In March 1996 I was transferred to Hong Kong. Prior to moving there, the biggest city I’ve lived in had a population of just under 1,8 million people spread out over a rather big area. Hong Kong island had an estimated 11 million people; to say I was caught like a deer in the headlights was an understatement.
Hong Kong is an amazing place to work and live, and the cultural experience was unbelievable; but with working abroad came the homesick days. My first five months on this bustling island that never slept, was a roller-coaster of emotions and experiences. Work was a challenge, and I felt stressed, anxious and my sleep was not great.
One of my Chinese colleagues mentioned that she had weekly Reflexology and that it was very relaxing. In desperate need of some relaxation, I decided to join her on her next visit to the Chinese Medicine Clinic.
Relaxing was not the word that came to mind to describe the pressure the tiny Chinese lady applied to my feet; who knew those little fingers carried so much power! At points during the session I did not know whether to laugh, cry or give her a kick. It was excruciatingly painful, yet pleasurable. As I hobbled out of the shop that evening, I vowed never to return.
Over the next two days, I felt like I had been to a massive all-weekend party; I had an unbelievable headache and felt like I had had too much to drink; and just as suddenly as all this appeared, they all vanished and I felt like a million Hong Kong dollars; energetic and ready to take on the world again.
I kept going back for more, and over the next four years, Reflexology became a monthly must-do for me. I left Hong Kong in 2000 and it was not until I transferred to London in 2003 that I again bumped into Reflexology.
My husband and I had been trying to conceive for four years. We tried everything, but it just did not happen. Domestic athletics became a chore and the fun got sucked out of it. Numerous visits to the doctor and scans later, I was diagnosed with PCOS. My consultant spoke to us about medication to try, which did not make a difference. He then suggested I consider ovarian drilling before referring us on to a fertility clinic for the assisted conception route.
At this point, we decided that perhaps we should take a break from trying to conceive and take up some hobbies. I decided to investigate Reflexology training as I wanted to know the ins and outs of the therapy for my own use, and hence enrolled in a course. My dear husband decided he was going to build a balsa wood model airplane in our front room – this plane had a 2 metre wingspan! If that’s what it took to get his mind off things, then that was fine with me.
I signed up with Louise Keet of the London School of Reflexology and during our training I received loads of Reflexology treatments from my fellow students, it was nothing like my Hong Kong experience; it was blissfully relaxing. During one session, I spoke to Louise about our journey to conception and our challenges. Louise suggested that I stayed behind after each day’s tuition for a preconception Reflexology session with her. Three months into my training I had a positive pregnancy test! We were over the moon!
I went from learning Reflexology as a distraction technique, to wow!, this is what I want to do; help other people facing the same challenges we did.
Like my boys always say “...and that’s how I became a Reflexologist”!
Best job every!
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