Irene Tasho Interview on Why Reflexology Deserves a Place in Modern Healthcare

Irene Tasho is an experienced reflexologist, educator, speaker and industry leader dedicated to advancing the practice and recognition of reflexology in Australia and internationally. As the founder of Sole to Soul Reflexology, Irene has spent more than 18 years helping clients improve their wellbeing through professional reflexology treatments.

Irene Tasho, Principal, Lead Educator & Practitioner

Reflexology has become more visible in recent years, but what do you think still holds the profession back from wider recognition within healthcare?

Reflexology is slowly becoming more recognised by the general public and in some hospitals or medical facilities around the world, but there is a greater need for research or trials to produce convincing evidence. This, of course, is slowed down by the limited research funds available to conduct the rigorous trials or studies needed to produce the necessary evidence.

Due to the nature of the therapy, it is hard to establish a strong and consistent evidence base. Outcomes related to pain and anxiety are often subjective due to contextual effects such as relaxation, touch, and therapeutic relationships.

There are no clear, plausible mechanisms explaining the links between foot and hand reflexes and specific organs, glands, and systems, or their effects on health. This makes clinicians skeptical.

There is also limited integration with biomedical systems. Reflexologists usually operate outside mainstream care facilities, such as in wellness or alternative therapy clinics. This can also lead clinicians to dismiss reflexology as nontherapeutic.

The opportunity to work with medical professionals and show them, through patient feedback, how reflexology may be beneficial for symptom management, sleep, and improved quality of life would greatly help us gain more recognition throughout the healthcare system.

After nearly two decades in clinical practice, what has most changed about the way you think reflexology supports health and wellbeing?

A lot has changed over the last two decades with regard to how reflexology is recognised and how it supports wellbeing. It is slowly being integrated into clinical supportive care roles in hospitals and hospices to help with symptom management and relief, including pain, anxiety, nausea, and sleep problems, especially in settings such as oncology, palliative care, maternity care, and primary care.

There is wider recognition that a person needs not just medical attention but also holistic support to help with their recovery. People are seeking more nonpharmacological and person-centred options. This is also coming from some medically trained specialists who have themselves gone through traumatic diagnoses and realised that the human body may need deeper alternative supportive care. This is raising the visibility and awareness of reflexology.

Reflexology is recognised more strongly in relation to autonomic regulation, whereby it may help balance the nervous system, therefore helping with stress-related conditions, relaxation, mental health, and wellbeing.

There is more emphasis on standards of professional training and clearer practice frameworks. There are more specialised training courses, allowing for better support for specific conditions. There is also greater use of validated outcomes reported by patients regarding their levels of anxiety, pain, and quality of life, as well as simple physiological markers such as heart rate variability and sleep quality.

There have been more clinical trials. Results are still mixed, but research is more methodical and focused on outcomes than it was before.

As both an educator and Research Director, how do you encourage practitioners to embrace evidence while preserving the person-centred nature of reflexology?

I would like to mention that when students come to learn reflexology, they already have a deeper sense that humanity needs more person-centred care. They also have the inner intuition and sensitivity needed, which is why they come to learn in the first place. This is the most valuable skill a reflexologist can have, but at the same time, the need for evidence is essential, as it would give the therapist more confidence.

I think most practitioners these days would welcome more evidence, as this would support and give value to what they do. It is challenging when there is such skepticism about the possible benefits of reflexology. This is mainly due to a lack of awareness or understanding, which can cause people to judge. I know it is a difficult therapy to explain, which is why more evidence is needed. However, I don’t believe evidence will take away from the holistic and intuitive nature of reflexology. In fact, I think it would reinforce the fact that what we do can be incredibly powerful.

It is important to teach practitioners critical appraisal and evidence literacy so they can judge the relevance and quality of studies when making everyday decisions.

We must continue the effort to combine quantitative and qualitative outcomes. We should celebrate person-centred outcomes as evidence and highlight stories showing how tailored interventions have improved wellbeing, together with aggregated outcomes, so practitioners value both numbers and narratives. Research should be presented as a way to improve care and justify client-centred choices, not replace them.

Where do you think reflexology practitioners have the greatest opportunity to raise professional standards over the next decade?

The first step towards raising reflexology standards in Australia would be to establish a professional, standardised level of education. It would be incredible if we could partner with universities to create diplomas or even degrees.

Postgraduate courses are imperative for increasing the knowledge and skills of professional therapists, and these are encouraged and offered to all practitioners.

Training reflexologists in basic clinical language and communication, documentation, and referral etiquette would help them work effectively with clinicians and multidisciplinary teams.

The opportunity to collaborate with hospitals by creating pilot programmes in oncology supportive care, palliative care, and pain clinics for symptom management would raise not only professional standards but also recognition of reflexology.

We should run cost-effective studies to demonstrate the realistic benefits and true value of reflexology, such as reduced medication use, shorter hospital stays, and improved quality of life, to hospital administrators, insurers, and other health services.

Research partnerships with additional funding would allow for well-designed trials that provide objective outcomes and the evidence-based information needed by clinicians and patients. This, in turn, would ensure that professional standards are raised.

