THE FOOT AS MICROCOSM AND MACROCOSM

You will hear it said everywhere that the origins of Reflexology are so ancient that they are lost in the mists of time.
Those mists must have been really murky if no trace of the origins in any place have yet been found...

To approach the subject seriously and professionally we must begin to talk of reflexologies and not reflexology.
Reflexologies are a modern science, if we so wish.
Just about everywhere there is a tendency to cloak the technique in mystery, a technique, that is, which has nothing mysterious about it at all.
Whoever talks of the early origins of this subject usually does so to mask his own limits behind a patina of something obscurely ancient which may confirm various axiomatic assertions supported solely by results which the validity of the technique can produce.

First of all we must differentiate these concepts: reflex points, acupuncture, reflexologies.
We find analgesic techniques based on reflex areas and points used in almost all past cultures.
In the Hebrew culture, for example, it was said that the boy who was supposed to bring offerings to the altar "should have no marks on his body or in his eyes".
That reference to marks in the eyes (irises) suggests the presence of some reflex principle, though we cannot yet talk of iridology.

In the countryside it is still common to meet old people who have had the antihelix of the ear cauterized with a knitting needle to cure sciatica, but that is not auricular therapy nor is it auricular medicine.
Red Indian women, accustomed to giving birth alone, tightly clasped a comb in their hands to help them bear the pain of childbirth, but this was not yet reflexology of the hand.
Human beings have always availed themselves of empirical methods, the origins of which, varying from culture to culture, are indeed lost in the mists of time without there having been the least attempt at classification.
Reflex points were quite simply stimulated.

A reflex point is that particular part of our body which when stimulated produces an analgesic reaction (the disappearance of pain) in an area which is different and far away from the stimulated point.

Acupuncture, a highly complex technique with profound philosophical foundations and physiological implications, also uses a considerable number of codified reflex points.
It is, however, often used ignorantly in the same way as the techniques of so-called barefoot doctors, the Chinese equivalents of bone-adjusters in our culture.
It would be more accurate in fact to define this acupuncture of low repute as an assemblage of reflex points, since the only thing it has in common with real acupuncture is the act of inserting needles.

Reflexologies are the complete ancestral projection of the whole body onto only a part of it.

This introduces us to the concept of the microcosm-macrocosm principle.

The smallest known entity of the simple element is the atom.
This is composed of a central nucleus formed of protons and neutrons, around which electrons revolve.
One of the largest entities we know of is the solar system, which has the same structure as the atom: the sun as a central nucleus and the planets revolving around it.

A scale that can be likened to a game of Chinese boxes, one inside the other.
A group of atoms makes up a molecule, a group of molecules forms a cell, groups of cells form tissue, a mass of tissue forms an organ, a group of organs forms a system, various systems become a person, several persons make up a family, many families form a tribe, a clan or a neighbourhood, many neighbourhoods make a town, many towns a province, and so on... a region, a nation, a continent.

Thus, one is in everything and everything is in one.

In every part of the body we find the whole body projected proportionately in an organic, precise, logical way.

In iridology the whole individual is projected in an organic way in the iris, with a precise, logical arrangement of all the projections of its corresponding organs.
A person's brain is situated in the highest part of his body, so we find it in the uppermost part of the iris, divided up into its various functions.
The stomach is situated in the middle of the body and therefore occupies the central part of the iris, around the pupil.
The skin is the outermost part of the physical being and is consequently reflected on the outer part of the iris.

Auricular therapy projects the image of an upturned foetus, with its head nearest the ground, onto the pavilion of the ear such that the lobe corresponds to the head and the anthelix the spinal column. We can see then that various forms and manifestations of reflexology have their own precise logic, are not points chosen at random but have logical references.

If we observe a stylized drawing of a foot, viewed from the side, we can recognize the image of a seated person, with the head, the kyphotic curve, the lordotic curve, the pelvis, the chest and the abdomen clearly identifiable.

A side view of the spinal column has curves which we find projected onto the foot in both the plantar and medial view.

This is but a cursory treatment of the argument.
We shall deal with it again more thoroughly in later chapters.
For now it is enough to point out that a flattening of the lordotic curve resulting from a posterior-inferior tilting of the pelvis results in a flattening of the foot, whereas an increase in the lordotic curve involves an accentuation of the arch of the foot.

The Greeks had an idealized concept of art, unlike their Roman contemporaries who were realists.
If the Romans had to represent the head of a person in sculpture, they did so in a way that was life-like, representing it realistically with all its defects.
If the subject had wrinkles, or a crooked nose, or other anomalous features, all this was faithfully represented.
The Romans were extremely physical people, imperialists, warriors. Their Greek coounterparts were idealists.
While the Romans were busy occupying Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the followers of the Socratic and Peripatetic schools were learnedly enquiring into the nature of reality and existence.
The Greeks had a spiritualistic rather than physical outlook, therefore their greatest exponents of sculptural art (Scopas, Praxiteles, Lysippus, etc) produced statues like the discus-thrower of Myron. Both athletes and famous men were portrayed with an idealized, perfect beauty.

A standard of reference was the head. The overall length of a statue had to be seven and a half times larger than the head.
If we take the second phalange of the big toe, which reflexologically represents the head, and multiply its length seven and a half times, we obtain the overall length of the foot.

