapies thanks to the course tutor ted kelland who had a wonderful ability to inspire learners i became truly engaged in education for the first time in my life albeit late in my mid-40s but it was the right time for me and i loved every second of it much of ted's philosophy came from life experience he had the ability to put things in perspective with anecdotal stories to make them relevant strange though it may seem for a lecturer in complementary therapies his previous career was as a royal marine commando in the special forces spanning 25 years much of this much of his time in the military was spent overseas where he first developed an interest in complementary and alternative medicine amongst other things he had studied chinese medicine acupuncture herbal and energy medicine and reflexology in china crystal therapy in hawaii and he was also a master of seven different martial arts tuition and theory body work classes went above and beyond the syllabus and the standard learning objectives for certification with the awarding body instead of a box ticking exercise for example learning to identify the bones of the skeletal system by labeling a picture he required a 2 000 word essay about the structure and function for each system of the body and insisted on harvard referencing years later i was grateful for his gentle introduction to academia it was definitely a foundation that stood me well ted was on a mission to inspire learners it was engaging and interesting and i was totally captivated completely absorbed and inspired so much can be achieved with praise and the right encouragement although i decided to concentrate on reflexology it was some time later i that i really appreciated the true value of the width of my learning as with many complementary therapies there is often an overlap between modalities similarities which date back thousands of years reflexology is widely believed to have roots in ancient cultures egyptian chinese greek indian and roman so where did it all begin surely there must be something in it for so many of the ancient cultures to lay claim to it the historical holistic approach to well-being championed by ted is based on the idea that reflexology and other complementary therapies are used to stay well rather than to fix things when they go wrong in 2016 i was lucky enough to be invited to visit china surely the ultimate destination for a reflexologist this gave me the chance to compare and contrast my approach against techniques that have changed little for thousands of years and then see chapter 11. i'm going to read a little bit from chapter 11 afterwards so there is a distinct lack of scientific research that proves conclusively that reflexology works but on the other hand there is not much to prove that it does not work either the single most important lesson i learned from ted was to question things and to become a free thinker i learnt not to accept all that we are here or are taught but instead to pause for a moment and ask why if the answer is just because it is or they said well then ask who are they and how do they know so the learning outcomes of the course required things to be done in a certain way which he taught while best practice in reflexology training is often questionable and subject to much discussion and debate we all have to start somewhere and the learning objectives need to be met these vary greatly and depend very much on the syllabus of the awarding body the approach and life experiences of the tutor different foot maps and of course personal experience and interpretation of all of this there are many grey areas in complementary therapies treatment outcomes and we cannot explain and plenty of mystifying questions and inexplicable answers in my opinion the real learning begins once we have qualified and start practicing putting our new skills to the test and in doing so we never stop learning learning the basics of any discipline is essential and the lectures were full of interesting facts as well as anecdotal evidence but then he would often finish with our well is it the intention who knows every time a new foot map is developed it needs to be different from others to avoid copyright issues yet in spite of these perceived differences in reflex areas it is not possible to be absolutely sure where any of the reflexes are on any foot map it is an interesting exercise to trace several different foot maps and lay one on top of the other to compare and contrast a way to extract new ideas and new innovative techniques then trial list them for effectiveness it leaves me with more questions than answers until we fully understand the mechanism of action for the likes of reflexology it will remain firmly rooted in multiple different theories and beliefs in the meantime it is good to question things to implement new and well-considered approaches and to justify our reasons for choices when working in a particular way people might stop there and just check in to see if there are any comments hello a letter in australia hi lisa hi anita okay right i shall carry on okay so i'm going to jump now to page 21. pertinence and logic help to inspire me with the clinical application of reflexology lymph drainage and the subsequent research and development it was this fundamental principle of questioning things rather than just accepting all that we are told in trying to comprehend the bigger therapeutic picture of reflexology its methods history beliefs footmaps efficacy and ultimately the mechanism of action what would happen if the lymphatic system reflexes on