In the past, most women would not have lived long enough to go through the menopause, but now most women survive to the age when the menopause occurs. In the intervening centuries, attitudes towards the menopause have changed enormously, from it being associated with witchcraft in ancient civilisations and treated as a disease in more recent centuries, to it now being recognised as a natural part of the ageing process and a new phase in life. As reflexology tutor, Sally Earlam says “Menopause can be a new beginning: a time when our sense of purpose as women can change enormously.” Hear hear to that! Rather than seeing menopause as something to be feared, we can see it as an opportunity for transformation and growth.

To clarify, menopause is complete when menstruation is absent for 12 consecutive months, the median age of which is 51, but it can be anywhere between the ages of 45 and 55, and can develop before or after this age range. About 1% of women reach menopause before the age of 40, which is referred to as Premature Menopause. About 5% of women reach menopause between the ages of 40 and 45, which is referred to as Early Menopause. Perimenopause is the lead up to the menopause when symptoms may begin, but it is not medically an official condition and there are no 'clinical' ways to diagnose it. This can be the most challenging time when hormone levels are fluctuating most - like puberty in reverse!

Some women sail through the perimenopause and menopause with very few or no adverse effects, while others struggle with debilitating symptoms that can negatively impact relationships and careers. The most common symptoms are hot flushes and night sweats, other common ones include anxiety, fatigue, low mood, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, memory problems and low libido.

A healthy lifestyle and managing stress well can help protect against these symptoms, so if you want to prepare for a positive menopause, it pays to start early in adulthood. But it is never too late to make lifestyle changes, as they can help alleviate existing menopausal symptoms and support healthy ageing. The five areas to look at are: nutrition, exercise, relaxation, sleep and purpose, which I will explore in another post.

So how can reflexology play a role in a positive menopause? While reflexology itself may not directly treat or cure menopause, it can potentially help alleviate some of its symptoms and improve overall wellbeing during this transitional phase in a woman's life. By intentionally working with reflexes, acupressure and pleasurable touch, reflexology can help calm the nervous system with the aim of supporting key organs and balancing hormones to aid sleep, improve mood and enhance wellbeing.

Hormonal Balance

As the name suggests, reflexology uses reflex points. A reflex is when stimulation of one point on the body brings about a response in another point or area. Reflexology uses thumb, finger and knuckle pressure to stimulate specific points on the feet, hands or face and the corresponding part of the body. Certain reflex points correspond to the glands involved in hormonal regulation. The most relevant to the menopause are the hypothalamus, pituitary, pineal, thyroid and the ovaries. The aim of stimulating these reflex points is to promote hormonal balance, potentially easing menopausal symptoms.

Reflexology for the menopause also incorporates the application of pressure to specific points (known as acupressure) on the foot and leg that are linked to hormonal balance - the same ones used in acupuncture.

In a study into ‘The effect of foot reflexology applied to women aged between 40 and 60 on vasomotor complaints and quality of life,’ Gozuyesil and Baser concluded: “the results showed that reflexology might be effective in decreasing vasomotor problems and increasing quality of life in women in the menopausal period.”

Stress Reduction

Under chronic stress, the adrenal glands produce cortisol and adrenaline at the expense of oestrogen and progesterone, so chronically elevated cortisol levels can increase the likelihood of severe menopausal symptoms.

Reflexology has a calming effect on the nervous system through the soothing effect of touch and the stimulation of reflex points associated with the brain, spinal cord and nerve bundles, which all helps to counter the stress response, promoting a sense of calm and balance. Personally, I find reflexology to be the most profoundly relaxing of treatments! It gets me into that alpha brain wave state between sleep and wakefulness associated with meditation. 

As well as regular reflexology sessions, a daily relaxation practice can help counter chronic stress, whether that is meditation, a hot bath, being in nature or whatever soothes you. Guidance on such self care forms an important part of a treatment.

Sleep

Many women experience disrupted sleep patterns during menopause, which can have detrimental effects on mental and physical health. By promoting a state of relaxation conducive to restful sleep, reflexology can help with insomnia.

Indeed, in their research study, ‘The effects of Reflexology on sleep disorder in menopausal women,’ Maryam Asltoghiri and Zahra Ghodsi concluded that “reflexology is beneficial for improving sleep disorder in menopausal women.”

Enhanced Wellbeing

Menopause is a significant life transition that can impact a woman's physical and psychological wellbeing. Reflexology sessions provide an important opportunity for self care and a sense of agency at what can be a challenging time. I certainly always feel better in myself after a reflexology treatment - lighter, revitalised.

Reflexology has been shown to help with anxiety, fatigue and low mood associated with the menopause. For example, in a study into ‘The effects of foot reflexology on depression during menopause,’ Mahdavipour et al. concluded that “The findings indicated that the foot reflexology technique can be effective for reducing women's depression during menopause.”

To conclude, reflexology in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle can support a positive menopause by working on the key areas of: hormonal balance, stress reduction, improved sleep and an enhanced sense of wellbeing.

If you would like to explore reflexology for the menopause further, do get in touch for a chat about it or to schedule an appointment by emailing wendy@rookeholistic.co.uk or calling me on 07528 708650.

