You can start to build a picture about a client from the phone call, before you have even laid eyes on them. How does their voice sound? Is it shaky, confident, abrupt, or nervous?

While the people who can’t get their words out quick enough, tend to be quite highly strung, doing everything quickly, eating, moving, and making decisions.

Do they have body piercing, if so where are they located? This can indicate they subconsciously feel a need to draw attention to a particular part of their body or an organ. Piercing literally relieves tension in an area, - a hole is being made. A nose ring for example could indicate past or present emotional hurts or heartache

What condition is their hair in? How do they wear their hair, is it tied back, long and free flowing, short and cropped, is it thick and unruly or very fine? What about their eyebrows, how strong and abundant are they? Do they actually have 2 eyebrows or is it just one, monobrow?

What shape is their face, their jaw line, and the hairline? Are they more emotional, do they live in their head, or are they very practical and down to earth? Are they very determined and strong willed or likely to roll over if you say ‘boo’?

Study the size and features of the eyes, nose and mouth, the hollows, lines or other marks on the face. Each will give information of what is really going on in the body.

What size are the fingers and hands overall? How much flexibility is in their wrists, and fingers? Are their palms covered in many fine lines? What about their fingers, do they have an underlying endocrine imbalance?  What about their nails? Are they painted – and if so what color?

What size, shape and condition are their nails in? Are their fingers covered in rings, or maybe cuts, or even warts? What temperature are their hands?

Now consider their feet. Firstly how does the client actually feel about their feet? They are a direct representation of the body. If a person does not like their feet, the look or size of them, this is usually a direct representation of how they actually feel about themselves and indicates their self-esteem is lower than it could be.

Pay special attention to the condition of the skin, and the placement of the toes. Are any toes wearing rings for example. Each toe represents a different energy and we already know that rings are a form of protection. What condition are their toenails in? Discoloured or infected nails can indicate possible problems with their teeth or gums. Do they have high arches or very flat feet? This will tell you how supported they are feeling, or indicate any possible muscular / skeletal imbalances. Do they experience lower back cramps or menstrual imbalances?

Look at the soles of the feet. Are the feet the same colour all over or are certain areas very red or yellow? Are their many lines or cracks anywhere? Vertical lines on the ball of the foot for example would indicate a possible imbalance in the chest / lung region, with the possibility of asthma or bronchitis. While horizontal lines over the arch of the foot could indicate a tendency towards constipation.

Are their heels dry and cracked? This could indicate insufficient fat in their diet, a possible hormonal imbalance, or literally finding it difficult to stand their ground and feeling torn in two directions. Do their feet hurt them at all? Are they always burning, always cold or itchy?

Inner disharmony can also be noticed through the body shape and size. Notice any increases in bulk tissues or hollow areas of the body. This can tell you how the chakras are functioning, and where tension is being stored.  Are their legs thick and strong, or very thin and wiry? Heavy thighs can indicate storage of teenage issues or issues to do with sexuality.

Why is the back aching? How supported is the client feeling? What emotion is stored in each organ or limb? Why do they feel incredibly angry suddenly when they start a liver cleansing diet? Why does illness or an accident always seem to strike at the worse time, when they have tight deadlines or when they allow themselves to stop and take a break? Look at the area of the body that is injured or feeling the illness and examine with the client what the message is.

For example - has the client experienced chronic sinus problems since the loss of a job, or breakdown of marriage? When did they last allow themselves to cry?  Learn how to interpret the issue, and look for signs on the feet, hands or face that back this up.

Ultimately the more information you can gather about your client, either from what they tell you or what their body tells you means you can ensure your treatment plan will be perfectly suited.

Practical techniques are the final part of the Somatic Reflex Therapy work. Some are simple visualisation exercises that can be shared with the client or given as homework, while others are practical palpation techniques to loosen some of the stored energy or congestion.

The final point that is important to mention is that sometimes a client doesn’t actually want to get better for a variety of reasons, they may not even have a conscious awareness about this.

It can be good to explore this with them.

Health is such an important factor of happiness, some strive for it and some are afraid of how life will be with it.