Roundup Newsletter Fall 2014
Call to Action! Make one phone call and change history! Click here.
 
Dear RAC Members,

I hope you had a wonderful summer filled with joy. The leaves are changing colors, the air is crisper, and the sun is setting sooner--Fall has arrived. Just as the seasons change, it has come time for me to step down as President and tend to my own affairs. It has been a pleasure working on the Reflexology Association of California (RAC) Board of Directors with a great team of talented individuals. We have worked hard over the year, including improving internal organization and attending to fiscal responsibilities. I am very pleased that we achieved a reinstatement of RAC's tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3)! Below are a few accomplishments from our 2013-2014 year:

 

  • Applied for and received exemption from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) (granted retroactively since 2010)
  • Filed 199N forms with the State of California for 2012 and 2013
  • Opened a savings account for the Alma Harvey Fund
  • Bonded the President & Treasurer positions for three years
  • Updated the bookkeeping with Quicken software
  • Renewed Continuing Education Provider status with the American Reflexology Certification Board (ARCB)
  • Hosted a Maternity Reflexology Training Program taught by Mauricio (Mosche) Kruchik that consisted of 10 webinars and a two-day hands-on training
  • Submitted letters to the Federation of State Massage Therapy regarding the draft Model Practice Act
  • Supported efforts towards reflexology exemption in Chino, CA
  • Increased Facebook likes from 2 to 105
  • Printed RAC brochures and distributed them at reflexology classes and to local massage therapy programs offering reflexology

 

Thank you to the 2013-2014 Board for all of their hard work and dedication! Special thanks to the outgoing Directors Karen Ross and Janette Steele for their outstanding service on the Board for the past two years. I would also like to express gratitude to Susan Mix, Stefanie Sabounchian, Keegan Wood, Paul Harvey and Rhonda Funes for serving on the Advisory Board this past year. Thank you to Christine Issel for her invaluable assistance and to Bill Flocco for his great support.

 

I'm excited to welcome the Board of Directors for the 2014-2015 year:

 

Ariana Thaxter - President

Leslie Myers - Vice President

Charlotte Arnold - Treasurer

Yoshimi Ozaki - Administrative Secretary (Membership)

Ric Colunga - Legislative Director

Sherrel Grabler - Liaison Director

 

We are fortunate to have a great team of passionate individuals! Thank you to incoming Directors Ariana and Yoshimi, for joining the Board. Thank you to Susan and Paul for continuing on as Advisors. I'm honored to be joining the Advisory team, together with Karen Ross. Thank you to our new Newsletter Committee members Patricia Thaxter and Carol Dawn for taking on the production of the Newsletter. There is still an opportunity to join the Board! We are looking to fill the office of Recording Secretary--please email us or call 323-379-9722 if you are interested. Remember that you can also join committees and volunteer your special talents for projects and small tasks. Support your profession by getting involved!

 

And thank YOU dear member, for supporting your professional state association, the Reflexology Association of California, by being a member. Your support strengthens RAC, which in turn strengthens the field of reflexology. We are all doing important work helping people in amazing ways. I applaud you for being a pioneer in this burgeoning field. The stronger the field of reflexology is, the more people will be able to benefit from this amazing work that is reflexology. Here's to a happier and healthier world!

 

Have a lovely Fall, a happy Thanksgiving and a warm and delightful holiday season.

 

Best regards,

 

Johanna Thaxter

Former RAC President

A Message From Our President

Dear RAC Members,

I am privileged to represent the Reflexology Association of California as your President.  It is an honor to lead such a well-respected association.

Reflexology is a field that is relatively new, with its origins in the 1920's.  As such, there is
much work that can be accomplished today in furthering education of reflexology to the public.

As your President, I shall aim to raise the Reflexology Association of California to new heights. My goals are to establish a strong presence at the state level.  Through affiliations with important networks, we as an organization can impact the future of reflexology.  We can also aim to influence legislation to reflect the proper scope of laws for reflexology.

I would like to increase our membership, and bring about positive changes to the association reflecting the ideals of our membership.  This next year, the RAC Conference 2015 promises to be an exciting event.  I look forward to meeting many of you, and to learn how you would like RAC to flourish.  I also look forward to creating a successful year full of accomplishments.  Our elected board is composed of talented, educated individuals.  It is a pleasure to be working with such a wonderful Board of Directors.