The first phalange of the big toe has a length that corresponds to one and a half times that of the second phalange.
If we give a value of one to the second phalange, the first will have a value of one and a half.
Adding the two values together (1.5 + 1 = 2.5) we observe that they have the same length as the first metatarsal, therefore the first metatarsal has a length of two and a half.
From the articulation of the first metatarsal-first cuneiform bone departs Lisfranc's line (tarsometatarsal articulation) which divides the foot into two halves.

Reprojecting these dimensions on the hand, we see that the second phalange corresponds to one and a half times the third, and that the sum of the lengths of the second and third phalanges is equivalent to the first phalange.
The three phalanges together have the same length as the carpus and metacarpus together. If we project carpus, metacarpus and phalanges (the whole hand) onto the forearm the two hand lengths measure exactly half of the upper limb (arm, forearm, hand).
In other words, the overall length of the upper limb is equivalent to four spans.
The length of the hand when measured from the carpus to the distal portion of the third phalange of the middle finger is equivalent to the distance between the thumb and the little finger of an outspread hand.
This length is equivalent to a quarter of the entire upper limb.
Two of these quarters, two spans, correspond to the width of the pelvis, while a span is the exact distance between the navel and the iliac crest.

Chinese is not a language that is translated; it is a language that is interpreted. In French, Spanish, or Italian, for example, a word has its equivalent in our own language: the French and Italian wordsmaison and casa correspond to the English word house.
In Chinese, however, each ideogram corresponds not to a word but to a concept.
The ideogram zu means to run, to walk, the lower limb comprising thigh, leg and foot.

It is the hand and foot which differentiate the upper limb from the lower one.
The rest corresponds. We have one bone for the arm and one for the thigh, two for the forearm and two for the lower leg. But the detail, the fulcrum, the soul which most differentiates the foot from the hand is the calcaneus, the heel bone.
If the foot lacked its heel bone it would be very similar to the hand. Monkeys are quadrumanous. They have not developed the heel bone, which enabled human beings to stand in an upright posture, "homo erectus". The calcaneus is the largest bone in the foot, the one which is usually first to touch the ground when walking forward. It is one of the first bones in the body to form.

In their present conception reflexologies are a modern concept. In China Foot Reflexology does not exist as we understand it. There is instead a little known form of Reflexology with energetic connotations, more consonant therefore with the Chinese mentality. This method is called Hon Chun Zu, which means "the technique of touching the heel", a technique which obviously treats the foot as a whole.

The highest part of the body is the head. The reflex area of the head is located on the highest part of the foot when a person is seated with his legs outstretched or when he is lying down. The organs are projected onto the foot in a logical way. An organic projection which is in keeping with the microcosm-macrocosm concept, as if we had taken a photograph of a person, reduced it and projected it onto the feet. What is high up will be situated high up, what is low down will be projected low down and so on; the same goes for behind, in front, to the right, to the left, deep-lying or on the surface.

Everything on the feet which appears to be "more" compared to an ideal foot - valgus big toe, callosity, swellings, boney protrusions - will be something extra in the corresponding part of the body, e.g. swellings, the formation of catarrh, the hardening of tissues. Everything which appears to be "less" compared to an ideal foot - creases, grooves, wrinkles, depressions - corresponds in the body to a deficiency either at a functional or organic level. Single, centrally placed organs or systems in the body will be projected on both feet in the medial view, half on one foot and half on the other. Examples of single, centrally placed organs are the thyroid gland, the uterus, the prostate gland, the bladder and the spinal column. Double organs or systems, like the lungs, the kidneys, and the limbs with their corresponding articulations, are projected in two parts, half on the left foot and half on the right. Single, lateral organs, like the liver, the spleen and the heart, are projected onto the foot of the corresponding side. Thus, the liver with the gall bladder are on the right, the spleen is on the left; the heart, although anatomically central with only its lower part on the left, is also on the left.

We shall identify the organs reflected on the feet using the following order of classification: right or left foot, plantar or dorsal view, internal or external lateral view, name of the bone, portion of it.
The phalanges represent the projection of the head, rather as if it were an opened-out cardboard box; therefore on the toes, for example, we find the eyes, ears and teeth.

(ABDUCTED - NORMAL - ADDUCTED)

(PRONATED - NORMAL - SUPINATED)

(HOLLOW - NORMAL - FLAT)

(VARUS - NORMAL - VALGUS)

HOW REFLEX POINTS WORK

After our brief treatment of anatomy here are some references to the physiology of the unknown and complicated mechanism of reflex action.

Neurons are hundreds of billions of microscopic thought "switchboards" (each having a diameter of between five thousandths and a hundred thousandths of a millimetre), contained in a fairly small box called the cranium. The job of neurons is to elaborate messages and transmit them through the nervous system. Each neuron is equipped to receive nervous information from other neurons through dendrites (branched threadlike extensions which give the neuron the appearance of an octopus), and in turn to transmit its own messages through another tubular extension called an axon or axis cylinder. The point at which a nerve impulse is relayed from the terminal portion of an axon to the dendrites of an adjacent neuron is called a synapse, this being the crucial element in the whole system of neuronal communication. The hundreds of billions of neurons with which a brain is normally equipped correspond to at least a hundred thousand billion connections, a branching network whose complexity has no comparison with any other known thing in the universe.

During the life of the foetus the pace of neuronal multiplication runs at about two hundred and fifty thousand cells a minute, but from birth onwards this growth dies down almost completely, giving way to the opposite process of loss, of death without replacement. It has been discovered that neurons can, in ways that are still relatively obscure, repair themselves in the event of damage by emitting new axon endings, creating new synapses and reforming lost connections. Rita Levi Montalcini won the Nobel Prize, after isolating the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) in 1954, that is, the natural factor capable of stimulating the growth of neurons.

