DEFINITION

Kat Romett was struggling and knew she needed help.

About five years ago, the mother of two, including an autistic son, was experiencing loss of feeling in the left side of her body and loss of taste.

Little did she know that physical symptoms such as those could be triggered by the stresses of her day-today life.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” the Montgomery County resident said. “I went to a lot of doctors. One of the neurologists I visited started asking me questions about my home life — really comprehensive questions — and she looked at me and she said, ‘You’re in an extreme state of chronic stress, and your body is manifesting it this way.’”

Romett said right up until that moment, she had no idea that stress could take such a physical toll on the body. She started to wonder how many other people were going through the same thing she was going through. And she looked into ways to lower her stress, which led her to massage and reflexology.

But she didn’t just want to help herself; she wanted to help others going through the same thing as she. She looked into massage schools, but the schedules didn’t line up with hers, so she enrolled in a reflexology course offered by the American Reflexology Certification Board.

There, she learned the extent to which stress can affect our bodies, and how to manage it through diet, exercise, reflexology and self-care.

She also started to get reflexology herself, which she continues to this day.

“Sometimes when we are in a cycle of stress, it’s hard to get out of it ourselves,” she said. “Getting outside help to turn that mode off, without having to think and just receive, is helpful for me and those I’ve worked with.

Five years later, her Peace Roots Reflexology business is taking off, mostly through word-ofmouth.

Romett said reflexology is a component of a holistic approach to well-being, which involves factoring in mental and social factors, rather than just whatever symptoms one might be experiencing. The goal is to coax your body into a state of homeostasis, or equilibrium, through healthy eating and stress management.

Reflexology, she said, is based on the concept that our body is a network of nerves and all of those nerves come to the bottom

Reflexology is a relaxing and rejuvenating wellness treatment that uses specialized compression techniques applied to reflex points on the feet, hands, ears and face. These points relate to certain parts, organs and glands of the body which, when stimulated, trigger that part of the body and help restore balance, reduce stress, relieve tension and promote self healing. Reflexology is not a medical treatment and does not treat, diagnose or prescribe for specific diseases but does aid your body in its capacity to self-heal. Once we understand that most “dis-ease” is caused by stress, appreciating the benefits of reflexology in helping manage physical, emotional and mental health becomes clear. of each foot. There are more than 7,000 nerves in each foot, and those nerves are connected to every gland, organ and system of the body.

Reflexology entails applying specific compression techniques on those nerve endings while also employing relaxation techniques. The goal is to get the body to exit stress mode and enter homeostasis, or natural self-regulation.

Romett works on the bottom, sides and the tops of the foot — each part correlating to different organs or glands — being careful to avoid anything that might cause pain.

“A lot of people have a preconception that reflexology is painful, but you never need be putting a client in pain to get those nerve impulses working,” she said. “So it kind of feels like a very thorough foot massage. A lot of times people will fall asleep because it’s so relaxing.”

A typical reflexology visit starts with having the client fill out a questionnaire to rule out any contra-indications, which include being on blood thinners for clotting or being in the first trimester of pregnancy. The client will then have a seat in the reflexology chair and she will begin working on their feet.

“All they have to do is relax,” she said. “They can talk as much or as little as they want. It’s usually a 60 minute session.”