SL Create Footprints

06/12/2025

The "silly" season approaching! 🎄🎉🥳💃🏼☃️🎅🏼
Remember to take time for yourself.
Ground yourself regularly.
Remember the important things.
Don't sweat the small things.

And if it all becomes too much, then pop to see me for some reflexology 👣🕉️

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Your nervous system loves reflexology more than you know ✨

Gentle pressure, slower breathing, calmer thoughts - it all adds up.

Here are a few ways reflexology helps bring you back to centre...

24/11/2025

Definitely see these types of posts at the right time!
I was explaining this to a friend tonight, how I feel so much more because of my Reiki training.
Thanks for sharing energy reflexology!🫶🏼

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The Reiki Connection

The Reiki energy enhances every treatment offered by many reflexologists, including me.

It is a very gentle, intelligent energy flow that deepens the healing process.
As a Reiki Master, I’ve witnessed how Reiki naturally integrates with reflexology, amplifying its effects and creating a deeper sense of calm and connection.

When energy flows freely, the body’s communication improves, balance returns, and healing happens at a profound level, physical, emotional, and spiritual.

Clients often describe feeling lighter, peaceful, and deeply cared for. That’s the gift of combining Reflexology and Reiki, it touches the whole being.

23/11/2025

Nothing is better than releasing that heavy legs feeling and this simple exercise helps massively with it.
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🌿 Legs Up the Wall: A Simple Pose with Powerful Benefits for Your Lymphatic System

When it comes to supporting lymphatic health, sometimes the most effective tools are also the simplest. One of these is the restorative yoga posture known as Legs Up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani). This gentle inversion is accessible to most people and offers profound benefits for both circulation and relaxation.

💧 How It Helps the Lymphatic System

The lymphatic system relies on muscle movement, breath, and gravity to keep fluids circulating. When you elevate your legs, gravity naturally assists in:
• Reducing fluid build-up in the lower limbs (helpful for swollen ankles, heavy legs, or long hours of standing).
• Encouraging lymph and venous return toward the heart.
• Relieving pressure from overworked lymph nodes in the groin and lower body.

This makes it an excellent self-care tool for those managing inflammation, lymphatic congestion, or simply seeking a way to “reset” the body.

🌀 Other Benefits of Legs Up the Wall Pose
• Boosts circulation: Enhances both blood and lymph flow.
• Supports digestion: Gentle abdominal decompression can aid gut motility.
• Slows heart rate: Helps balance the cardiovascular system.
• Calms the nervous system: Promotes parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) activity.
• Relaxes the mind: A mindful pause that eases stress and tension.

🌸 How to Practice Safely
1. Sit sideways against a wall, then gently swing your legs up as you lie back.
2. Place a small cushion or folded blanket under your hips for comfort.
3. Extend arms out by your sides or overhead to open the chest.
4. Breathe deeply, letting your belly rise and fall.
5. Stay for 5–15 minutes or as long as feels comfortable.

👉 Avoid if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure, acute eye conditions (like glaucoma), or recent leg injuries unless cleared by your healthcare provider.

✨ Final Thoughts

Simple yet powerful, Legs Up the Wall is more than just a stretch — it’s a therapeutic posture that assists lymph flow, calms the body, and restores balance. Adding this into your daily routine is an easy way to support both physical and emotional well-being.

Bianca Botha CLT, RLD, MLDT & CDS
This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, exercise, or health regimen.

22/11/2025

Set up and ready to welcome you to Arley House Christmas Fair today from 10am!

Pop over to see me for a chat about reflexology and Reiki, a mini taster session or to make a purchase 🎄🫶🏼

22/11/2025

Arrival at Arley House for today's Christmas Fair!

18/11/2025

But it is also a wonderful foot massage!
It helps bring connection and calm.
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Reflexology is much more than some people think it is. It’s calmer shoulders, deeper breaths, and your nervous system going, “Ahhhhhh, finally.” 💆🙌💜

   

17/11/2025

It's my biggest warning to all my clients! 😂
You will be sleepy, listen to your body and rest after to allow the energy to settle.
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It’s not unusual to feel sleepy, heavy, or even emotionally drained after a reflexology session, and it’s actually a good sign that your body is responding.

