For those of you who don't know me and even for those who do but don't know the background to how I became a reflexologist, I thought I would share my story. My interest in feet goes a long way back. As a child, I was obsessed with feet! I was always barefoot and I loved my feet being tickled and stroked.  As a teenager, I wanted to be a podiatrist but when I told the careers advisor at school, she laughed at me and said it would be a horrible job and that put me off.

I became a vegetarian at 14 and I was very concerned with animal rights and the environment and later went on to become interested in holistic health therapies. I bought my first reflexology book in a health food shop when I was 18.

In my early 20s, I was diagnosed with endometriosis, a painful gynaecological disorder where tissue, similar to the lining of the uterus, grows outside of the uterus and can attach itself to other organs and tissues. Every month I would experience several days of debilitating pain that made it difficult for me to work and enjoy my day to day life. Whilst I was waiting for an operation, I started seeing a reflexologist and I found the treatments to be incredibly relaxing which in turn helped me to cope with the pain. Over time and with regular treatments, I also found that my hormonal-related headaches improved and I experienced fewer PMS symptoms in general.

After my experience, I wanted to find out more about this amazing therapy! There was a centre for healthy living in the next town and they were giving talks on holistic and complementary health therapies including reflexology. I went along and signed up that night for an 8-week introductory course. I enjoyed it so much that when it finished, I took the plunge and started a year-long practitioner course with the Aquarian School in Hertfordshire. I was working full-time as a manager in the NHS at the time but I knew I had to practice reflexology in some form. I qualified in March 2000 with a Practitioner Certificate from the Association of Reflexologists and for the next 15 years, I practised as a part-time reflexologist alongside other jobs. However, when my son started school I found I was struggling to manage the demands of a family together with an employed job and my reflexology clients and unfortunately something had to give. I took a break from practising for a few years but I really missed giving reflexology treatments and supporting clients.

In March 2020, as the pandemic hit, life was changing rapidly for me. I had recently made the decision to leave my job as a clinic manager where I had worked for more than 10 years. For a long time, I'd felt that reflexology was calling to me again and I had time during my lockdown walks to really think about the direction I wanted to take in the next stage of my life. I decided that what I really wanted was to start working as a reflexologist again so I relocated and redecorated my son’s playroom, bought a treatment couch, signed up for some CPD courses to update my skills and knowledge and finally opened the doors to my treatment room to welcome clients on 6th of May 2021.

Starting up during the pandemic was perhaps an interesting decision and some of the restrictions made things slightly more challenging but I've very much enjoyed my work over the past year and I am certain in my heart that I made the right decision.