All nerve impulses coming in or going out are of an electrical nature; There are also chemical impulses, but these serve to interact with the electrical ones, or between each other. There is a difference in electrical potential between the inside and the outside of the neuron produced by the different concentration of sodium and potassium ions on the two faces of the membrane. On the inside of the neuron, as opposed to the outside, there are a certain number of sodium ions (few) and a well-determined number of potassium ions (many).
This combination creates a negative electrical field in the cell, called rest potential, in which the membrane is polarized, i.e. has a positive charge on the outside and a negative charge on the inside.

The equilibrium of the electrical field is modified when a nervous impulse is transmitted. When this happens, in fact, the doors open in such a way as to allow other sodium ions to enter the cell and many potassium ions to leave it, after which the system of transmission changes from electrical to chemical.
The message must now be made to cross the synaptic space (about ten millimicrons) in order to reach the dendrite, and it is here that chemical agents called neurotransmitters come into play.

Inside special vesicles the neurotransmitters, through the synapses, reach the predisposed channels and make them open, thus enabling the electrical impulse, carried by the chemical agent, to cross the synaptic space and be relayed from the neuron through the receptors on the surface of the dendrite.

Most of the chemical impulses acting in the infinite synaptic connections are unknown; more is known about those of the autonomic nervous system for the simple reason they have been known about for longer. The most well-known neurotransmitters are adrenalin and acetylcholine, which exercise a stimulating and inhibiting action on the internal organs of the thorax and abdomen, on the vascular system and on the glandular system. While adrenalin is produced by the suprarenal gland, the neurons of the brain and the sympathetic nervous sytem produce noradrenalin, which is almost the same thing and acts at a central level, activating states of wakefulness and alertness and regulating moods and emotions.

Acetylcholine is synthesized by neurons only, both central and gangliar, starting with choline and acetyl coenzyme. It is the neurotransmitter which makes muscles move, allowing electrical impulses to be relayed from the cortex to the neuromuscular motor end plate. Impulses are transformed into chemical and electrical signals. When they reach the occipital centre they are decodified.
Olfactory impulses and most gustatory impulses, which are chemical in nature, are not perceived through their chemical composition, but on the basis of the form of the molecules.

Numerous studies have been made to discover how a physical impulse (e.g. light rays entering the eye, or sound waves picked up by the ear), or a chemical impulse (like those stimulating the sense of smell or taste), can become concept and memory, but there is still no scientific answer to why and how this information, and therefore our massages, work. All we know is that they do work. With a rapid, light massage we generate short waves, waves therefore with a high frequency, fast and penetrating. On reaching a target organ, these waves trigger an acidic chemical reaction which produces a relaxation of the tissues of even the hardest and most contracted organs.

A swollen organ, hardened as a result of an acute or chronic condition, subjected to rapid bombardment, will be stimulated by a kind of activity similar to that of a chisel against a rock; not a few heavy blows, therefore, but many small ones. Conversely, a slow, deep, heavy massage, due to the well-known physical law that "pressure creates heat", will transmit long, low-frequency, slow waves. On reaching the target organ, this impulse will generate an alkaline reaction that will tonify the tissues through the effect of the sugars which are synthesized. Therefore, if an organ is fatigued or prolapsed, a slow, deep massage will tonify and energize. For example, a gall bladder or stomach which has lost its physiological peristaltic capacity will recover it.

The massage we practise is a mechanical action that is transformed into a chemical-electrical reaction in the body. Our body reacts to two fundamental stimuli - contraction and relaxation - which we can translate into heat-cold stimuli, a caress or a pinch, side pressure and pointed pressure, pulling and letting go, sweet and sour, and so on ad infinitum. The universal laws of the Tao, Yin and Yang, remain immutable.

 

I.S.R.A. IDENTIFICATION OF SENSITIVE REFLEX AREAS

WATER MOVEMENT

This section of the book is devoted to the study and identification of the reflex areas on the foot. Let us begin with the projection of the bone structure.

The reflex areas which correspond to the Water Movement are coloured black.
We shall begin with the bones because in my experience as a teacher their general projection is usually the most comprehensible. We shall, therefore, first construct the framework represented by the osteoarticular system, which we can then fill in with the organs arranged accordingly.
The osteoarticular system thus becomes an excellent foundation which helps us to memorize the location of the reflex areas.

Cranium-Vertebral column

The second phalange of the big toe corresponds to the head.
Under the head is the neck, which corresponds to the first phalange of the big toe. It follows, therefore, that the first-second phalange articulation corresponds to the head-neck articulation, and more precisely to the cranium-atlas-axis.

Descending, we come to another articulation which anatomically is slightly protruding, the metatarsophalangeal articulation of the big toe.
This corresponds to the projection of the seventh cervical-first dorsal vertebrae (C7-D1). If we consider the head only as a bony structure, we can already call the second phalange of the big toe the cranium, differentiating the second phalange from the brain, the eyes and the ears. The neck, as a bony structure, becomes the projection of the seven cervical vertebrae.

Moving further down, with our subject lying down, we find the first metatarsal as the projection of the twelve dorsal vertebrae.

The five lumbar vertebrae are projected in the first cuneiform bone.