the feet were isolated and worked in a way to mirror manual lymph drainage there is so much to consider after this first course i was hungry for more knowledge and a greater understanding as it left me with so many unanswered questions a case of the more i learn the less i know which can which continues to this day the experience of giving and receiving treatments as well as all the case study work and reflective practice during the training was a revelation it was the beginning of a journey of personal development enlightenment and freedom from many self-limiting beliefs slowly and surely after qualifying i began to build up a small private practice attracting clients can be the biggest challenge to a newly qualified therapist in the early years i tried all sorts of marketing strategies without ever paying for advertising i designed printed and delivered thousands of local flyers with approximately less than a one percent response rate there was a local natural health show where i had stand with a colleague and here we provided endless taster sessions of reflexology in my experience word of mouth is the best form of marketing and it only takes a few regular clients and satisfied customers to start spreading the word and soon the client base begins to grow this proactive approach to marketing involved giving talks to local businesses networking groups schools women's groups their wi charities and support groups something i really enjoy doing to this day a year later through a chance meeting with another therapist at a cpd course i first heard about the hospice of the valleys and within a few months was offered a position working there part-time as one of a team of complimentary therapists hospice of valleys is a charity based in the south wales valleys founded in 1991 by dr richard lammerton who had a vision for future cancer care in blind gwent he was inspired after working alongside dame sicily saunders a leading figure in the campaign to establish hospices around the world she is credited with being the founder of the modern hospice movement with an international reputation for influencing thinking about death in many countries dame sicily believed that the final days of a person's life could be made happy and she helped to change society's attitudes towards the end of life and dying and quote from dame sicily saunders you matter because you are you and you matter to the last moment of your life which is a lovely quote at the time the hospice of the valleys was hospice without walls and did not have its own premises only rented office space the medical team saw patients in their homes as well as a number of satellite dropping clinics where patients and their carers could attend for help and support these clinics were informal and provided a very caring nurturing and holistic environment for all service users they were run by specialist nurses with the support of social workers complementary therapists and volunteer hosts hostesses and drivers who who looked after everyone there was always a warm welsh welcome and plentiful supply of tea coffee and homemade cakes so i'm just going to check to see if there's any comments see if anyone's still there hi charlie i love your protocol i've had many positive results and thrilled clients that's wonderful to hear thank you hi tundy lila cilla hi tracy yvette anita great okay so do um ask me stop me and ask me any questions if you'd like to otherwise i'm just going to keep reading if i haven't lost my space um no okay just got one more little paragraph to go from that section really so being part of this supportive multi-discipline team was a privilege witnessing firsthand how complementary therapies are being used to make a real difference to the quality of people's lives and deaths made it very rewarding work the simple things such as a woman being able to wear her wedding again at the end of life should not be underestimated in their importance so i've got a bit spoiled for choice here with them it's hard to know what to choose so my next section that i've chosen out here is inspiration to innovation because um yeah that it feels like an important moment in the rld journey so we're on page 28 and the heading is inspiration to innovation my passion for reflexology continued to grow and the clinical experience supported my belief in the therapeutic possibilities this provided me with the confidence to think outside the box sessions at the drop-in clinics were time limited it was not possible to do a full reflexology treatment unless you rushed through all the reflexes through all the reflexes which i find unsatisfactory instead of doing this mine was a different approach treatment always depended on how the patient was on that day i would respectfully ask about their main concerns before deciding how best to give an adaptive shorter reflexology treatment which was always tailored accordingly to best meet their needs and ensure safe practice this time limited problem-specific reflexology treatment usually starts by gently working the diaphragm reflex nervous system and spinal cord reflexes before focusing on a more problem-specific area or system of the body the patient's main concerns are often related to the side effects from a cocktail medications a common complaint for example would be constipation a recognized and well-documented known side effect of some of the painkiller medication as a reflexologist it's widely accepted that reflexology can help the body with digestion and elimination imbalances a reflexology treatment plan for patients with this