My last blog focused on the dorsal areas of the feet. In this blog, I want to enlarge on this subject by including the dorsal areas of the toes.
This is an area which generally does not receive the attention it is worthy of, which is a pity as the toes are areas of great reflex, significance.
It is because the toes can be something of a challenge, is a reason they are usually given scant attention, particularly to those who are at the beginning of their career in reflexology. Working the toes completely as I suggest has a wide physiological influence, creating an alchemy benefiting the entire reflex, matrix, thereby making each treatment more effective.

In fact, and I have made the point before —  the toes have such reflex, significance that an entire treatment can be dedicated to them. 
However, while saying this I am taking about a focused and positive application to all the surfaces of the toes for at least 20 minutes. This has to be given within the tolerance of the receiver, particularly during the initial stages. The effect of this is a pleasantly, stimulating and mentally uplifting experience to the receiver.

The contacts are made with all the areas of the fingers and thumbs, which  requires dexterity, but with practice and perseverance this will be achieved. I suggest that practice should be confined to sharing sessions with colleagues. This will not only enable the techniques to be practiced, but also to experience the various sensations during and after each session.
There are various types of contacts which I devised to enable effective contact to be made on all the different types of toes. These are taught at my A.R.T. seminars.
There are two phases which are very important to observe:

Phase 1 is performed using techniques without ​any lubrication
Phase 2 is performed using techniques with lubrication

There are types of feet (and toes) which only need the Phase 1 treatment - without lubrication.

It is important that if lubrication is used it must be applied very sparingly. Oil is not suitable as it is too slippery. It must be of the type which is absorbed or evaporates, leaving the skin dry.


What is the significance of the dorsal areas?
There is a marked difference in the effect of reflex stimulation between the plantar and dorsal areas of the toes (the medial/lateral are also important).

The dorsal reflexes of the toes exert a wide influence, including and not exclusively, digestive, urinary, lymphatic and hormonal. It is the lower parts of the toes where they join the metatarsals and beyond which also needs to be included as shown on the illustration. I also include the webs of the toes in this protocol.

The illustrations below show a few of the techniques for working the dorsal surfaces of the toes. In general the dorsal reflexes of the feet (including the toes) are of a Yang nature, in contrast to the Yin of the plantar.
Once the toes and the dorsal areas receive as much attention (or when indicated, more attention) as that of the plantar, treatments will have a greater, therapeutic benefit, leading to increased patient satisfaction. This after all is our purpose for being reflexologists.

My Best Wishes

Tony Porter
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My Blog on the significance of the dorsal surface of the feet, provoked a great  amount of interest. What I want to make clear is that it is the way the application is made to the disturbed, reflex areas which is crucial. The application is not only to ‘work’ the disturbed reflex, but also, importantly to be able to detect it. The key in being able to do this is perseverance, and, as I mentioned, through his will come the cultivation of the finger, brain sensory, awareness attribute which will have a transformational benefit to treatments. It is important that no lubrication is used on this area of the feet as it will make the detection and interpretation of the disturbed reflexes impossible. This subject is fully explained and demonstrated at my A.R.T. seminars.

The significance of the toes in reflexology
Another area of reflex, significance, which often is not given enough manual attention and consideration are the toes.

In earlier times, the toes were considered as rather neglected reflex, outposts, only worthy of attention for sinus problems. Thankfully things have changed somewhat since those times, perhaps due to the popularity of ‘foot reading’, where their various shapes and contortions are said to reveal not only physical states of distress but also emotional.
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I do not claim to be a practitioner in this field, but throughout my career I have seen ample evidence that the first place where disturbances in the body are often revealed are the toes. In fact, one of the most significant changes I have seen, is the way that the toes and sometimes their relevant joints become distorted as a disease state progresses, such as in cardio-vascular disease.

At one time Dwight Byers and I made it a mission to take foot prints with a manual and digital imprinter of as many peoples feet at conferences and seminars as possible — after three years we had literally thousands of prints, many of which dramatically correlated to known structural and physical problems.

To illustrate my point — below is a picture of a former patient of mine, a young lady, in her 20s who was born with congenital kidney malformation, in fact she was waiting for a suitable donor kidney to be found at that time. It can be noted that her fifth toe on each foot shows significant under development. When we consider that the fifth toes are on the kidney meridian, it illustrates in a dramatic way the influence the toes have on all areas of the body.