Immediately below it is the navicular, with a little pointed protuberance in the inferior medial posterior portion which can be identified as the sacrum-coccyx.
Thus, the spinal column is projected onto the medial arch of the foot, beginning at the first-second phalange of the big toe and finishing on the navicular.

If we compare the dimensions of the bones of the foot with the dimension and morphological structure of the vertebrae, we find that the proportions between the cranium, the seven cervical, twelve dorsal and five lumbar vertebrae, the sacrum and the coccyx correspond. The proportion between the seven cervical vertebrae and the first phalange of the big toe, and the five thick lumbar vertebrae projected onto the first cuneiform bone becomes clear. The vertebral groups - cervical, dorsal, lumbar and sacral - are different from each other in the same way that the corresponding bones of the foot vary, both in length and overall size. The seventh cervical vertebra has a much more prominent spinous process compared to the others in its group and in fact the base of the first phalange of the big toe is wider. The most sensitive points, also on the column projected on the foot, are the points where the bones are joined to each other.

Cranium

The second phalange of the big toe is the highest part of the foot, just as the head is the highest part of the body. When carefully examining this tiny bone, we notice that it is formed of protuberances and depressions. We find a first small cavity, like a small valley, in the high central part. Bear in mind that valleys are always generated by hills; if there were no hills there would be no valleys, only plains. This small cavity, this small valley, located in the highest part of the cranium, corresponds to the right frontal sinus on the right foot and to the left frontal sinus on the left foot. The outermost small mount on each foot corresponds to the arch of the eyebrows.

The small protrusion situated low down, externally, particularly sensitive when stimulated with the tip of the finger, corresponds to the mastoid process.
The particular sensitivity of this point is due to the fact that the sternocleidomastoid muscle is attached to the mastoid bone.

Teeth

The teeth are projected in the tiny ridges of the third row phalanges - the upper jaw arch dorsally, the lower jaw arch plantarly - in the following order: on the fifth toe we find the third molar or wisdom tooth, on the fourth toe the second and first molars, on the third toe the second and first premolars, and on the second toe the canine and one incisor. The reflex area of the other incisor we must suppose is on the big toe, but given the impossibility of verification due to the almost total lack of subjects with toothache affecting the incisors, we must assume these areas to be probable but not certain.

Shoulder joint

The highest, outermost articulation in the body is the scapulohumeral articulation, or shoulder joint. This is reflected in the metatarsophalangeal articulation of the fifth toe.

The shoulder joint is linked to the sternum through the clavicle, a long bone positioned horizontally.

Clavicle

We have already mentioned that the second phalange of the big toe represents the cranium.

Beneath it are the seven cervical vertebrae which represent the neck.
From here, horizontally, departs the clavicle, or collar bone, which is reflected dorsally in the heads of the metatarsals.

Sternum

Vertically, on the other hand, again from the lower part of the neck and in the inner part of the first metatarsal, we find the sternum.

Upper arm, forearm, hand

The humerus departs from the shoulder joint and descends as far as the elbow, identifiable as the tuberosity of the fifth metatarsal bone which protrudes very clearly. From the elbow the radius and ulna reach the wrist-hand articulation, identified as the superior ridge of the cuboid bone.

Diaphragm

By tracing a line on the tarsometatarsal articulation we indicate the diaphragm, which is situated proportionally lower than the sternum and higher than the elbow. The proportions and exact positions correspond perfectly. The line of the diaphragm divides a person in two, two mirroring halves when the body is represented with its arms held up.

The projection of the diaphragm on the foot, identified on the tarsometatarsal articulation, known anatomically as Lisfranc's line, is the area where amputation is carried out in cases of gangrene or serious injuries to the anterior part of the foot; this operation involves the disarticulation of the metatarsals.

Putting this overall image into focus, we have the figure of a person whose fists rest on his abdomen.

Kidney

The reflex area of the kidney is one of the most important in Foot Reflexology.
It is situated just under the distal epiphysis of the third metatarsal. Just as the kidney is the most deeply placed and most protected organ in our body, so its reflex point is situated in the most protected, least exposed part of the foot - in the centre of the cavity produced by the plantar arch. A precise identification of this reflex area is obtained by exerting a slight pressure with the thumb flexed upwards. The first-second phalange of the index finger should act as a fulcrum to the light pressure applied. The reflex area of the left kidney will be identified with the right hand, that of the right kidney with the left hand. For the massage itself the hands on the corresponding areas will be inverted - the right hand on the right foot, the left hand on the left foot.

The reflex area of the kidney corresponds with Yongquan, in Chinese "bubbling spring", jing point of the zu shao yin (kidney meridian). Acupuncture identifies it, toes flexed towards the sole, in the depression at the join of the anterior third and middle third of the sole of the foot, between the second and third metatarsophalangeal articulation.

Ureter

I have marked it on the chart exclusively for graphic reasons, since in reality it is not identifiable reflexologically. Even anatomically it is of little importance due to its small size and its function, a simple tube for the passage of urine. We are aware of its existence in the body only in the case of the presence of a stone.
Its peristaltic function is stimulated by renal activity.

Bladder

A single, centrally placed organ, the bladder is situated in the low anterior part of the pelvis. Reflexologically it is situated on the inner lateral projection, half on one foot and half on the other. It appears roughly spherical in the cavity produced by the calcaneus and the tarsal bones which in fact form a basin-like depression, i.e. something used for containing.

