Triple Relief by Han Cheung
Reflexology is generally associated with applying pressure to certain parts of the feet. “Yet,” begins Bill Flocco, Director of the American Academy of Reflexology, “Foot reflexology is merely one-third of the practice.” At his school in West L.A., students have been learning a unique combination of reflexology on the feet, hands and ears since 1982.
To Reflexologists, feet, hands and ears represent a visual map of the human body, with certain parts corresponding to certain organs, glands, and structures in the body. “Think about the shape of your outer ear and think of a baby upside down in the fetal position and superimpose them,” Flocco explains. “The ear lobe has reflexes for the head, and the top of the ear has reflexes for the feet.”
Flocco coined the phrase ‘ear reflexology’ in 1982, noticing Auriculotherapy (use of medical implements on the outer ear) charts’ similarity to reflexology when visiting different medical offices. Using all three methods with his clients, it soon became apparent that each reflexology map (feet, hands, ears) more effectively treated different conditions. Flocco began using this treatment pattern, called Priority Reflexing, in which the ears more effectively relieved neck, shoulder, and lower back pain; menstrual cramps or colon issues were reduced through the feet; and headaches and sinus problems were best worked through the hands. Soon after, he realized and implemented into his practice the added effectiveness of Progression Reflexing—a specific order for which the three methods are applied.
Chemical buildup around the reflexes in the feet, hands, and ears is much like a corrosive car battery, explains Flocco. “Imagine a huge motor home that has corrosion on all three batteries. After eliminating the corrosion from one battery, that motor home is going to have more power, but not full power because of corrosion on the other two. Since we had been working with all three froms the very early stages, we weren’t attached to the feet or hands or ears,” Flocco said. “So this whole new body of knowledge emerged.”
Initially a skeptic, Flocco entered the field 29 years ago, after a slow recovery from a serious illness during which he discovered reflexology. Having greatly benefited from the treatment, he began his work with others.
“The first lady I worked on had a stiff neck for 12 years. I worked on her twice and gave her homework, and within two weeks she had regained a complete range of motion in her neck. That really got my attention.”
Reducing stress and eliminating pain are the primary focuses of relief in reflexology, with “about 70 to 90 percent of medical visits resulting from long term stress,” adds Flocco. Some clients use reflexology as a precaution, hoping to prevent stress, pain, and illness by enhancing overall wellness.
Aside from invitations to teach across America and around the globe including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Australia and China—whose most recent class had over 800 attendees, many of them medical doctors—in 1993, his team’s research study on the benefits of reflexology in reducing PMS symptoms was released in Obstetrics and Gynecology—the first of its kind to ever be published in scientific medical literature.
Since then, he has amassed a collection of over 380 studies, which can be found on his Reflexology Research website. “It’s been part of my dream for many years to have that information to be available for free for everyone on earth that had Internet access,” Flocco said.
Currently, his school teaches beginning classes and a 150-hour full professional certificate course as a state licensed vocational school. They also hold various continuing education and specialty classes, such as a Thai foot reflexology course. Students are able to pick and choose courses initially, but the professional certificate program requires students to learn all three methodologies and integrate them into one session. Many students already work in medical and physical therapy offices or spas and beauty salons, a great means to segue into and incorporate reflexology into their practices. Ultimately, students want to help others in a way that gives them deep inner personal satisfaction.
Imparting words of endearment to his students, Flocco stresses “attentiveness to the client. Listening and working according to the needs of each individual is more important than a mastery of reflexology.”Bill Flocco, Director of American Academy of Reflexology, works out of his school’s campus at 725 E. Santa Anita Avenue, #B, Burbank, CA. He can be reached at 818.841.7741 or AAReflex@aol.com. To view his collection of studies, or for more on Bill Flocco, visit reflexologyresearch.net. To learn more about The American Academy of Reflexology, including course and enrollment information, visit americanacademyofreflexology.com.