For my birthday, my sister had gotten me a gift certificate to a spa in downtown Chicago. I went to their website and was looking through the menu of services when I saw reflexology. I had a horrible experience with reflexology once.
In college, I had totally stressed myself out and my parents decided our family vacation would be to kidnap me and take me to a spa to relax. Do I have great parents or what? One night for my spa service I picked reflexology. The idea is points on your feet are directly correlated to parts on your body and organs. So if you touch this part of your foot, it affects your kidneys and this part affects your back. An hour after the the reflexology, I was doubled over in the worst pain in my life. I couldn't move. It was awful.
So 11 years later, I am on a spa website and see reflexology. I was about to dismiss it as visions of a pathetic me flashed through my mind. But then I started to think, "wait, whatever that reflexologist did, worked in some way, it actually works".
Here is the description on the Spa Space website:
A 4,000 year-old therapy founded on the concept that the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet contain reflex points that connect to all organs of the body. Specific pressure techniques detect imbalances and dissipate energetic blocks to alleviate stress and promote the body's ability to heal itself.
It was like a light bulb went off, I was imbalanced to put it lightly. My system was completely out of whack and I needed to heal myself.
TGFG- Thank God for Google.
So I Google "Fertility" and "Reflexology" and there were tons of hits. Apparently, in Europe, Reflexology is used as a common practice for helping with fertility issue. One study showed a woman who had been having problems for over 10 years practice reflexology and after 6 months was pregnant. One study showed about 50% of the "infertile women" achieve pregnancy.
I was sold. So I called the spa but they said, "oh, we don't do it for fertility" - reading between the lines, they just offer a foot massage.
Bummed, but not resigned, I Googled "Chicago Fertility Reflexology". The first hit was from my savvy reflexologist (who knows a thing or two about search engine optimization). Once of her areas of specialities is fertility and her office is a mere 8 minute walk from my house. Crazy right?
So I called her up and we spoke for about 5 minutes and set up an appointment.
I had to break the news to my mom about me going off the beaten path. My mother had spent the last few months lecturing me that I shouldn't be seeing a nurse practitioner, I should insist on a doctor, so I thought she would have a field day with my foray into alternative medicine. But, she was surprisingly supportive (anything for a grandbaby).
It was love at first sight. My reflexologist is awesome. She is very smart, not a whack job, which some of my friends had bet on, and really knew her stuff. Her dad is a doctor (the western kind) and she totally respects it, but went a different path.
Reflexology isn't like a foot massage you get with a pedicure. It is more pushing down on parts of your feet and twisting it. It doesn't feel good. It usually doesn't feel bad, although sometimes it feels tender.
I started seeing her twice a week. She was trying to shorten my cycle (about 37 days) and lengthen my luteal phase (about 9 days to at least 11).
She told me not to expect miracles the first month, that alternative medicine isn't a quick fix, but if I don't see results after 2 months, it might not work for me.
It worked. I 50% credit my reflexologist with getting pregnant a second time and 50% credit my husband.
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