Hip joint

Continuing with the skeletal apparatus, in the external side view it is evident that the most important lowest and outermost articulation is that of the tibia, fibular and talus bones. On our trunk the most important articulation as regards size, situated low down externally, is the hip joint, represented graphically in the shape of a crescent under the fibular.

Anatomically on the foot we find it on the talocalcaneal articulation. About one centimetre lower down we notice a tuberosity on the calcaneus which corresponds to the greater trochanter.

Femur, knee

Descending vertically from the greater trochanter there is another tuberosity which is the reflex area of the knee. The femur, of course, is situated between the hip and knee joints. For a rapid and immediate identification of the sensitive reflex area of the knee, we should place the centre of the second phalange of the first finger (the thumb) on the external inferior tuberosity of the calcaneus and apply a mild pressure with the tip.

Pelvis

If we look carefully at the shape of the calcaneus we will see that the internal surface is deeply concave. When the two calcanei are put together a kind of basin is formed, i.e. something capable of containing (the bowels, the foetus, the bladder).

 

I.S.R.A. WOOD MOVEMENT

Gall bladder and liver

Plantar view, right foot, fourth metatarsal: the distal epiphysis is the reflex point of the gall bladder, which is situated on the right side of our body.

The area around this point is the reflex area of the liver. The shape of this area is no coincidence, but follows closely the callosity which is produced when a person clearly has problems related to the liver. These aspects will be dealt with in more detail in the following chapters. The reflex area of the gall bladder is always more sensitive than the surrounding area, that of the liver, a reflection of symptomatic parallelism. In fact, a small stone in the gall bladder or in the bile duct is enough to cause an extremely painful hepatic colic, symptomatically an extremely Yang or acute manifestation, whereas a liver that may be seriously diseased with scirrosis or a tumour will not have such a serious symptomatology, these being chronic pathologies which produce dull, diffused Yin manifestations. In previous versions of the chart, to be more faithful to anatomical reality than to the illustration of the reflex, I had also represented the bile duct, which from a strictly foot reflexological point of view cannot be shown because it is not sensitive, and therefore not identifiable. For this reason, in the most recent illustrations it has been omitted. The liver is coloured green together with the gall bladder by reason of its association with Wood Movement.

Eyes

According to Taoist thought there is a relationship between the liver and the eyes. The latter are indicated on both feet, plantar view, on the second and third toe in the second and third phalangeal articulations, as two small circles.
Why two toes for one eye and two toes for one ear?

On the numerous Foot Reflexology charts all exponents of this discipline locate the area at the base of the first phalanges. When, during my research, I encountered people who wore glasses with lenses that were as thick as bottle bottoms, i.e. short-sighted as moles, touching the base of the toes I found that the symptoms were not proportional to the gravity of their affliction. This situation was similar to the one previously encountered with the person whose reflexological response in the heart area was not proportional to the gravity of his condition. When I touched a little further up, a little further down, further to the side, changing the angle of the finger and so producing a different pressure, a "eureka" came to my lips. The epicentre of the pain, after verifying numerous cases, was quite clearly localized on the second and third phalange articulation.
On this point there is no need even for pressure; a simple caress is enough to make the patient gasp at the unexpected pain experienced.

The cataloguing of data continued, and another limit started to emerge when I asked patients who did not wear glasses but who registered a hypersensitivity in the reflex area I had identified, whether they were short-sighted. Some confirmed a greater short-sightedness in one eye compared to the other, this being proved by their symptoms. Others, however, reported no such short-sightedness, but rather long-sightedness or astigmatism.

My research induced me to adopt another more analytical approach.
The reply to my initial questions: "Why two toes for one eye?" and "Why two toes for one ear?" arrived: the second toe gave me the by now consolidated indication of short-sightedness, while the third toe acquired the meaning of long-sightedness. In young people long-sightedness, a characteristic of the ageing process, could not exist. Thus, the same point for a young person and for an old person took on different meanings.

In the young person, the second and third phalangeal articulation of the third toe provides an indication of astigmatism, while in old people the same reflex area gives an indication of long-sightedness. This person has characteristics more specifically related to Wood Movement.

A short-sighted person is meticulous. He is so obsessed with details that the general in life escapes him. When reading a newspaper the short-sighted person can focus on only one line at a time; therefore he needs to come close to the paper and so almost touches it with his nose. This is a characteristic of young people: passionate, visceral, with blood in their eyes.

When a long-sighted person reads he has to hold the paper away from his eyes in order to focus on what is written. Impeded from doing otherwise, therefore, details escape him. If we include the newspaper in the previously mentioned microcosm-macrocosm system, the micro becomes the small items of local news, on which the short-sighted person concentrates, while the long-sighted person will tend to have a much broader vision of the same facts.

Trapezius muscle

In the metaphysis, or central part, of the first phalange of the second toe of both feet we find on the chart a small circle coloured in green which corresponds to the reflex point of the trapezius muscle.

Sternocleidomastoid muscle

In the dorsal view, as opposed to the plantar view, we find its antagonistic muscle, the sternocleidomastoid muscle, which, being bilateral, is situated in the interosseous space between the second and third metatarsal on both feet.

The word sternocleidomastoid is composed of three terms: sterno, which refers to the medial bone of the thorax, cleido, which refers to the clavicle or collar bone, and mastoid, which refers to the mastoid bone, the protrusion of the inferior, lateral, posterior part of the cranium. The right trapezius muscle is the antagonist of the left trapezius muscle; the right sternocleidomastoid muscle is the antagonist of the left sternocleidomastoid muscle. The trapezius muscles are antagonists of the sternocleidomastoid muscles.

