Read All About it:  A brief History of the emergence of Reflexology Books

Evidence of reflexology has existed since ancient times.  The art of reflexology dates back to around 5000 B.C. in India and china.  Before the age of writing and the onset of reflexology books, archeologists discovered ancient pictures on the cave walls and Egyptian hieroglyphics on tombs of the physicians of the great pharaohs.  These pictures depicted feet with clear markings of pressure areas.  With the onset of modern writing we get the onslaught of actual reflexology books.

There were celebrated people such as the sculptor Cellini, practicing reflexology in Europe since the 14th century, but actual writings in the west are noted later on. One of the first reflexology books was written by Dr. Cornelius in Germany, entitled Pressure Points and their Significance (1902). Dr. Cornelius wrote about pressure zones and how applying force or pressure to painful sites had medicinal purposes. He found that the application of pressure would actually relieve the pain.

After the publishing of his work and the work of his colleagues, the art of reflexology began to germinate in America about this time as well.  The curiosity of the alternative medicine community peaked; and the need for reflexology books expanded.

In The USA, attention was given to reflexology as early as 1900’s, when Dr. Edwin Bowers published in Everybody's Magazine, To Stop the Toothache - Squeeze your Toe. Much attention and a flurry of interest resulted from the amazing new to America approach to holistic medicine. Dr. Bowers, Dr. Fitzgerald and Dr. George Starr White lectured at The Riley School of Chiropractic and further advanced the theory of pressure zones (reflexology).

During the time frame of 1917 – 1942, Dr. Riley of the School of Chiropractic wrote twelve books on zone therapy culminating in his final work, Zone Reflex in 1942.

Many of these early reflexology books are out of print, but there are many more modern books available on the market today.

Whether you want to practice the art of reflexology yourself, or you want to simply learn about the subject, note that there is a wealth of information found in reflexology books.  There are books on specialized locations such as foot reflexology, hand reflexology, ear reflexology as well as general principals, self healing and general techniques and applications.

You can purchase reflexology books at your local books store and online at various sites including amazon.com. 

Some of the best selling reflexology books include: 

Reflexology: Health at Your Fingertips by Barbara Kunz, Kevin Kunz, Ruth Jenkinson, published 2003,

The Family Guide to Reflexology by Anne Gillanders, published 1998, 

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Reflexology by Frankie Avalon Wolfe, Russell McAllister, published 1999.

There are also several websites that give comprehensive lists of valuable reflexology books on the market today.  Anthony Larkin, a registered reflexologist provides a reflexology book list on the internet, as well as Virginnia E. Sevilla, or you can do a Google search on your own to find the many sites available to you.