Sincerely,

Ariana Thaxter
President
Board of Directors



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RAC Re-Affiliation with RAA

By Leslie Myers

 

Two years ago a survey was sent out to the RAC membership inquiring about whether or not RAC should re-affiliate with the Reflexology Association of America (RAA). The response was positive. The RAC membership was in favor of re-affiliating.

 

Since that time, there has been a change in the requirement from 200 hours to 300 hours to be considered a professional member of RAA. Once affiliated, the 300 hour requirement will be applied to RAC Professional members, as well.

 

This means, that to be considered a Professional RAC member, proof of 300 hours will have to be provided to the RAC Administrative Secretary, once re-affiliated.

 

We are considering this re-affiliation because the Board believes that the field of reflexology needs a strong national association supported by strong state associations. There is strength in numbers. RAA is a strong organization that can help strengthen RAC through shared ideas, knowledge, legislative support and networking opportunities with other state associations and their individual members.

 

Of course, the Board understands that those with less than 300 hours will need to acquire more hours if they want to retain their Professional status and this may be inconvenient for some. The RAC Board is working with RAA on ways to ease this transition.

 

RAA made the decision to increase the hours because they believe that since reflexology is being recognized as a profession, the increase in training hours allows for higher professional standards that meet the expectations of clients and healthcare workers.  

 

RAA has made it possible to gather the additional hours easily and at little or no expense. Refer to the link below for details.  

 

Reference Material:

Stone, Paula S., "New Professional Membership Requirements", from the RAA Re-affiliation Packet. 2014.

 
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National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) phoneprojectPhone Project

By Julia Dollinger 

 

This is your opportunity to place one call and change history!

 

For over five years ARCB and RAA have been requesting reflexology be listed on the NCCAM website under the "R" on the Health Topics A-Z ribbon.  Reiki and Relaxation Techniques are listed but not reflexology.

 

You are asked to take five minutes of your time and make one phone call to NCCAM to change this by letting them know the importance of reflexology.

 

Please call the General and Health Information Specialists at the NCCAM Clearinghouse at

1-888-644-6226asking them why reflexology is not listed and requesting it be, since Reflexology is listed as a manual therapy with NCCAM.

 
You may remind them:
  • The definition of Reflexology (Reflexology is a non-invasive complementary stress reduction practice involving the use of alternating pressure applied to the reflexes within the reflex maps of the body located on the feet, hands and outer ears);
  • We are part of the five-year strategic plan (2009-2014);
  • That the field has its own history, educational standards, state, national and international membership organizations, a psychometric valid national certification exam for practitioner, and
  • has over 300 separate studies from around the world proving its efficacy and safety; and
  • Michigan State University has been awarded over six million dollars worth of research grants to study reflexology through the National Cancer Institute which is a sister institute and also part of the NIH.

Request:

Reflexology, by name, be included in the Strategic Plan beginning in 2015. Conclude by saying, health-conscious people of the United States who use the NCCAM website would be best served by having Reflexology listed under the Health Topics A-Z section.


The California Massage Therapy Council is an independent, private non-profit public benefit corporation that was first established in January 2009 to implement the voluntary certification for the massage practitioners using a two-tier system: For those with less than 500 hours-Certified Massage Practitioner (CMP) and those with 500+ hours of education Certified Massage Therapists (CMTs). CAMTC-issued certificate permits the holder to practice anywhere in the state without getting a separate permit for each locale.

 

A certification is created by a "title act", and applies only to those who use the specified titles that are protected in the law.  Therefore in California only those who obtain the certification are able to use the titles of...  
    

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FEDERATION OF STATE MASSAGE THERAPY BOARDS (FSMTB) AND MODEL PRACTICE ACT (MPA)
By Christine Issel

The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB), which most state massage therapists belong to and a few other organizations like the CAMTC and Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP), who owns the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Exam (MBLEx) with a budget last year of $5 million, put forth a Model Practice Act.  

The stated purpose of the MPA was so that "...the practice of massage therapy is provided to the public in a safe and effective manner." The second reason stated was "... to assist regulators with statutory language based upon the collective wisdom of the Massage Therapy regulatory community."

The MPA further goes on to define Massage to encompass anyone who touches the body by stating, "...any practitioner, regardless of the title designation he or she adopts... 