Penis-vagina

The short stretch situated beneath the internal malleolus above the reflex area of the uterus-prostate gland corresponds, in a slightly improper way, given the colour green relative to muscles, to the penis or vagina.

Abdominal muscles

Under the line of the diaphragm, in the dorsal view, we have the three cuneiform bones which with the cuboid represent the abdominal muscles and being muscles are coloured green.

If we now look at the external lateral vision we again see, with another lateral projection, part of the abdominal muscles.

Buttocks

What covers the external part of the calcaneus - which represents the pelvis - is the reflex area of the buttocks.

 

I.S.R.A. EARTH MOVEMENT

We now come to yellow (in the chronological itinerary).
Following the logic of the Five Movements we should have considered red first, but the reasons for this choice will be explained later.

Spleen

We find the spleen on the left foot: on the proximal third of the interosseous space between the fourth and fifth metatarsal in the plantar view.

Oesophagus

The area of the oesophagus, although a single, centrally placed organ, has proved to be distinctly more sensitive on the left foot. It is therefore an exception among the previously mentioned organs, where it is stated that the reflex areas relative to single, centrally placed organs are found half on one foot and half on the other. Its precise location is the interosseous space between the first two first-row phalanges of the left foot, continuing in the interosseous space between the first and second metatarsal, where it runs into the area corresponding to the stomach.

Cardiac stomach

In the distal third of the aforementioned intermetatarsal space, a small circle indicates the location of the cardiac stomach, a sphincter muscle. Sphincters are circular muscles, like the orbicular muscle of the eye, the mouth and the anus.

Pylorus

On the right foot, in the interosseous space between the first and second metatarsal, but this time in the proximal third, another small circle indicates the location of the pylorus, the valve which closes the stomach.

Stomach

Between the cardiac stomach and the pylorus is the stomach proper, vaguely represented in its anatomical form. The cardiac stomach above left, the pylorus below right, two areas that mark the entry into and exit from the stomach, yellow in colour. The stomach is also called the gastric cavity. The first metatarsal which houses it also has a cavity.

Duodenum

From the pylorus begins that part of the small intestine called the duodenum.
In western anatomy this is seen as belonging to the small intestine, partly because of its morphology. The Chinese, on the other hand, associate it with the stomach; physiologically, in fact, its function is more closely related to the stomach than to the small intestine, which we shall find in red.

Pancreas

The head of the pancreas is situated in the duodenal curve (right foot, first metatarsal, proximal third). The body and the tail, on the other hand, are projected on the left foot, first metatarsal, proximal third.

Axillary cavity

In the dorsal view we had identified the shoulder joint on the distal epiphysis of the fifth metatarsal. The same area, seen in the plantar view, no longer shows as a protrusion but as a depression. This corresponds to the axillary cavity.
This is the site of an important lymph node centre, whose function is the production of lymphocytes (white blood cells). The lymphocytes are activated, in this specific case, for the defence of the shoulder, the breasts and part of the lungs.

Throat group

The sesamoid bones are two tiny bones situated on the distal head of the first metatarsal. At birth they are two small osseous nuclei surrounded by cartilage. They solidify during their growth, which ends at puberty (about twelve years of age in females, fourteen in males). As regards their position, we find them at the base of the neck, where the thyroid, parathyroid and thymus glands are situated.
We shall call this area the throat group.

Identification of the sensitive reflex area must proceed by applying a slight pressure with the thumb upwards under the sesamoid bone, the one situated more centrally for the thyroid gland, and laterally, the second sesamoid, as far as the parathyroid glands are concerned. In the Yin/Yang scheme the thyroid gland determines the pathological process of growing thin or fat, therefore an expansion or contraction in a horizontal direction, whereas the thymus gland determines gigantism and nanism, therefore an expansion or contraction in a vertical direction. The thymus gland gradually reduces its activity in relation to a person's physical development. If its activity ceases before the normal time the result is a dwarf; if the cessation of its activity is delayed the result is a giant.

We do not advise the use of arch supports before puberty, when the sesamoid bones have not yet completed their development and are still partly composed of cartilage, which would be compressed by the supports and so experience abnormal development.

Superior lymphatic circulation

The interdigital spaces, pinched between the tips of the fingers, in many cases show a greater sensitivity than is expected.
The Chinese call these spaces baxie, which means "eight little devils", a name deriving from the intense pain experienced when needles are inserted in them. In acupuncture they form part of the group of points located off the meridians.
Reflexologically they correspond to the superior lymphatic circulation and are therefore associated with the lymph nodes in the neck which swell to defend us from outside attacks like smoke, dust and cold, especially in relation to the respiratory apparatus.

Pituitary body

In the central part of the second phalange of the big toe, therefore head-cranium, we find a small protrusion which is highly sensitive to pressure stimulus after careful localization. It is shown as a small yellow circle.
This is the pituitary body, believed to be the centre of the endocrine system. Every endocrine gland in trouble sends its SOS message to the pituitary body, which redistributes this type of information to the entire endocrine system.
The correct functioning of the pituitary body, and therefore its stimulation, is of the utmost importance.

Solar plexus

To complete the yellow of the plantar view, we still have two areas to define.
One is the distal head of the third metatarsal, which corresponds to the solar plexus. In actual fact the plexus solaris has no clearly defined anatomical location, like the mediastinum, which is a "virtual" cavity filled by the heart.
The solar plexus is therefore associated with that group of ganglia which depart from the last dorsal vertebrae and innervate the stomach.