unwelcome side effect of constipation would focus on all the digestion and elimination reflexes after working the diaphragm and spinal cord reflexes the rationale behind this is that by working the diaphragm all ten zones of the body recovered and the nervous system spinal cord would reach everything else before tailoring the rest to a more specific problem i believe we should always work anatomically and in harmony with the body stimulating the colon reflex in a clockwise direction to support the elimination and function of the digestive system work the large intestine reflex clockwise from the ascending colon to the transverse colon then the descending colon the sigmoid colon many of the patients who received this adaptive approach to reflexology treatment reported positive benefits often immediately the more this happened the more i adapted my approach to all reflexology treatment for many other presenting problems and side effects often seen in the clinics as previously mentioned i believe it's good practice to understand the underlying causes for presenting conditions and modify each each session to the individual the realization that that is possible to give an effective targeted reflexology treatment without working all the reflexes for every system of the body was a light bulb moment reflexology really does work okay so i shall just check here hi marianne lisa lorraine hi lorraine how's your book coming on um nora hi i'm just going to carry on okay so i'm page bottom of page 29 now working this way was proving to be extremely effective method at the clinics many of the patients suffered with secondary lymphedema following treatment for breast cancer the hospice therapists also provided manual lymph drainage massage mld as well as simple lymph drainage sld self-help exercises she was off sick for a prolonged period due to a fall and one was unable to work during this time patients frequently asked i don't suppose you could do anything for my arm could you it's been aching although i have body massage and advanced massage qualifications i'm not a qualified mld practitioner mld is a specialist type of massage and you can find more about that in chapter five with clinical experience and a good knowledge of massage and understanding of the lymphatic system it occurred to me that maybe if i could isolate the lymphatic reflexes on the feet and work them in a sequence that would mirror the principles of mld and srd i might just it might just cause an effect on the lymphatic system in the same way a treatment focused on digestion and elimination reflexes seem to cause an immediate effect on the bowels instinctively i had begun to put the theory of reflexology to the test with the full permission of each patient who presented with secondary lymphedema i started to explore the idea of isolating the reflexes of the lymphatic system the intention being that this would cause an effect on the drainage function and reduce the lymphedema swelling of the arm the focus of this early rld reflexology treatment was entirely on the lymphatic reflex reflexes whilst paying close attention to verbal feedback and the physiological responses to the treatment patients likened the sensations they experienced during this newly adapted reflexology to those felt during mld entirely without the power of suggestion i had no idea what they might feel during these sessions some of the sensations included a very light pins and needles tingling light feathering fluttering a ripple a wave flow and movement in the arms there were reported changes in urination increased volume and urgency as well as reports of stronger darker urine something was definitely happening as the weeks passed and more more of the patients heard about the perceived effects they too wanted to try this adaptive reflexology for their lymphedema after seeing the results others were experiencing the results seemed to be almost instantaneous and the effects which included visibly looser clothing and jewelry improved range of movement of the shoulder and less discomfort and pain patients also reported the results were lasting from one week to the next some found they could wear clothes they had not been able to wear for months sometimes years because they had become too tight in the arm the results were truly astounding and just something else i want to read here so less is more with the power of suggestion and to this day still something i avoid when it comes to what maybe may be felt during any reflexology treatment if asked what will i feel during the treatment my usual vague answer is oh everybody is different by keeping it vague we avoid the power of suggestion and in doing so any feedback is authentic in reverse if you tell a client that they might feel what they might feel and they experience nothing they are less likely to accept the reflexology has done anything for them instead they risk becoming someone who says tried that once didn't do anything for me so i think i'll just stop there thank you maura i look forward to seeing you on a course sometime i hope you enjoy the book hi sally hi kerry late to join nice to see you thank you for coming great to see you i'm so glad to hear you found it beneficial for your clients that's wonderful oh thank you kit yes i'm so glad you find it beneficial yes quite a lot of people have quite a lot of reflexologists have joined the online training from toronto um wonderful hi pauline okay hi mandy okay so mandy priest will be doing the next uh in her own words mandy's book is being rock all about listening and her