Sources

‘The effects of Reflexology on sleep disorder in menopausal women,’ Maryam Asltoghiri, Zahra Ghodsi, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012, 31, 242-6.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042811029788

‘The effect of foot reflexology applied to women aged between 40 and 60 on vasomotor complaints and quality of life,’ Ebru Gozuyesil, Muruvvet Baser. Complement Ther Clin Pract, 2016, 24, 78-85.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27502805/

‘The effects of foot reflexology on depression during menopause: A randomized controlled clinical trial,’ Fatemeh Mahdavipour, Zahra Rahemi, Zohreh Sadat, Neda Mirbagher Ajorpaz. Complement Ther Med, 2019, 47,102195. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31780002/

Whether you are feeling particularly under pressure at the moment, want to make massage a part of your regular self care or would like to use touch therapy for a chronic exhaustive condition, holistic massage can help you to relax and enhance your sense of wellbeing.

Being a holistic practice, massage works on the whole person, body and mind. Here are four examples of how massage can enhance your overall wellbeing.

1 Stress Reduction

Chronic stress is the root cause of many health problems, which is why countering stress is so important to health and wellbeing. You can read more about the impacts of stress in my post How Stress Aware Are You?

There are several ways in which massage can help with stress reduction. Right from the start, the ambience of the treatment room can have a calming effect with the warmth, soft lighting, scents, relaxing music and the comfort of the treatment couch and drapes. From the first massage strokes, the stimulation of the touch receptors in the skin can help to lower heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol levels. You can read more about that in my previous post The Value of Touch. Added to that, the manipulation of muscles during a massage can stimulate the release of endorphins, which are natural mood enhancers.

2 Pain Management

Whether you suffer from chronic pain or everyday aches and pains, massage can help by releasing tension and enhancing the blood flow within the tissues, which not only helps with pain reduction, but may also accelerate the body’s natural healing processes. The stress-reducing effect of massage also helps with pain management.

3 Improved Flexibility and Range of Motion

Regular massage treatments can promote suppleness and elasticity through the stretching and compressing of tissues. The greater freedom of movement not only feels good, but can help reduce the risk of injury.

4 Better Sleep

Sleep of a good quality and quantity is fundamental to health and wellbeing, as I explain more in my post Sleep as a Pillar of Health. By promoting physical and mental relaxation, massage can promote better sleep by making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. And don’t worry if you fall asleep on the couch, I take it as a compliment that you feel so relaxed and a sign that you needed the sleep. To fully benefit from the sleep-enhancing effect of a massage, plan to keep the rest of the day as quiet as possible.

As you can see, massage can have many potential benefits to health and wellbeing. Over the past few years I have learnt various massage techniques that I can use as appropriate in a treatment to tailor it to your particular needs. My aim is to help you to feel good during and after a treatment.

If you are interested in trying a holistic massage or would like to find out more about it, do get in touch on 07528 708650 or email wendy@rookeholistic.co.uk. I provide treatments at the Formula Health clinic in Pangbourne and you can book appointments through the clinic or directly with me. I also provide a mobile service in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, so if you would like a massage in the comfort of your own home, please contact me directly.

The abdomen can be a powerful place to work during a massage treatment, but as Clare Maxwell-Hudson says in The Complete Book of Massage (the first massage book that I ever read, which was decades ago now): “At first some people are a little apprehensive about having their abdomen massaged. I think this is because they carry their tension there, and to expose the abdomen makes them feel vulnerable.” And it is true that the posture of fear is being closed up at the front of the body as if curled in a ball to protect the soft belly and the vital organs within it. We even feel fear in the abdomen as ‘butterflies’.

If we can overcome that sense of vulnerability in exposing the abdomen to massage, some of the main potential benefits are for:

1. healthy breathing

1. fascial release

1. hip and lower back pain

1. emotional release

1. digestive problems.

Abdominal massage can support healthy breathing by relaxing the abdominal muscles, which allows the breath to move freely. So often we focus on holding the belly in, which can restrict the natural breathing pattern. At rest, the diaphragm sits as a dome below the rib cage. When we breathe in, it contracts and flattens to draw air into the lungs, which naturally pushes the abdominal contents down and outwards. This natural breathing pattern massages the internal organs by squeezing and releasing them if we allow that abdominal movement to happen. I have certainly found my breathing to feel noticeably different after abdominal work, easier and more relaxed.

Relaxing the abdominal muscles and releasing the fascia in the abdomen can help alleviate pain around the lower back, pelvis and hips. As I mentioned above, fear and stress can make us tighten up in the front of the body, which can cause musculoskeletal problems elsewhere in the body. Releasing tension in the abdomen allows a healthier posture to return.

We are all familiar with the term gut feeling, but perhaps less so with the concept that emotions and trauma can be stored in the abdomen. Abdominal massage can help release these in a therapeutic way.

And of course massage can be beneficial for digestive health. In part because chronic stress can impair digestive health. The relaxation of a treatment can help calm the system down allowing it to return to a state of rest and digest. The circling techniques used in abdominal massage are always done in the direction of the digestive system, which is clockwise, to support the digestive process.

In qigong we often practise self massage of the abdomen by circling the hands around the area (over our clothing) to massage the internal organs and to build qi in the lower dantian (elixir field). That is something that you can do for yourself, standing up, seated or lying down. With one hand on top of the other over the abdomen, start off with a small circle around the navel and gradually make the circle bigger until it takes in the whole abdomen, circling clockwise as if you were looking out of the clock face. Another technique is to place both palms over the abdomen, thumbs and index fingers touching, then draw them up the centre line over the navel to the lower ribs before drawing them out to the sides and down before drawing up the centerline again, as if drawing a circle on each side of the abdomen with the hands circling up the middle and down the side.

I hope that you can enjoy the benefits of abdominal massage whether that is from a treatment or through self massage.