Your work spans women’s health, pain management, and chronic illness. What patterns have you consistently observed across these very different client groups?

Even though the above are very different groups with various presentations of symptoms, we often find that there is an underlying component that is consistent across them. I would say stress is one of the biggest contributors to many conditions. Trauma experienced at any time, but especially in early childhood, can have a significant impact on how you progress through life and the issues that may appear in the physical body later in life.

Chronic symptoms rarely appear out of nowhere. They build slowly and are your body’s way of asking for deeper support. Often, these patterns begin during a time of emotional strain or burnout. The body remembers what the mind tries to move past, and this then becomes the new normal.

Reflexology works beautifully for all these groups because it doesn’t separate the emotional from the physical. While working on the feet, we are not just working on the physical body. We also reach the deeper emotional and spiritual parts of the person, potentially allowing the client to release emotional issues and stressful events that are often related to or major contributors to the conditions above.

You’ve worked in cancer support, maternity care, and children’s palliative care. What have those experiences taught you about the role of touch and presence in healing?

Working with cancer patients experiencing the trauma of diagnosis and treatment, as well as with children dealing with life-limiting conditions, I have found that mindful touch can send signals of safety to the body. In a clinical environment that can often feel threatening, touch may help regulate the nervous system, reduce stress, and allow the body to shift into a more relaxed state. Touch doesn’t operate as a cure but as a therapeutic intervention focused on comfort and connection.

When using gentle, intentional touch, you are communicating care without the need for verbal language. For children experiencing anxiety or pain who are unable to express themselves, touch can provide support and validation.

I often find that physical touch during a reflexology session provides a grounding and nurturing effect in the present moment, helping to distract from pain and other forms of distress, including the profound sense of isolation that often accompanies serious illness.

Maternity care is a very different situation from cancer and palliative care. However, touch also offers a calming and supportive effect, helping the expectant mother manage the physical and hormonal changes that the body goes through during the nine months, as well as preparing her for birth and postnatal changes.

In all cases, touch, combined with the practitioner’s focused attention, can amplify the physical benefits of the techniques. While reflexology is a complementary therapy, the value of stable and empathetic touch in oncology and palliative settings is increasingly recognised for its ability to enhance the human side of medicine.

When mentoring new practitioners, what habits or mindsets separate those who become exceptional clinicians from those who simply master the techniques?

During their training, all practitioners learn the techniques with precision. Eventually, with experience, they start developing more sensitivity and a greater understanding of what they feel and what it means. Some already come from a background in a form of manual therapy or energy work, which helps them progress more quickly beyond the mechanical form of treatment.

An exceptional practitioner is one who is fully present with the client, without judgement, using sensitivity, timing, and the ability to adapt from moment to moment. They can read the client as a whole, including what they say and what they don’t say. Intuition and trust play a very important part in the sessions, as they allow the therapist to listen to what the feet are telling them and recognise that every session may need to be different.

Their grounded and calm attention can be deeply regulating, and this often becomes part of the healing. Most reflexologists will have some aspect of these qualities, as this is usually what brought them to learn in the first place.

It is important for practitioners to understand and allow the free flow of energy without forced action or expectations. This is what ultimately separates the exceptional clinician from others.

Looking back on your journey from ballet teacher to international reflexology educator, what has that path taught you about helping others through meaningful change?

Change is never easy, especially when it involves giving up something you love or when life circumstances have pushed you in a different direction. The first thing that comes to mind is that it helps to be open to something new because there is always a possibility that it could bring you just as much joy, if not more, or a different form of gratification from what you experienced in the past.

I learned to help others see and celebrate even the smallest positive changes that were occurring. Resilience is not something that can be taught easily, but helping others develop coping strategies and encouraging them is vitally important.

Life has taught me to be compassionate, and this has helped me support others. It is important to allow people to explore their own strengths because those strengths are what will help them through change.

If you could change one misconception about reflexology among healthcare professionals and the public, what would it be, and why?

There are many misconceptions about reflexology, unfortunately, but if I were to choose one, it would be when people say, “It is just a foot massage.”

There are some key differences between reflexology and massage. Reflexology is based on the principle that the hands, feet, ears, and face mirror the body. Therefore, the organs, glands, muscles, and bones are mapped onto those areas. By working on them, practitioners believe they may identify areas of imbalance or congestion and use certain techniques with the intention of supporting relaxation, wellbeing, and the body’s natural processes.

It is incredibly relaxing, as it may help regulate the nervous system by calming the sympathetic system, which keeps a person in a fight-or-flight state, and activating the parasympathetic system. This may support the functioning of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive systems.

Massage, on the other hand, is a way to relax the muscles and relieve tension in the area being worked on. This is also very relaxing and has therapeutic benefits. Clients often say they feel that reflexology is more purposeful and that they can feel it targeting specific parts of the body. They report that it can be powerful in helping with symptom management, stress, overwhelm, and coping, and that it can have lasting effects on their wellbeing.

I wish people would be more curious than judgemental. Many people don’t know what reflexology is or how it works, yet they are quick to make negative comments or judgements. I would love for them to do some research or have a session to find out how powerful it can be and what it may do for them.

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