 

Read More  

 


 

In 1992 the NCBTMB (then an arm of the American Massage Therapy Association-AMTA) began national certification testing in the massage field. In May 2005 Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP) convened a meeting of regulators and educators to address issues common to their members. Attended by representatives from seven regulated states along with educators from around the country, this group recognized the need for an organization to formally bring the regulatory community together. The concerns of most significance were the need for the provision of a valid and reliable licensing exam and the desire to bring commonality in licensing requirements to assist with reciprocity and professional mobility. Out of this came the Massage & Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx). This month...

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REFLEXOLOGY: ART, SCIENCE & HISTORY-Latest Version

 

This book, completely revised and updated from its 1990 publishing, has 165 new pages and includes 18 mini biographies of international leaders in the field since Eunice Ingham.  While the History and Art sections have been updated, the Science part has been expanded the most to include research and new theories within reflexology and science in general.

 

 "As proofreader for the 2014 issue of Reflexology: Art, Science & History, I can vouch for having learned much "new-to-me" information from this updated version. Especially impressive is anatomy and physiology facts in the Science Section-unknown 25-30 years ago, as well as a fascinating Section on how far Reflexology has come as a profession."

--Lorena Pollard, Santa Ana, CA

 

Reflexology: Art, Science & History is available through New Frontier Publishing  

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ICR CONFERENCE 2014 IN SOUTH AFRICA

By Carol Dawn

 

If you are looking for an adventure, one you can use as a tax right-off for education for your professional practice, I'd like to share the adventure we had at the ICR Conference at the Lagoon Beach Hotel on the coast by Capetown South Africa. This organization puts on an International Conference in a different country every 2 years. It's an opportunity to meet other reflexologists from all over the world and learn new and interesting techniques and concepts from world class teachers.

 

One of the great teachers in our worldwide Reflexology community and the founding teacher of the South African Academy of Reflexology IARAMT, Inge Dougans, spoke on " Reflexology and our Health--Yesterday Today and Tomorrow." She began teaching in 1983 and established what was to become the first International Academy of Reflexology incorporating Chinese Meridian theories and philosophies. Incorporating these theories and philosophies, and uniting Western and Eastern insight into the Meridians and the Five Elements has given IARAMT a high reputation worldwide for its unique approach.   The forty practitioners from this school, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2013, was an impressive turnout of attendees from the host country.  

 

One of the workshops I enjoyed and thought would be a complement to my practice was "neuroflexology" taught by Jennie Levick. With this method one uses the knuckles along nerve pathways on the foot and leg in a non-invasive way, allowing the nervous system to work efficiently once more and activate its own healing process.  

 

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ICR Conference 25th Silver Jubilee Sheffield, England 

The roster of speakers includes:

 Fr. Josef (Taiwan) 

A Reflexology Adventure

 

Hamish Edgar (UK) 

What is Limbic Reflexology?

 

Prof. Nicola Robison (UK) & Leila Eriksen (Denmark)  

Strengthening Reflexology in Integrated Healthcare

 

Henrik Hellberg  (Sweden)

HLT, Deep Brain Reflexology with Orthobionomy

 

Vera Krijn (USA) 

Conditioned Response Reflexology

 

Sally Kay (UK)  

Management of Secondary Lymphedema in the treatment of Breast Cancer

 

Gayl Hansen (South Africa) 

Spirituality in Healthcare

 

Lynne Booth (UK)  

VRT Techniques in Sport Injury

 

Marie France Muller (France) 

Facial Reflexology, Diem Cham

 

Peter Lund Frandsen (Denmark) 

New Light in Reflexology

 

 

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Your New Roundup E-Newsletter Committee

 

We are pleased to announce Patricia Thaxter and Carol Dawn have volunteered for the newsletter committee! Please welcome them. Patricia will be responsible for editing & publishing the E-newsletter and Carol will be in charge of advertising. Board member Sherrel Grabler will continue to assist them on an as-needed basis.

 

Do you have an article, photo or other item that would be of interest to our members? If so, please email Patricia at patriciathaxter@gmail.com.  

 

Would you like to advertise in the newsletter? If so, please email Carol at caroldawn8@yahoo.com or call her at 805-235-4960 and she would be happy to help you!

 

If you participated in WORLD REFLEXOLOGY WEEK
this year, please take this five-question Survey. 

We appreciate your feedback.

Link to Survey

Reflexology Association of California | RAC | P.O. Box 4286 | Lakewood | CA | 90711