This is one of the few points where the direction of the massage movement is important. If it is massaged in a clockwise direction on the right foot and at the same time in an anticlockwise direction on the left foot, a clear and immediate relaxation of the diaphragm and the muscles of respiration will be experienced.
The same point, stimulated in a medial direction, i.e. towards the medial axis, therefore in an anticlockwise direction on the right foot and in a clockwise direction on the left foot, will produce a feeling of excitement in the person being massaged.

I have had occasion to test and verify this type of reaction in patients subjected to total anaesthesia, producing in them a form of stimulation that causes them rapidly to attempt to regain consciousness. After a surgical operation which has involved total anaesthesia the patient is brought back to a state of wakefulness with slaps, pinches or twisting of the nipples. The pain inflicted brings the person to a threshold of consciousness through his or her reaction to the mechanical stimuli (slaps and pinches) which prevail over the chemical action of the anaesthetic.

Our brain in this case experiences two powerful stimuli of different origin. The reactions of the anaesthetized patient include muscular spasms, grimaces of pain, tachycardia and retching, extremely dangerous as vomiting in a state of unconsciousness can lead to asphyxiation.

Massaging the solar plexus in a medial direction generates a non-traumatic, painless stimulation at a physical level, yet an excitement at a cerebral level with the same chemico-physiological mechanism which allows a modification of the pain threshold. It is preferable, when the anaesthetized patient breathes spontaneously, to let him discharge the effects of the anaesthesia as slowly as possible so as to reduce the after-effects of the surgical operation.

Uterus-prostate gland

On the calcaneus we find an area which on no other reflexological chart is localized in this zone. In all other interpretations we find the area drawn in the centre of the calcaneus. In ours, however, it is placed higher up and more externally. It is called by various names depending on the source. On some Tantric charts fish are represented here, on other charts it is defined as formation of the bones, on others still sexual organs or the uterus-prostate gland. In the metamorphic technique this area is called birth or mother.

In patients who showed symptoms and pathologies relating to the genital apparatus, proportionately there was not the same sensitivity in the area everywhere described as being in the centre of the calcaneus. Once again I encountered an area that had been created for the sole reason that it represented something that should have been there but wasn't.
The calcaneus corresponds to a half-basin. The uterus and the prostate gland are situated approximately in the centre of the pelvis. This area, therefore, is graphically represented in the centre of the calcaneus which represents it, but fails to produce the expected reactions when tested.

My investigations continued on various individuals, a little further up, a little further down, more to the right, more to the left, more superficially, more deeply, in the search for the epicentre of what ought to have been the corresponding reflex area. The area which clearly proved to be more sensitive and responsive both symptomatically and therapeutically was an area further up and more to the outside of the foot. Anatomically it is situated on the anterior inferior tuberosity lateral to the "sustentaculum tali", under the cuboid bone.

My analogical mentality has always led me to search for associations, a common thread with these various descriptions and denominations of a given area. "Formation of the bones", for example, led me to the Bible, to the story of Adam and Eve. According to the Bible Eve was born from Adam's rib, therefore from a bone.

According to the Bible, then, the human race was born from a bone.
The interpretations and meanings attributed to the word birth are innumerable. Take the fish of the Tantric charts. One anthropological theory makes reference to the Ice Age, claiming that what is now planet Earth, a place of life, was once a mass of ice that very slowly melted; gradually the seas were formed, and as the waters receded the lands emerged. Aquatic animals began to live on the land and through their evolution man appeared. Aquatic animals, in other words fish, are therefore at the origin of human life.

On the foot of the Buddha, in layers, are representations of various animals considered by degrees superior, animals which through the wheel of life in the centre of the foot evolve until becoming Buddhas, a word meaning Enlightened One, finally reaching the tips of the toes where there is the projection of the head with the representation of the sun, the image of light, illumination, nirvana.

In the lower part is Yin, water, conception; in the higher part is Yang, fire, all that is solar. St John identifies mother and birth in the area of the calcaneus. Uterus-prostate gland, sexual organs, their significance is clear. The calcaneus is the first bone to touch the ground when we walk forwards, therefore the first contact we make with the Earth.

Tonsils

The areas coloured yellow in the dorsal view are of considerable importance.
On both feet, situated at the base of the first phalange of the big toe, outer side (towards the second toe), are the tonsils.

Adenoids

Opposite, at the base of the first phalange of the second toe, medial side, are the reflex areas of the adenoids.

Breasts

On the proximal epiphysis of the fourth metatarsal we find a small circle corresponding to the mammary gland and, by extension, the surrounding oval, to the breasts. ù

Sexual organs

The most proximal part of the foot, that which is usually called the neck of the foot, corresponding to the talus, is graphically traversed by a small strip that represents the passage of the Fallopian tubes or vas deferens according to sex.
The strip continues in the lateral views, both internal and external. In the internal lateral view it reaches the uterus-prostate gland, in the external lateral view the ovaries-testicles. At about a third way between the tibial malleolus and the lowest protuberance of the calcaneus, under the "sustentaculum tali", we encounter the deepest cavity of the calcaneus: the uterus-prostate gland. When the two feet are placed together this area corresponds to the centre of the virtual space created in the pelvis, a point of maximum projection and expansion: the uterus. The function of this small organ is to contain; it is also the organ with the greatest capacity to transform. In its dilating to contain the foetus the womb becomes the symbol and synonym of ancestral concepts and sentiments.
In the external lateral view, at about a third of the way between the fibular malleolus and the reflex point of the knee, is a tuberosity corresponding to the ovaries-testicles. Anatomically, in relation to a medial axis, these are positioned externally and therefore they are projected on the outer part of the calcaneus. In a corresponding position, on the inner part, we have the uterus-prostate gland.
A valley or cavity corresponds to a complementary point, a hill, a fullness, something protruding.

