elleven Magazine Issue 1 | Page 63

the right spot Jane Holt has been practicing reflexology for the past 19 years and believes she has helped over 60 women improve their fertility rates and in turn get pregnant. Reflexology helps to improve relaxation, sleeping, improves your sex drive, regulate your cycles and improve your flow and pain when menstruating. This all added together is a perfect recipe for helping women getting pregnant. After a program that is specifically designed to your needs, it can take from four to eight weeks to start seeing the difference. Reflexology uses the foot in sections, applying pressure to each little part connecting to another part of your body. Each toe a different area of your body; you’re little toe connecting to your ear. The heel of your foot connecting to your buttocks region, and the ball of your foot your heart. Reflexology can be dated back to 1913 in the USA when ear, nose and throat specialist William H. Fitzgerald found that applying pressure to different parts of the body had an anesthetic effect on other areas of the body. Found to in early China and Egypt, reflexology could be compared to the Chinese art of acupuncture. Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese tradition of inserting fine needles into the skin in specific parts of your body, to connect and help relieve other parts of the body. In the 1930’s and 40’s nurse and physiotherapist Eunice D. Ingham found that reflexology was most sensitive in concerns to the hands and feet, and mapped the entire body on the feet. Now reflexologists use your feet to control and source every ailment in your body, like a map. According to clinical trials, reflexology doesn’t help when it comes to medical treatment, however its overall effect does help in maintaining a healthy balance. Reflexology is becoming more commonly used within the NHS, especially in maternity units. The NHS Trusts Association (NHSTA) which represents the Primary Care Trusts including all NHS GPs says, “Many NHS practitioners now endorse its use, some recommending that patients consult a reflexologist privately.” Some reflexologists practice what’s called maternity reflexology. Maternity reflexology is said to help during pregnancy with morning sickness, back ache, fluid retention, swelling, adjusting to the demands of a new baby, increasing milk supply for the baby and even helping the baby arrive closely to it’s due date. Mira Britton, a reflexologist who specialises in helping women get pregnant with the use of maternity reflexology says, “Special techniques are taught whereby you avoid some reflex points during some trimesters and I use lots o