Treatment
By Garden Cottage Reflexology in Denham, Buckinghamshire
Fertility
Wherever you are in your conception journey, it is important for both partners to strive for optimal well-being and reduced stress levels as fertility affects both men and women in equal measure.
Stress can induce a response from the hormone, Cortisol, which can cause the release of another inhibiting hormone reducing the production of follicle stimulating hormone and luteinising hormone. Both of these are integral to the release of the egg and implantation of the embryo after fertilisation.
Reflexology treatments can help you and your partner physically by encouraging deep relaxation, improving sleep patterns and reducing stress which are all major contributory factors on the road to successful conception. Reflexology is safe to receive before you start trying for a baby, whilst trying to conceive, or during medical tests or treatments and can be an invaluable support.
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Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a beautiful, life-changing experience, but it can also be a stressful one. Along with Pregnancy brings huge physical and emotional change and for some women, the nine months of pregnancy can be a long period of fatigue and discomfort, with the common conditions of pregnancy taking away the excitement and joy of expecting a baby. Symptoms such as:
- Nausea/morning sickness
- Dizziness
- Constipation
- Headaches
- Backache
- Heartburn
- Pelvic Girdle pain
- Sleeplessness
- Indigestion
- Tiredness
- Swollen ankles & feet
- Itching
- Cramp
- Anxiety
- Depression
Reflexology can help to alleviate discomforts such as these and help to restore your body’s equilibrium, alongside boosting your energy levels and providing an invaluable space where you can focus purely on yourself and your baby. Regular treatments from the early days through to arrival can help your body to be as healthy and comfortable as possible by working to balance your body in preparation for the birth of your baby, with the aim to make your pregnancy a more enjoyable and positive experience. Research has also shown that regular reflexology treatments during pregnancy can shorten the duration of labour, with many women requiring less pain relief.
Priming for Labour as you approach the end of your third trimester uses specific Reflexology techniques to very effectively help the body to relax sufficiently so that it feels ready for labour to happen naturally. Fear, anxiety and stress are all very negative feelings, which, if are in abundance when you're trying to go into labour naturally, can actually have the opposite effect and cause the body to go into fear mode, holding the baby in. Reflexology helps the body to relax, which allows some of that fear to be relieved and allows your body to do what it's supposed to do naturally, which is to go into labour. Reflexology can be safely used throughout your pregnancy. As well as having had two children of my own, I have specialised in Reflexology for Pregnancy so am fully equipped to safely support you through this journey of huge emotional and physical change.
Additional appointments are often added on a Friday for the following week.
If you don’t see a time you’d like, please do get in touch or sign up for the last minute availability notifications on the Contact page.
Men's Health
Although Reflexology may not be the first complementary treatment that most men think of having as they may be under the common misconception that it is a pampering treatment for women, Reflexology is as much for men as it is for women with all the same health benefits.
Reflexology for Men’s health can improve issues such as:
- Interrupted or poor quality sleep
- Difficulty getting off to sleep
- Not being able to ‘switch off’
- Muscular / skeletal pains
- Exhaustion
- Tension and irritability
- Stress related digestive disturbance
- Stress & tension headaches
Men benefit greatly from the experience, find it incredibly relaxing and enjoy the fact that it gives them some space to relax, recharge and focus.
Additional appointments are often added on a Friday for the following week.
If you don’t see a time you’d like, please do get in touch or sign up for the last minute availability notifications on the Contact page.
Women's Health
Hormones change significantly at different stages in a woman’s life, times such as puberty, pregnancy and menopause. Achieving and maintaining hormone balance is a key factor in women’s health. Reflexology can help correct hormonal imbalances, regulate your menstrual cycle, and desensitise the fight, flight or freeze trigger that may be leaving you feeling you are on constant high alert with the sense of being overwhelmed.
There are a number of ailments which effect women exclusively. Around 2 million women in the UK have to endure pain, as well as lethargy and depression with their period each month with conditions such as:
- Endometriosis
- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
- Amenorrhea (absence of periods)
- Menorrhagia (heavy periods)
- Dysmenorrhea (painful periods)
- Pre menstrual tension (PMS)
- Fibroids
With Reflexology, particular attention can be paid to the reflex points that link directly to the female reproductive system, working to balance the hormones related to your condition. This in turn reduces the associated symptoms of your condition as well as acting on the parasympathetic nervous system which regulates feelings of stress and anxiety. Menopause is a transition that will affect every woman individually and how the symptoms display themselves is unique in each case. The journey of peri menopause to menopause can impact our everyday wellbeing and the people around us in varying degrees. The list of symptoms that may be experienced is long but include:
- Hair loss
- Weight gain
- Incontinence
- Allergies
- Sleep disorders
- Headaches
- Joint pain
- Osteoporosis
- Mood swings
- Fatigue
- Memory lapses
- Loss of libido
- Hot flushes
- Digestive problems
- Anxiety/Depression
Reflexology during this time helps soothe the nervous system, balances the hormones, and works to relieve the stress and anxiety associated with this transformative period. I have specialised in Reflexology for the menopause so am here to support you through this phase of your life and can tailor your treatment to address whatever individual experience you are dealing with.
Additional appointments are often added on a Friday for the following week.
If you don’t see a time you’d like, please do get in touch or sign up for the last minute availability notifications on the Contact page.