experiences and which i'm looking forward to it's a great little book so i'm going to carry on check the time there i think i'm going to jump to a few highlights from the research just a few the first study that we did from a few highlights from the some of the participants because it's often the small things it's not what we can measure it's the small things that make all the difference to somebody's quality of life so participant one this i'm jump to page 50 now a few highlights is the heading participant one p1 was 62 years old and had suffered lymphedema for seven years in her right dominant arm which was 15.4 percent bigger than the normal arm and contained 358 mils of milliliters by week six she had lost 289 of this and her swollen arm was now only three percent bigger than and best of all she she felt normal again she had been knitting ashore for her new grandchild before rld it was a slow process which made her arm ache after knitting only two rows and she would have to stop rest with a reduction in swelling she managed to finish the shawl in record time participant three was the youngest of the group at 38 years old she'd suffered lymphedema for eight years in her right dominant arm which was 19 and a half percent bigger than the left arm and contained 456 mills that is almost half a liter of fluid imagine this as a bottle of water in a handbag the weight and the pressure this puts on the shoulder she also had a lot of swelling in the deltoid area of the shoulder above the measurable cylinder of the arm it was so swollen she had to go up a dress size and even then clothing fabric had to be stretchy she was very self-conscious about this in the third week she arrived for her appointment looking radiant in a new outfit thrilled to have dropped a dress size because the swelling had reduced so much and that she was positively glowing with renewed confidence and a spring and a step the next week she joined a gym and started doing zumba previously she had been too self-conscious about the swelling fearing people would stare at her arm and this prevented her from exercising ironically exercise is good for the management of lymphedema this is a heartwarming example of reflexology giving back control enabling positive changes and improving quality of life and with it the gift of hope so i'm now gonna like all my bookmarks are falling out so i'm now going to jump again to a poem that came from one of the participants of the second research study so lymphedema poem it just says i'll read the page on page 75 of the book lymphedema can have a devastating effect on breast cancer survivors physically and emotionally this touching poem was written by one of the participants in the research after being diagnosed with breast cancer she joined cancer charity ten of us write with us group which is one of the support services she went on to write and success successfully published several children's books the poem lymphedema i knew it could happen but then i forgot until someone pointed it out my arm was quite swollen my fingers as well lymphedema there could be no doubt just a year and a half down the line it had been so i should have been more prepared the clinic provided both mitten and sleeve and my worries were openly aired the lymphatic system now needs to be drained and some things i had to be shown exercise massage and special skin care but now i do daily alone in spite of reluctant acceptance of this as these garments have to compress in helping the lymph circulatory flow now part of my life i confess with a few broken nails and quite a bruised chin through stretching the sleeve at my arm now fully aware of new hazards ahead could actually do me more harm not wearing my rings did upset me the most but i have an alternative hand so when in glad rags my mittens removed revealing my gold wedding band always gets me that poem so i think i'll just um take a little break there before we move on just check out some comments hi d my client has had rld treatment within b6 and absolutely loves the way it makes her feel under lockdown however she's a little anxious as i was continuing treatment every two weeks due for her jury locked down dee it's it's always difficult to comment on any any one case um as to whether or not swelling is likely to return it depends very much on her um whether maybe she's doing some daily exercises maybe she's been shown some um simple lymph drainage by the lymphedema clinic um but exercising is good now there is a very good resource very good resources the lymphedema support network is a uk-based charity they have a really good youtube channel with um some yoga exercises and things that are specifically designed for lymphedema so it might be worth pointing her in that direction thank you mandy yeah i think that's a beautiful poem as well okay so i shall carry on i'm going to jump now i'm going to jump to page 149 part of chapter 7 clinical reasoning and best practice so starting at the top of page 149 just to help people to understand a little bit of what people are going through with this in the years of working at the hospice i used to go home after the clinics and read about symptoms of the disease and side effects the treatments and the medication this is still part of my clinical practice as it it provides a certain level of understanding these days it's easy to ask questions on social media but this actually deprives us of essential knowledge and the ability to apply our own clinical reasoning skills reflex rg client groups are all different and each has its own unique set of