Appendix

The appendix is identified in the right foot, plantar view, just below the inferior cavity of the cuboid bone at the point where it articulates with the calcaneus.

Inguinal lymphatic circulation

The remaining area of the talus is identified with inguinal lymphatic circulation which fills the cavity generated between the long extensor tendon of the big toe and the internal malleolus, in the area below the distal epiphysis of the tibia.

Abdominal lymphatic circulation

The abdominal lymphatic circulation, in the external lateral view, is projected under the fibula, in the cavity generated between the extensor tendons of the fourth and fifth toes.
Thus, medially we have the groin and externally the abdomen.
We should always remember that the graphic representation is seen and experienced on two feet which only together constitute the whole.

Inferior lymphatic circulation

The posterior distal area of the leg, terminating in the Achilles tendon, is not identified as a reflex area.
This area corresponds to the inferior lymphatic circulation and swells in persons who suffer from problems of lymphatic stagnation in the lower limbs.
Swollen ankles are caused by an effusion of lymph which fills the interstitial spaces between the Achilles tendon and the tibia.

Internal lymphatic circulation of the thighs

Distally, anteriorly and medially compared to the tibia we have the projection of the internal lymphatic circulation of the thighs.

External lymphatic circulation of the thighs

Distally, anteriorly and externally we find the projection of the external lymphatic circulation of the thighs.

Paravertebral lymphatic circulation

The paravertebral lymphatic circulation occupies the medial lateral cavities of the first phalange of the big toe, the first metatarsal and the first cuneiform bone, thus bordering the spinal column.

 

I.S.R.A. FIRE MOVEMENT

As already mentioned, the colours white and red are used less because the corresponding organs - heart/small intestine and lungs/large intestine - belong to the shou meridians of the upper limb and hand.

Heart

In the plantar view of the left foot the distal epiphysis of the fourth metatarsal corresponds to the reflex area of the heart. It is interesting to note that the distal epiphysis of the fourth metatarsal on the right foot corresponds to the gall bladder. The heart is believed to be the centre of our emotions. A cardiac person is red and visceral, his passions and emotions cannot be contained but expand and involve everything around in an uncontrollable way.

The gall bladder, which contains bile, is the seat of controlled emotions, the opposite of the heart concept. The left is the heart, female, passion and circulation. The right is the liver, male and control manifested through muscular rigidity. The reflex point of the heart is very rarely more sensitive than the contra-lateral point on the right foot.

Blood circulation

Corresponding to the reflex area of the heart, dorsally, is an area contained by an oval, called "circulation", whose significance is truly restrictive compared to the complexity of its intrinsic archetypal meanings. This area, when stimulated slowly and deeply with the thumb, will produce a peculiar feeling, similar to the sensation of pressure applied to a bruise. The corresponding area on the other foot, symptomatically, will be totally mute.

When the interosseous space between the third and fourth metatarsals of the left foot, practically in the centre of the area of circulation, is stimulated with the index finger a totally unexpected sensation of acute and increasing pain is generated. We shall see this area again, graphically limited, in the external lateral view of the left foot.

Small intestine

The only other area coloured red on the feet is the one corresponding to the small intestine. It is situated, plantar view, in the interstices of the cuneiform bones, the navicular, the talus and the calcaneus. This area responds only when a considerable amount of pressure is applied.

 

I.S.R.A. METAL MOVEMENT

Pharynx and larynx In the dorsal view the membrane between the first and second toe, one of the baxie (eight little devils) previously mentioned, corresponds to the area of the pharynx/larynx.

Trachea

Descending along the interosseous space between the first phalange of the first and second toe, and continuing along the interosseous space of the first and second metatarsal we find the twelve palaces corresponding to the twelve rings of the trachea, twelve like the dorsal vertebrae, like the pairs of ribs, like the months of the year, and like the principal meridians. The trachea ends in the proximal third of the interosseous space of the first and second metatarsal.
Being associated with Metal Movement, its colour is white.

Lungs

The reflex area of the lungs is circumscribed by the heads of the second and third metatarsals, plantar view, and part of the first phalanges of the second and third toes.

Large intestine

On the right foot, the external lateral part of the cuboid bone is covered by the area identified as the ascending colon, which proceeds, with the transverse colon, under the diaphragm line and continues on the left foot, descending over the cuboid bone, anatomically following the groove produced on the calcaneocuboid articulation, then continuing with the sigmoid flexure and part of the rectum.

Rectum and anus

In the internal lateral view, on both feet under the reflex area of the bladder, we find the rectum. Of the terminal portion of the intestine, single and central, we will find the left portion on the left foot and the right portion on the right foot.
The anatomical identification is determined by the cavity produced by the inferior tuberosity of the calcaneus. The cavity represents the ampulla of the rectum.
The rectum continues as far as the reflex point of the anus, which is located in the small cavity produced by a small tuberosity situated superiorly and posteriorly.

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