During my first reflexology seminars back in the later part of the 1960s, the emphases of reflex attention was almost exclusively to the plantar areas of the feet — the areas of the dorsal, lateral and the heel were relegated to something of a reflex no-mans-land.
It may be that the plantar areas offered an easier option of contact, owing to the  proximity and the convenience  of using the thumbs, or perhaps is was because the reflex charts showed a sparsity of reflexes on that area (as many still do today) 
Neglecting these areas does a great disservice to the potential of reflexology treatments and therefore, most importantly a disservice to patients.

Even today this plantar exclusivity persists. It is for this reason that I decided to write this blog article on the dorsal areas.

To be able to ‘work’ the dorsal areas effectively demands an entirely different approach than that of the plantar. This can present problems for many reflexologists who have not the experience of using the fingers effectively on the dorsal areas of the feet.
 These are the considerations which are needed to effectively work the dorsal areas.

• No lubrication can be used
• The dorsal area has to be presented as a convex surface, rather than concave, which is achieved by the thumbs pushing the heads of the metatarsal joints forwards.
• The fingers have to have the necessary dexterity and sensitivity to make effective contact, and to be able to locate disturbed reflexes.
• The fingers have to be used to apply the appropriate contacts and in an effective manner to the disturbed reflexes.
• To be able to work in this way necessitates the therapist to sit above the feet and not low as is a common mistake.

For those not familiar with the term ‘disturbed reflexes’, I will explain briefly what this means.
Reflexology is commonly based on the misunderstanding that a painful reflex equals an imbalance in its corresponding part of the body. However this is not always a reliable indicator. 
In my experience it is the existence of a ‘disturbed’ reflex area and not just the pain which indicates an imbalance. Put simply, a ‘disturbed’ reflex is where there is a difference to the feel of the area of the reflex in contrast to its surrounding tissue. A ‘disturbed’ reflex will display a variety of textures.

Having an understanding of the principle of 'disturbed' reflexes forms the very foundation of reflexology, without this, treatments will only be on a very superficial level.

The dorsal areas (when the appropriate techniques are used) can reveal an entirely different reflex-picture, provoking a greater response than those of the plantar. This is born out by the common occurrence of the receiver perceiving sensations from the contact on the foot to other areas of the body.
Some of the dorsal, 'disturbed' reflex areas are easy to detect, such as those of a lymphatic disturbance, or those involving breast tissue, while others are very subtle in their presentation. It is for this reason that the sensory connection between the finger tips and the brain of the therapist has to be cultivated, and this comes only through practice.
The general type of contact (once the 'disturbed' reflex has been detected) is static and applied with the finger tip. (I give up to 40 seconds, although generally it is around 20.)
Once familiarity with working in this way is attained, reflex assessment will have a far more accurate meaning and the treatment which includes the proper working of the dorsal surfaces will have a far greater therapeutic benefit.

Successful reflexology is about touch and the way that the touch is applied (which varies between each person). The finger’s thumbs and hands are conduits which receive reflex information to our perception.

Some of the disturbed reflexes are very subtle and will be missed unless the correct techniques of locating them are used.
With continued practice, the mind finger-tip relationship will develop to such a degree that another level of reflexology will be uncovered — one where the influence of the underlying electromagnetic circulation will be revealed. 
It will be through this that the experience of being able to feel the ebb and flow of this circulation will lead to the understanding that no two treatments on patients can be the same — and each patient has to be treated according their unique energy pattern, which is also constantly changing — this is what it takes to work ‘in tune’ with patients.

Below are examples of contacting disturbed reflexes. Note how the dorsal surface of the foot is presented convexly, and the way the fingers are supported (the type of support is dependent on the type of disturbance present).

The subject of disturbed reflexes, their detection and interpretation is an area of focus at my A R T seminars.

It is difficult to believe that Dwight was in his 50s when we met and held our first seminar at Londons famous Columbia Hotel - famous for the fact that it was where reflexology was launched in a significant way, not only in the UK but to Europe and through this to many parts of the world. It was also famous for another reason-during the 1960-70s it became almost a home to many of the struggling pop groups of that era, even Matt Damon made a film a few years ago which featured the hotel.

It was through a mutual friend (in fact Arthur Lincoln Pauls, osteopath and founder of Ortho-Bionomy) that Dwight and I got into contact, and through this I arranged an introductory Ingham reflexology seminar in London. 

