Relieving Stress and Recalibrating the Body with Metamorphosis & Reflexology

by Karol Paul, BSN, NBCR

Board Certified Reflexologist

Practitioner in Metamorphosis

February 15th, 2021

Stressful triggers are all around us and are meant to keep us alive and safe. The sympathetic nervous system activates the fight or flight response during a threat or perceived danger and can elicit physical and emotional responses in the body.

These triggers can be acts of aggression, accidents, falls, losses, even noise, taste, touch and smell that brings recall of traumatic events. With trauma, the body and brain keep getting triggered by memories or stimuli, and can’t switch back to the parasympathetic or rest and digest mode, even after the actual event or danger has past. When the body is stuck in this exhausting fight or flight mode, also called sympathetic overdrive, it can cause physiological and emotional stress. (Refer to the diagram below)

Metamorphosis along with Reflexology uses gentle pressure, palpation and movements of the body to calm the overactive or constricted areas that are causing this intense and exhausting nervous system response. These modalities identify adhesions in the body, that could be scar tissues build up, toxicity, overactive nervous system responses, or constricted or stagnant areas (such as acid or fluid build up.) This targeted stimulation sends messages through the nervous system, connective tissues and fascia. The message is to relax and to release the frozen or overactive trauma pattern and to recalibrate. The body then resets to the parasympathetic or rest and digest state, where the deeper relaxation and restorative work can begin.

This article was written by Karol Paul, RN, BSN, NBCR and edited by Elena Patino