Understanding the Somatic Healing Response After Reflexology

Why you might feel worse before you feel better?

After 35 years as a reflexologist, the question I am asked most often is:

“How many sessions will I need?”

And my answer is usually this: let’s see how you respond in the next 24 hours.

Because what happens after a session tells us so much.

Sometimes people leave feeling lighter immediately. Sometimes they sleep deeply that night. And sometimes — and this is important — they feel a little worse before they feel better.

I always want to know how your system responds. That’s not uncertainty — that’s respect for your body’s intelligence. I hold you in a safe, trauma-sensitive container during and after treatment, but your feedback helps guide the next step.

Healing is collaborative.

What Is a Healing Response in Reflexology?

In reflexology and other somatic therapies, what some call a “healing crisis” is better understood as a healing response — the body’s first registration that something is shifting.

There has been limited research directly examining this phenomenon in reflexology. A small published study exploring “healing crisis” responses in women with fibromyalgia following reflexology found that some participants reported temporary intensification of symptoms before improvement.

Research in this area is still developing, and we do not yet have large-scale trials that fully explain the mechanisms.

So we don’t overstate it.

But clinically — and over decades of practice — the pattern is recognisable.

From an Ayurvedic perspective, when prana (life force) begins to move through areas of stagnation, the system may register that movement as intensity. Marma points — described in classical Ayurveda as vital junctions where tissues and energetic pathways converge — can feel powerful when stimulated. When circulation improves and subtle flow increases, long-held patterns may begin to loosen.

Common Healing Responses After Reflexology

The acute stage can be the beginning registration of change.

Not everyone experiences these, and they are usually short-lived (24–48 hours), but possible responses include:

• Symptoms briefly intensifying

• Fatigue• Mild aches or heaviness

• Skin eruptions

• Digestive shifts

• Emotional release

• Temporary flu-like sensations

• Sleep changes

• Later, improved mood, clarity, or energy

These are responses — signs of processing — not reactions in the sense of harm.

Tending to Your Garden

I often think of reflexology as tending to a garden.

If soil has been compacted by seasons of stress, overwork, or emotional strain, the first turning of the earth does not look tidy. The ground is disturbed. Old material rises. Air enters. Water begins to move again.

For a short time, it can look messy.

But that disturbance is not damage — it is preparation.

In Ayurvedic language, this is prana moving through previously stagnant areas. In somatic terms, it is circulation improving, sensation returning, the nervous system reorganising.

What was quiet becomes responsive. What was numb begins to feel.

Healing is rarely a straight line. It is cyclical. Seasonal.

And just as a garden does not flourish without tending, the body responds best when supported consistently. Reflexology is not simply a one-off treatment — it is part of cultivating healthier soil so that more balance can take root.

Healing is often like that.

From a somatic and trauma-sensitive perspective, this also makes sense. Parts of the body that have been partially numb or holding protective tension can begin to feel again when safe touch and awareness are introduced. Increased sensation can briefly feel like increased discomfort. It can also mean the nervous system is updating and reorganising.

In simple terms: the body is processing.

This is why your response matters so much.

How Many Reflexology Sessions Are Needed?

A minimum of three sessions is generally recommended to begin seeing patterns clearly. If something acute is present, weekly sessions may be helpful at first. Once balance is restored, monthly maintenance is ideal for many people.

But the real guide is how your body responds within that first 24-hour window. That helps us decide whether to continue, adjust spacing, or refine the focus of the work.

Three Foundations That Support Healing

When beginning any healing process, three foundations support the system:

• Whole foods, less processed foods

• Sleep priority

• Supportive relationships (therapists, trusted friends, community)

Reflexology is not a miracle cure. It is a holistic, somatic therapy that supports homeostasis — your body’s natural ability to regulate and rebalance itself.

Reflexology Canberra – Booking Information

If you are exploring reflexology in Canberra and would like to experience this work in a grounded, trauma-sensitive way, you are welcome to book a session here:

BOOK A REFLEXOLOGY SESSION

And if you ever feel unsure after a treatment, please reach out. Your feedback is part of the process.

Healing is not something done to you.

It is something your body does — when the conditions are right.

References

Briggs, J., et al. (2010). Exploring the healing crisis in reflexology: a preliminary study in women with fibromyalgia. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20920811/

Rao, R. V., et al. (2023). Marma points and their anatomical correlations: A review. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10382659/