The year was 1976 and the day before the seminar I was waiting in the foyer of the hotel for Dwight to arrive from Florida. ‘Hello my man i’m Dwight, great to meet you, we are going to have a terrific seminar’ said Dwight while extending his hand in greeting, it was like a tornado had arrived from the West, reflexology would never be the same again!

At that time, reflexology was a rather genteel therapy which was taught in an almost pious manner by the few people teaching in the Uk, to have someone, and particularly an American to shake up the established status quo was seen by some as an act of blasphemy.
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We got to know each other over a breakfast, and apart from the obvious subject of reflexology taking up most of the conversation, the subject of our shared interest in physical fitness became a point of interest.
In those days I would start the day with an early morning run over London’s Hampstead Heath, that morning had been no different and I had my running gear in my car. 
On hearing this Dwight went to his room, and in a short time appeared in the foyer in his  running apparel ready for a run.
As the hotel was adjacent to London’s Hyde Park this was really convenient-and off we jogged into the park on that beautiful early, spring day. In fact that jog never really stopped but was to continue in many guises internationally over the next 40 years.
Little did I know what a life-changing catalyst this day would be.

Over the passing of the years it is natural that the memories of the pioneers of reflexology gradually fade or become blurred. For this reason it is important for me to mention some facts about Dwight, who in case you may not know is the nephew of Eunice Ingham, the Mother of reflexology.

This year marks my 45th in reflexology, which to me seems a long time, which I suppose it is. However it pails in comparison to that of Dwight who is into his 75th year of reflexology. 
From the time of our first meeting Dwight and I travelled extensively, giving seminars on a truly international scale and introducing reflexology to countries where it was hardly known.  

In between seminars we would explore the countries by going on treks. In Africa we climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, in South America we trekked and camped high up in the Andes, finishing at Machu Picchu. In Switzerland we trekked in the Mountains - in fact Dwight climbed the Matterhorn in his mid sixties a tough climb even for younger people. 


We gave hundreds of seminars all across America then Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, Canada, Switzerland, France, Holland, Israel and the U.K. I stopped over in Mongolia and China to search out indigenous reflexology.
We also gave reflexology ‘in the field’ so to speak during our many treks helping those who had succumbed either to the altitude or had various ailments from their exertions. 

It was because of the amount of travel and times that we spent in each others company that I got to know Dwight from a different viewpoint other than that of a reflexologist. 
I feel that at this stage of his life, it is worthy to reveal some of the little known areas of Dwight’s life.
Dwight, because of family circumstances lived from an early age with his Aunt, Eunice Ingham. She had founded The National Institute of Reflexology in America. He began by assisting her at seminars, eventually becoming her driver. He was well and truly indoctrinated into the Ingham Method of reflexology and was to become a fervent supporter of his Aunts work throughout his life.

Money was scarce in his younger life, it was a difficult time in America in the 1920s. To make ends meet he would park cars in a parking lot after finishing school in the afternoon (the more cars he could squeeze into the space the more he was paid)  after this he would wash dishes in a hotel until the early hours of the morning.
His association with cars eventually led him to becoming a champion race driver later in his life. Apart from driving fast cars he also loved acrobatic flying, something he enjoyed doing regularly.

One time while he was in the U.K. I arranged for him to fly a glider and a stunt plane. I can vouch for his skills as I watched him from the ground performing  death-defying acrobatics.
The photos below show him about to take off in a glider and a stunt plane from Booker airfield in the UK around 1980.

This was a young lady patient 20 years of age. She was born with seriously  compromised kidney function, and later in her life was receiving Dialysis. She was also waiting for a donor kidney to be found at the time I was treating her.
The interesting thing about this photo, as you must have noticed is the underdevelopment of her little toes,  the kidney meridian begins on the medial side of the  small toes! 

The toes are involved with proprioception which is the relaying of information of the relative position of the body to maintain balance during locomotion. They are also continuously 'expressing' themselves in conjunction with the feet, in response to conscious or unconscious feelings such as stress, worry, and sensuality. 
William Shakespeare knew this well, as this passage from Troilus and Cressida reveals:
There is a language in her eye, her cheek, her lip. Nay her foot speaks; her wanton spirits look out at every joint and motive of her body.

