With conventional medicine being the most recommended treatment for ailments and with the bombardments of over the counter medications, many know little about natural treatments such as reflexology.
However, this is not the case with thirty-eight year old Dennis Ngenja Changawe, who every day visits various homes in Malaba town, Busia County to check on the health conditions of local residents by analyzing their feet. On a routine basis, he applies gentle pressure on areas of the feet, targeting to address internal organs, glands, muscle groups and nerves in order to bring about relaxation, awareness and overall healing to the body.
Changawe, who has been serving as an independent community worker for ten years, said he decided to become a reflexologist after battling hereditary pancreatitis, an ailment that has no cure with the only treatment centered on pain control.
“After six months of continuously suffering with symptoms, treatment given by the doctors not seeming to work, a friend recommended I seek the services of a reflexologist,” explained Changawe.
Unfamiliar with the science behind reflexology, he testifies that he began to believe in the practice after fourteen days as an expert focused on areas of his feet by using unique micromovement techniques of finger walking, allowing him to get back to being very healthy and active once again.
“I was surprised by the great results achieved through reflexology. I couldn’t understand how easily I came back in shape”, stated Changawe, adding that it sparked his interest to learn more about reflexology. He further explained that his journey began with an apprenticeship from his ‘healer’ before proceeding to Japan for one year, where he became a certified reflexologist.
Since his return from Japan in 2011, the certified reflexologist said that he devoted his life and knowledge to educating interested individuals who aid him in providing reflexology services to local communities, with a goal of creating a better and healthy society.
“A huge percentage of people do not know that most ailments are brought about by the body being in distress,” he said. Reiterating that by assessing the feet, various points are stimulated to identify areas of tenderness or tension.
For as little as two hundred shillings, Changawe invites members of local residence for a check-up session; using his thumbs, fingers and knuckles with the help of an essential oil to massage the ‘reflex’ points on the sole, side and on top of the feet. These areas correspond to certain organs, systems and parts of a human body. He aims to restore body balance and improve general wellbeing.
”Reflexology has traditionally been used as a preventative and complementary therapy, to stay well, in this part of the world, we tend to wait until we are unwell or things go wrong before we seek help, therefore I took it upon myself to ‘heal’ the community”, he said.
Explaining how the therapy is carried out, Changawe said the sessions start with a consultation to establish the clients’ past and current health condition, well-being goals and outlining a treatment plan. “Each session is tailored to the individual, we start with the left foot first, followed by the right foot, while stimulating key areas of ailments with some relaxation movements, before concentrating on those points that need work which typically lasts around an hour”, he further clarified.
The ten year reflexologist explained that while he cannot diagnose or claim to treat any condition, he can treat anyone through all stages of life as reflexology is useful on babies as it is in palliative care of both men and women.
Changawe advices every human being to consider reflexology ,“Once you undergo a reflexology session, you might feel a little uneasy for the first twenty-four hours but this usually reduces, you feel completely rejuvenated as blood begins to flow efficiently in the circulatory blood system”, he said.
Commenting on this gentle, non –intrusive therapy, Doctor Jane Muthoni said that while there are a number of theories equated to this zoned therapy, a huge percentage points to the reflexologist’s application of pressure to feet, hands or ears which sends a calming message from the peripheral nerves in these extremities to the central nervous system, in turn signaling the body to adjust the tension level.
“The power of positive touch is not to be underestimated in people who are very sick or distressed, it helps people to relax, relieve stress, anxiety and improve sleep”, she said. Dr. Muthoni further stated that therapy can be used alongside conventional medicine to support many health conditions and diseases, such as digestive issues and some cancers, helping to manage symptoms and improve quality of life.
She emphasized that while complementary therapies like reflexology obviously cannot cure or treat diseases like cancer, however, lots of patients with High Blood Pressure, Asthma, Kidney, Arthritis, backache, headache and menstrual issues are said to respond well to reflexology, resulting to pain reduction.
“Unlike prescribed drugs, reflexology doesn’t have the incumbent side-effects such as nausea, dizziness and lethargy,” Muthoni confirmed, adding that reflexology is a personal choice and recommendations are made based on the patient’s needs. She recommends about six reflexology treatments once a week but proclaims that more treatment will lead to a more beneficial outcome from this kind of natural treatment.
By: Moffin Opilio
Edited By: Fatma Adam