Stress & Anxiety
When the body is anxious or stressed the body’s nervous system contributes to what is known as the fight or flight response. The body moves its energy resources to fight off the perceived life threat, or to flee from an enemy, signaling for stress hormones to be released and shutting down what it deems to be unnecessary processes such as digestion. The adrenal glands release hormones called adrenalin and cortisol. These hormones together with actions from autonomic nerves, cause the heart to beat faster, the breathing rate to increase, blood vessels in the arms and legs to dilate and glucose levels in the blood to increase to deal with the perceived emergency.
Chronic stress and anxiety can result in considerable strain on the mind and body. Continuous activation of the nervous system can contribute to many problems to other body systems such as:
- Mental health problems
- Cardiovascular problems
- Obesity and other eating disorders
- Menstrual problems
- Sexual dysfunction and lack of libido
- Skin and hair problems
- Digestive problems
Reflexology calms the body’s fight or flight response to stress and anxiety by working the reflexes associated with the nervous system. Touch has been shown to trigger the release of endorphins along with activating the parasympathetic nervous system that moderates, calms and relaxes the stress responses, continuing on after the treatment has left you feeling relaxed and peaceful.
Additional appointments are often added on a Friday for the following week.
If you don’t see a time you’d like, please do get in touch or sign up for the last minute availability notifications on the Contact page.
Relaxation & Sleep
We need sleep to function – both physically and mentally. Sleep regulates your mood, improves your memory but also maintains health, weight and energy levels. Getting just one bad night’s sleep can impact how we feel the following day. Immediate effects of insomnia include poorer memory and reaction times with research showing that repeated changes to sleep patterns can also contribute to weight gain and encourage you to turn to caffeine.
Finding it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep affects one in three people in the UK with the main contributory factors of the inability to relax being poor sleeping environment, lifestyle, mental and physical health conditions.
Reflexology has been shown to lower the physiological markers of arousal, stress and anxiety, including blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate. By working the thousands of nerve endings on your feet or hands, your nervous system is calmed and deep relaxation is achieved.
Additional appointments are often added on a Friday for the following week.
If you don’t see a time you’d like, please do get in touch or sign up for the last minute availability notifications on the Contact page.
Pain Relief
Whatever the source of the pain that you are experiencing, Reflexology can be very effective in providing relief for both acute and chronic pain. Researchers at the University of Portsmouth found in their studies that Reflexology may actually be as effective as some painkillers. There are over 7000 nerve endings in the feet, which when stimulated by Reflexology treatment, can improve nerve responses, improve the blood and lymph circulation, and give the person a sense of overall relief.
Digestive issues, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome can cause debilitating abdominal pain, along with discomfort associated with bloating, constipation and diarrhoea. Reflexology works to relax retained tension in the body’s tissues and organs caused by IBS, and balance metabolism in those key organs involved in digestion, namely the stomach, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, small intestine and colon.
Joint and muscular pain is felt when there is strain from bad posture, repetitive movements, or even from being overweight and carrying around a few extra pounds. The body’s joints can tighten, muscles can become weaker, and range of motion can get diminished. Add to that a sedentary lifestyle, and muscle stimulation becomes reduced. Human feet contain 26 bones, 33 joints, and a network of over 100 tendons connected to thousands of nerves. Reflexology stimulates the more than 7000 nerves in the feet to relax the joints and muscles, improving flexibility and range of motion by allowing ligaments to stretch thereby promoting flexibility and a wider range of motion. Reflexology can be a natural, holistic approach to alleviate muscle and joint pain rather than opting to alleviate sore muscles by taking medication.
Headaches and Migraines affect more than 10 million people in the UK, according to the NHS website. A migraine is a headache characterized by a throbbing sensation on one side of the head and sometimes other symptoms such as nausea, light-headedness and sensitivity to light and sound. The brain itself has no pain receptors so it cannot feel pain, therefore the pain that we experience as a headache comes from the structures that surround the brain, like the muscles, arteries, veins and nerves, which can become inflamed or irritated.
The most common headache experienced is a tension headache. Tension headaches occur because of physical or emotional stress in the body. Sitting at your computer all day, for example, can strain your neck or shoulder muscles which can develop into a tension headache. Similarly, emotional stress either at work or home causes the body to tighten its muscles and nerves, impeding blood flow and causing irritation and inflammation. The result, a tension headache. Reflexology can stimulate thousands of peripheral nerve endings, sending a message to the central nervous system to relieve tension, increase circulation, relax muscles and bring about relaxation and relief from the pain that headaches and migraines induce.
Additional appointments are often added on a Friday for the following week.
If you don’t see a time you’d like, please do get in touch or sign up for the last minute availability notifications on the Contact page.
Testimonials
Pricing
A health and lifestyle consultation will be carried out for new clients followed by a full treatment.
1 hour 15 minutes - £52.00.
Additional appointments are often added on a Friday for the following week.
If you don’t see a time you’d like, please do get in touch or sign up for the last minute availability notifications on the Contact page.
For existing clients.
1 hour - £48.00.
Additional appointments are often added on a Friday for the following week.
If you don’t see a time you’d like, please do get in touch or sign up for the last minute availability notifications on the Contact page.
Priming for Labour is a treatment open to existing clients who are 37 weeks + in their pregnancy.
1 hour - £48.00.
Additional appointments are often added on a Friday for the following week.
If you don’t see a time you’d like, please do get in touch or sign up for the last minute availability notifications on the Contact page.
Please note that 48 hours notice is required of any cancellation other than for illness or unless rearranging the appointment.