A treatment given only to the toes can be remarkably beneficial. 
However I must make it clear that the techniques used are specialised, incorporating the classical techniques with those of A.R.T.
I have met a number of reflexologists who have discovered the therapeutic benefits of working on the toes as a treatment in its own right.

The photo below is of a blind reflexologist who gave treatments in this manner. He worked as a reflexologist at the Malaysian Hotel I stayed in many years ago. 

I booked a treatment, expecting a general reflexology session, but before the session began, he told me that he only treated the toes, and with that proceeded with the session. It was an intense experience-using his fingers, thumbs and a small metal probe. He  gave a highly concentrated and very effective treatment lasting around 45 minutes. I was very impressed with what I experienced during and after the treatment and booked several more. It was this experience which further confirmed my thoughts of the therapeutic potential of treating the toes in a focused and isolated manner.

The techniques I use are incorporated with the classical techniques and present an entirely different approach from the more accepted model of reflexology. For me, reflexology is a dynamic therapy, where a range of techniques are utilised to suit the idiosyncrasies of each patient and their feet! This applies particularly to the toes. 

This modality is not brutality, but a treatment given with authority and where the patient is always in charge and free to express what they are feeling.

One of the reasons I conceived the A.R.T. protocol, was to be able to introduce other techniques to the classical model of reflexology and making the therapy into something more beneficial and at the same time, dynamic-moving from one foot to the other in a sequential rhythm.
In the case of the toes this makes it possible to really work all the areas, even when deformities exist.
For example, the dorsal surfaces of the toes are important areas to work and have a large range of reflex, influence, and yet this area is invariably ignored, or at the most receives scant attention.
I am not suggesting the toes need to be treated in isolation on every patient or session- there are times when a session performed in this manner would be beneficial.
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However there are conditions where a focus on the toes is of great value, such as in conditions:
Spinal trauma, particularly of the neck, and other neurological conditions such as those of CVA (Cerebrovascular Accident).
When I worked for some time in a Spinal Unit of a neurological hospital in France to treat a friend, who following an accident in her home, became tetraplegic. I would give three short treatments daily, focusing mainly on her toes and lateral spinal reflex areas.

The staff were impressed at the neurological response I achieved. I was invited to treat other, similarly, compromised patients at the hospital. In fact the head of the physiotherapy department was so impressed that she took my A.R.T. training, and now incorporates this with her physiotherapy work.

How to demonstrate the effect of reflexology
Eunice Ingham once said that to demonstrate the efficacy of reflexology, just work on one foot, and after which ask the receiver to walk around and experience the difference between the 'worked' side of the body and the other.
​With this in mind I formulated a method of proving the influence of the toes, but by only working on the toes of one foot.

I have used the protocol described over the years at exhibitions and seminars to prove the effectiveness of the Focused Reflexology®️approach. It entails working on the toes of one foot in a focused and stimulating manner with the classical and A.R.T. techniques for at least twenty minutes. (it takes me less). This has to be within the boundaries of tolerance by the receiver. Any undue sensitivity experienced at the onset of the procedure will gradually transform into a pleasant and rejuvenating sensation. 

Working with a range of techniques going from toe to toe on one foot only for twenty minutes (with experience the time can be ten minutes).
At the end of this time the receiver gets off the couch and with bare feet, ​walks around (I often hold their arms as they can sometimes feel briefly disorientated). 

If the toes have been stimulated enough, they will be very surprised, or amazed and sometimes emotional to experience how the side of the body corresponding to the foot feels-it will feel far more relaxed than the other side, warmer and often with a pleasant tingling feelings. 
Something else, quite remarkable can also happen-the same side of the face will have a distinctive flush. I have seen on numerous occasions how patients with low back pain, often become pain free after a session focusing on the toes.
After this 'one foot' session both feet can be worked in the general way.
If you want to try out these techniques, I suggest that you start by practising on a colleague or friend, and who have 'easy' toes free of distortions. 
My DVD shows many of the techniques of A.R.T. which you will find useful. Available from   www.artreflex.com
I will be posting some videos of various A.R.T. procedures on my website in due course, which will include the procedures of this blog.

While on the subject of toes, I feel the use of smileys, such as the ones below should not be used in conjunction with reflexology. What kind of impression of reflexology does this give? Also terms such as Footsies or Tootsies are also used. After a lifetime in reflexology I hate to see this 'dumbing down' and dilution of such a wonderful therapy.
It demeans the professional image of the therapy. 
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