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FATHER
JOSEF’S WORKSHOP
 On November 5th
& 6th, Birgit Farchmin and Helen Burns attended the Father Josef’s
Method Reflexology (FJM) workshop held in Warrwick, Rhode Island
conducted by Father Josef Eugster and Irina Breslav. This was billed as
the last workshop Father Josef will be conducting in the United States.
This was Helen’s second and Birgit’s third workshop on FJM.
R.A.I. sponsored one of the first workshops on FJM in June 2001 where we
were introduced to this unique method of reflexology used so pervasively
in the Far East. The theory was the same but the teaching has been
refined since the 2001 workshop. There was a greater emphasis on the use
of the tool (stick). Four years ago, Father showed us the use of the
tool, but he said he relied upon his thumbs and fingers to do the work.
In the intervening time, he has found that the great use of his hands
has extracted a toll on his physical health. He now understands that
using a tool can be of great benefit not only to the client, but also to
the practitioner.
Father Josef does not treat disease but he treats the person. He never
asks what is wrong with a client instead relies on what he learns about
the client through touching the feet, observing their coloration, and
analyzing their smell. He works within the philosophy of Chinese
medicine, recognizing the body as an integrated whole. Using the 5
elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, he looks not to the
form of an organ but to the function of the organ in relation to the
whole body. Each participant was given color charts identifying the
various reflex points. There are 83 identified reflexes on his chart and
they are color coordinated to the colors of the five elements.
Father Josef stated that for good health, three things are necessary:
Good sleep; Good appetite; and Good bowel movements. If one has these
three each day, one will have good health. The five stages of disease
are:
Itching, Soreness, Pain, Numbness, Paralysis. If a client is in one of
the first three stages, Father Josef says he can cure them quickly. If a
client is in stage four, he can help but it will take longer. For a
client in stage five, he cannot cure them but he can relieve the pain
and bring them comfort. In Taiwan, they have documented “cures” for
common diseases. In the United States, we cannot talk of “cures” but we
can recognize that we help the body to come back into balance. Good
health is a body in balance.
 Father Josef
spoke of the evolution in the knowledge about reflexology. Reflexology
has been used for thousands of years especially in ancient cultures as a
health and healing practice. Modern reflexology is now learning what was
known before. Reflex points have now been biopsed by Dr. J. Manzanares
of Barcelona, Spain, who identified the reflex as containing three
substances: nervous tissue, vascular matter, and connective tissue. When
an organ is out of balance, that organ’s reflex will have substantially
greater percentages of the nervous tissues than in a reflex of a healthy
organ. The “Pain” sensation is a result of the excessive nervous tissue
within the reflex of an out-of-balance organ. The stimulation through
the pressure sends a “wireless” message to the reflected organ.
Out-of-balance reflexes will “React” to the pressure of a reflexology
session. We were trained to look for the “Reactants” and to give that
area greater attention. The three elements of every session should be:
• A Comprehensive session (work all the
reflex areas)
• Using a Sequential technique (follow the protocol)
• To Normalize the Reactant matter through stimulating the
tissue.
This is a brief summary of what we learned at the
workshop. There were 36 workshop participants and we met wonderful
reflexologist from New England and other parts of the country. This was
definitely worth a beautiful weekend in November to attend.
To learn more about Father Josef and FJM go to
www.fjmreflexology.com or send a message to:
fjmreflexology@optonline.net
Helen Burns
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