Reflexology

Malaysians love Reflexology and so do I.

I have always loved getting foot rubs.  Some people do, some not so much.  Spoke with one woman at the last hotel, a Brit.  “I can’t stand anyone touching my feet” she told me.  “Not even my husband.”  Too much information….

But back to me.. I love it!  So when another teacher wanted to visit a reflexologist in the mall in Kuala Lumpur, well.. why not eh!?  And that was it.. my new addiction.  This one is a little cheaper than some of my bad habits of the past.. and actually not all that bad. 

The say it is good for your circulation.  All those reflex connections.. the arch of your foot to your intestines.. the tip of your big toe connected to the centre of your forehead.  It’s all there.. a map of your body. 

The woman said I had a good body.. which is always nice to hear.  I was surprised though, as she was REALLY hurting me and I didn’t think that was good.  But she assured me my Qi was good.. it was just that I wasn’t yet a regular.  I would get used to it. 

I thought back to my first visit to the leg wax woman that Jeri sent me to.  She lulled me into a false sense of security with lovely smells and soft music.  When she ripped that first wax strip off though, I jumped up, screaming obscenities and almost hit the poor woman I the face.  She let me come back though: I did apologize.. profusely – over and over again.  And I don’t find waxing all that painful anymore..

Now it’s reflexology. 

What is it about women and pain? 

After I left KL I was looking for a hotel in Seconchin.. north of Kuala Salangor, and found a reflexology shop.  So I walked in and the Chinese woman there started to rub my feet, till it hurt.  But by now my back was starting to really hurt again, and I was finding it hard to enjoy the pain of foot rub.  I asked if there was a place on my foot that would help with my back. 

They (there were about six reflexologists in the shop) asked if I wanted to be free of the pain. 

“Uh.. yes”

“Do you want the treatment?”

“OK”  What the heck eh?

They said if I’d agree to an hour-long massage, they would give me free treatment. 

So.. I got ‘cupped’, again. 

The marks were gone from that time in Coquitlam.  I had gone to a place for acupuncture: to help with menopause.  It helped.. but cost a lot, and included a sauna and a couple of ‘cups’.

This time though.. I got about 18 cups.. the woman cleaned the cups with alcohol, then lit them on fire and stuck them on my back.  The suction made my skin bulge up inside the glass ball.. and it felt like huge clothes pins were pinching my whole back.. It didn’t feel very nice.  It hurt, and was really weird. 

So, 2 hours after I entered this little walk in shop on one of the main streets, this little reflexology shop of which I have discovered there is one on every block,  I was practically dancing.  I did a little dance in the front for all the women to admire my flexible spine.. my pleasure at what they given me. 

Yup 2 hours, and it cost about $25. I forget what it was in Canada, but it was a heck of a lot more than that! 

I have been back.  Not for the cupping.. one free treatment a month is probably enough.. it may take that long to get rid of the circular hickies I have all over my back.. Enormous polkadots will keep those treatments in line.. but I have been back for the massage.. and when the pain is completely gone, I will cut back again to just the reflexology. 

It’s cheap, available without an appointment, and soooooo relaxing. 

How lucky am I to live in Malaysia?!