guidelines as a reflexology practitioner work within your limits of competence and training in my experience knowledge training and peer support helped to give me the confidence as a reflexology practitioner and to develop the ability to adapt and and treat clients with complex and life-limiting conditions ironically this client group may be excluded sometimes from having reflexology due to fear and lack of understanding with textbook contraindications and cautions yet they might be the people who benefit the most from receiving the caring touch of a reflexologist i've worked in a i've worked as a complementary therapist primarily using reflexology with patients at all stages of the cancer journey and other life-limiting conditions from diagnosis through treatments and surgery often i've heard survivors talk about how anxious they felt when the hospital discharged them after successfully treating the disease good news we'll see you again in 12 months for a checkup this can be an extremely stressful time of mixed emotions for many people they may worry about the uncertainty of the future some feel fear and guilt and have lost their confidence in its many guises can provide a wonderful support as people come to terms with what they've been through and learn how to manage a whole new set of health related worries or anxiety which can easily escalate so i do feel that there is a place for reflexology i know we're all reflexologists so we know that anyway so i'm going to skip now in fact i'm just going to stop for a minute just see if there's any questions here as i said i will go back through any questions in case i've missed anything as we go okay just got one little paragraph here that i'm going to be um in fact i'm on page 187 as far as i'm concerned a good case study is an honest account of an end-to-end process very often it's that it's the detail the small things that make all the difference to someone not necessarily one with a perfect set of results one of my favorite recurring themes in many rld case studio studies is the gift of hope with no cure for lymphedema being diagnosed with it after breast cancer can be the final straw and with no getting away from it this can feel like a hopeless situation anyway i'm going to just go on to a couple of case studies and testimonials i'm going to read one from carol ann barrett it was a palliative case study and it's on page 192. when sally requested case studies for inclusion in her book the hardest task was which to choose and now as now there are so many i first qualified as a lymphedema therapist in 2001 however i'm also a reflexologist and when i read an article on rld i immediately contacted sally on our rld training course one delegate had lymphedema so was chosen as the model this allowed for both immediate objective and subjective outcomes which were very positive i immediately set about understanding a case study for the qualification i also decided to conduct my own small clinical trial along the same protocol as sally had done for secondary arm lymphedema only i chose lower limb although small the results were also statistically significant a terminally ill patient with gross unilateral lymphedema was referred to me for palliative mld the lady had been through a torrid time of allopathic treatment in the hope of some regression of the cancer the treatment and lymph node resection that had resulted in the lymphedema had sadly no impact and the cancer and the growth continued to ravage her body when she came to my clinic with her daughter the pain and discomfort was etched in her face she was no longer able to wear shoes and her demetus foot hung over a distorted slipper she was groggy from pain relief and morphine i examined her leg and listened carefully to her recounting the journey that had led her to my clinic as she spoke her daughter wiped away a tear she also looked exhausted and helpless desperate for anything to relieve her mother's agony her limb was solid with a positive stem as sign and she was unable to flex her knee once comfortable on the plinth i decided to do rld with the measurement with the pressure of the lesions on the pelvis and the groin resection with the inguinal lymph nodes i felt contralateral drainage route for mld would be compromised i had hypothesized in my rod treatments that was mld exerted epifacial push on the initial lymphatics and the inertia could activate deeper drainage pathways i felt that rod was having a deeper suctioning effect during treatments the patient commented they could feel the lymph moving and draining from her limbs as i worked judiciously on this patient she started to drift in and out of gentle slumber i looked over at her daughter who smiled back with a look of amazement on her face she saw the edema in her mother's foot reducing before her eyes at the end of the session her mother reported that she no longer felt pain in her pelvis when she came to put her foot back in her slipper she announced the excitement that the slipper was now too big for her foot she looked younger in years with an incredulous smile on her face as if i'd performed some sort of magic it was it was magic and the capacity for the body to respond to such powerful way such a gentle touch never ceases to amaze me as she'd be my last patient that day i rang the daughter the next morning to inquire about how a mother was the daughter informed me that her mother had dozed off in the chair most of the evening had slept well all through the night something that she'd not done for a while and had not needed the pain