Clinical Reflexology in Belfast: Not Just a Foot Massage

Most people who book reflexology with me are expecting a foot massage. It is not quite that, and the difference is worth knowing before you book.

Reflexology works on the idea that specific points on the feet correspond to the rest of the body. Steady pressure on those points is deeply relaxing, and for a lot of people it is the thing that finally gets them to switch off.

What makes it clinical

Standard reflexology is a lovely relaxing hour and follows much the same routine every time. Clinical reflexology starts with a proper conversation about what is actually going on with you, and the session is built around that instead.

I will ask about your sleep, your stress levels, how you sit at work, what you have already tried. Where I work on the foot, how long I spend there and how much pressure I use all come out of that. Same therapy, done to a plan rather than a script.

What it feels like

Firm, but not painful. Some points feel tender when I first reach them and that usually settles within a few seconds. Most people are somewhere between very relaxed and asleep by the twenty minute mark.

You keep your clothes on. Shoes and socks off, that is it. For a lot of people that is the whole reason they pick reflexology over a massage, and it is a perfectly good reason.

What people come to me with

Mostly stress that has stopped being just a feeling. Wound up all the time, sleeping badly, jaw and shoulders permanently tight, tired in a way a lie-in does not fix.

I should be straight with you about what this is. Reflexology is a complementary therapy. It sits alongside your GP and your physio rather than replacing either, and I am not going to tell you it treats a medical condition. What it does reliably is help people relax properly, and when someone has been running on adrenaline for months, that turns out to matter more than it sounds.

How a session runs

Fifty minutes, £55. You can see the treatment and book it here.

You can also add Lawrence aromatherapy oils to the session and I will pick the blend on the day based on how you are. That one has to be added when you book rather than mentioned on the day.

If you would rather have hands-on work through the back and shoulders, deep tissue massage at £48 or a Swedish massage at £45 are the ones to look at. And if it is stiffness and restricted movement more than stress, the Emmett Technique is probably the better fit.

Where I am

I work from Newtownbreda in south Belfast, a couple of minutes from Forestside, and see clients from Castlereagh, Belvoir, Carryduff and across the city. I am a fully accredited member of the Federation of Holistic Therapists and VTCT qualified in massage and reflexology.

If you are not sure whether reflexology or a massage is the right call for you, just ask. Book online here or ring me on 07715 537037 and I will point you at whichever one I think will actually help.