Reflexology activates the parasympathetic nervous system - the “rest and digest” branch responsible for slowing the heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and triggering recovery processes. When the body shifts out of a chronic stress state (sympathetic dominance), it finally has permission to relax, repair, and rebalance.

That deep relaxation can sometimes feel like fatigue, especially if your system has been running on adrenaline or stress hormones for a long time. The tiredness isn’t a side effect. It’s a signal that your body is resetting its internal balance.

📚 Research supports this response:

Studies, including McVicar et al. (Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 2007), show measurable reductions in heart rate, blood pressure, and anxiety levels following reflexology - clear indicators of parasympathetic activation.

A 2011 pilot study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that reflexology sessions produced significant decreases in salivary cortisol (the body’s main stress hormone), reinforcing the link between reflexology and stress reduction.

Improvements in sleep quality and relaxation have been documented across multiple clinical settings, from cancer care to maternity wards, all pointing to the same physiological mechanism of rest and regulation.

💧 How to support your body afterward:

Drink water to help the body process metabolic by-products released during deep relaxation.

Avoid caffeine or alcohol immediately after your session to prolong the calm.

Rest if you can, even a short nap or quiet time helps integrate the benefits.

Feeling tired after reflexology is simply your body exhaling and catching up on the rest it’s been asking for. 😴

13/11/2025

Love this!! 👣🩷🌟
It answers all your questions (insecurities) about feet! 😂
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Feet come in all shapes, sizes, and levels of “I forgot to moisturise.”
We’ve seen it all - and we love them all. ❤️😃
Because when we say we’ve got you from the ground up… we mean it. 👣

12/11/2025

Pop and see me at this beautiful Christmas Fair at Arley House on Saturday 22nd November 🎄🌟 I'll be doing my mini reflexology taster sessions for only £5! 🩷👣 And selling my cute foot pamper packs, perfect little present or stocking filler 🎁🎅🏼

12/11/2025

Ohh I do love a bit of evidence based research!
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Our hormones influence everything. Our mood, energy, and sleep, metabolism, fertility, and emotional resilience. When they’re out of balance, we can feel it in every part of our lives.

Reflexology offers a gentle, holistic approach to supporting the endocrine system - the network of glands that produce and regulate our hormones (including the thyroid, adrenals, pituitary, and ovaries/testes).

When we’re under chronic stress, our bodies release high levels of cortisol, the primary stress hormone. Over time, this can throw other hormones off balance - affecting menstrual cycles, thyroid activity, weight regulation, and even immune function.

By calming the nervous system and promoting deep relaxation, reflexology helps lower stress hormones and encourages the body to return to homeostasis - its natural state of balance.

🧠 How it works:

Reflex points corresponding to endocrine glands are stimulated, helping to improve communication between these systems via neural and circulatory pathways.

Activating the parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) response reduces cortisol and adrenaline levels.

With less stress load, the body can better regulate hormones like oestrogen, progesterone, insulin, and melatonin.

📚 What the research shows:

A 2019 study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research found that women who received reflexology during their menstrual cycle experienced reduced PMS symptoms, less pain, and improved mood.

In Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice (2017), researchers reported that reflexology helped reduce anxiety and fatigue in menopausal women, suggesting a beneficial effect on stress-related hormonal imbalance.

Other studies note reflexology’s potential to lower blood pressure, improve sleep, and enhance overall wellbeing - all indicators of a more regulated endocrine system.

✨ The bigger picture:
While reflexology doesn’t replace medical care or claim to “fix” hormonal disorders, it can be a valuable complementary approach to help the body find its rhythm again.
For many, it offers a sense of calm, better sleep, and renewed emotional balance - the foundation for healthier hormone function.

08/11/2025

Set up and ready for my reflexology tasters!👣🩷

Come along to Kinlet village hall between 12 and 4pm for their cute Christmas Fair 🎄🌟🫶🏼