relief or breakthrough pain medication she had just woken was smiling and was asking when our next session was i had the privilege of treating this lady further on a further two occasions before she passed away her daughter was grateful that her mother had been helped in such a positive way the positive ripple effect of rld stands out in this case caroline uses rld to help the patient who is suffering greatly this was distressing for her daughter who looked exhausted and helpless and was desperate for anything to relieve her mother's agony she was able to see the relief her mum experienced receiving rld from caroline so looking at the time seems to have run away i'm just going to check and check here [Music] okay so i think i'll just carry on a little bit here i've got one very short testimonial that i'm going to share from page 211 um so jan rose reflexologist and they're heading a suitcase to clutch bag this is this is what my new client says about her lymphedema the client has had breast cancer 10 years ago and had a mastectomy 12 lymph nodes removed in the years since she's felt like she's been carrying a handbag between her arm on the on the affected side and her rib cage it is not noticeably bigger than the other arm but to her it feels like it she's been telling her doctors this but says they looked at me as if i was crazy someday she said it felt like a suitcase after just one session of rld she says it was reduced to a clutch bag so before i finish i just want to share some of my trip to china and some of my findings there so on page 216 chapter 11 the full circle back to the roots of reflexology in 2006 i was lucky enough to visit china surely the ultimate destination for a reflexologist i was looking for inspiration to help with the final push to help with the final push to finish this book by going back to the ancient roots of reflexology to research and compare and contrast it with our practice in the uk as part of the exploration i went for reflexology foot massage every day in some places it was advertised as reflexology but mostly it is known as foot massage but the difference was indiscernible it is commonplace to just walk in off the street without an appointment and be seen straight away many of the places are open all day and into the early hours of the morning although everywhere is different therapeutic experience is similar right across the board whether it costs the equivalent of five pounds or 50 pounds day or night in every treatment i had the pressure used was very deep and sometimes painful i did not experience any form of gentle treatment not much resembled uk reflexology practices there was little variation in pressure it was deep or deep and absolutely fascinating to watch each reflexologist work they had such strong hands i would find it difficult to work with that pressure all day treatment always starts with a foot soak and sometimes a clothed acupressure style back neck and shoulder massage while the feet are soaking other times acupressure massage is given after the treatment and the feet have been worked on when this happened after the reflexology i suspected they were working on the areas of the body corresponding to the imbalances found in the feet there was no way of knowing because of the language barrier so communication was non-verbal only and at no time was a consultation or medical history given ruminating over this i wondered if perhaps we pay too much attention and worry unnecessarily about contraindications cautions although generally i think not it was all right for me as i did not have any known contraindications eagerly watching others receiving reflexology in the other chairs in the room deep pressure was being applied all round and yet they did not seem to flinch like i did this got easier the more i received i understand it's commonplace for people to have this weekly treatments were physical and very thorough and seem to follow a similar sequence um to that detailed here in western reflexology foot match term footmat terms so then i in i go on here and i i just detail what it felt like um plenty of tender spots and uh sort of good pain but i'm very aware of the time so i just want i i've got a little quote i want to finish with but before i do i want to just check in and make sure nobody has any questions or comments thank you for joining thank you lynn i remember how energized you were after receiving um your treatment i always remember that and mary hi mary thank you for joining okay so i am going to just finish off with just a little quote from page 40. i was going to read the last chapter as well but i'm going to finish here on page 40. if you believe in something good keep going and never give up no matter how turbulent the waters be led by be led by your dreams one small step at a time is all it takes to move forward onwards and upwards so thank you everybody for joining me i hope you've enjoyed that and i look forward to hearing from you i i will answer all the comments and get back to you i hope everybody's keeping well and so if you'd like any more information there's the reflexology lymph drainage webpage as well as the facebook page but for now uh it's book club time and next week we've got two speakers so we've got mandy priest who i mentioned and malcolm stern i'm very much looking forward to both i'm sure they'll both be absolutely fascinating so thank you just see if there's any comments here thank you mary thank you dee okay well stay in touch everyone stay well stay safe and i look forward to hearing from you be well bye for now