Self Reflexology: Golf Ball Technique
A frequently run television commercial reports that a particular aspirin is the one doctors would take with them to a desert island for headaches. While I've never been asked this question, I'd take my golf ball with me. The golf ball is a simple to use, inexpensive self help tool. We've suggested its use to clients for years. They've reported success not only with headaches but also with a wide range of health concerns.

The stimulus of pressure applied to the hands interrupts the body's stress mechanism. Interruption on a frequency basis, practiced as an exercise, causes a conditioning effect. This conditioning effect can and should be tested with different populations. The response to a stimulus can be measured to determine if the stimulus is worth harnessing.

What if the simple golf ball technique could be shown to be helpful to asthmatics, sinus sufferers and others? The following stories are anecdotal but we believe the results are compelling enough to call for research.
I had used a golf ball myself to roll over and apply pressure to the adrenal reflex area on the hands. Sinus headaches, allergies and hay fever had made me a regular customer of medication and Kleenex. While reflexology sessions worked, it wasn't until I started reaching for my golf ball and applied self help that I found a long term solution to my life long sniffles.

T. was the first client to whom we suggested the golf ball technique. She would arrive at the office red in the face and struggling to breathe. She was taking medication for her asthma problem but recently it had been discovered that she had desensitized to yet another medication. She was currently waking up at three in the morning, unable to breathe and with decreasing effect from medicine. We showed her the golf ball technique and suggested she try it for a five minute time period. The next time we saw her she had woken up in the middle of the night experiencing difficulty in breathing. She was pleased to report that after three, not five, minutes of technique application she could breathe again.

D. was a Lubbock, Texas client who experienced sinus headache problems. (We've heard proclamations from people all over the country claiming that their city is the "sinus capital" of the country. Lubbock residents claim this honor especially following the annual spraying of the local cotton crop with a DDT product to kill the plants before harvest.) He was interested in trying the golf ball technique and found that it worked for him. Months later, he had grown tired of his office mate's sniffling and complaints about sinus problems. He handed him a golf ball one day and encouraged him to try it. It worked.

The next time we saw D. he told us the story of the Plano kid. One of the children his mother babysat in Plano, Texas was on his way to a birthday party one day when he suddenly insisted that his parents return home for his golf ball. It was the first time any of the adults realized that the six year old had seen a bowl of golf balls at the babysitter's, observed their use and was rolling the golf ball between his hands for his migraine headaches.

Our niece, who lives in a distant state, was expecting a baby recently and was experiencing shingles. When she asked for a reflexology technique, we suggested the golf ball technique. The technique helped so when it was time to go into the delivery room and she had forgotten her golf ball, she asked the nurse to bring it to her. She rolled the golf ball in her hands throughout the delivery. The birth went so easily that the nurses repeatedly asked if this was truly her first baby.

The technique has proven so popular that we standardly hand out golf balls to members of the audience when we lecture. It serves to get audience members involved in the proceedings and provides a quick demonstration of the feel of pressure. Kevin demonstrated the technique in front of a Denver audience a few years ago. After the lecture a woman from the audience came up and said that she thought we might like to know her response to the technique. She and her husband had driven sixty miles one way for the lecture. While sitting in the audience, she suddenly experienced acute gastric distress and was about to ask her husband to drive her home. At the time Kevin was talking about his own success at surviving restaurant food on the road and occasional stomach upset by using the golf ball technique. The woman sat listening and rolling the golf ball. She wanted us to know that she felt great by the end of the lecture.

Hold a golf ball in your hand. Clasp your hands together interlinking fingers. Roll the golf ball over the palms of your hands. Try the palm of the hand below the thumb for headaches, sinus headaches and problems, allergies and hay fever. Try the heel of the hand for digestive upset.
If you're ever without your ball, a simple technique to work the hand is the single finger grip. Place your index finger tip on the palm of the hand. Exert pressure  

• Fully illustrated technique descriptions
• How and where to apply technique
• Fully descriptive basic reflexology technique
• Insights from 24 studies about reducing stress and anxiety
• Tips, hints and insights into using reflexology to combat stress