Meet Wendi, the new Reflexologist!

I came upon this article like so many other articles reflexology related, and you know, started going through it.
From the start I thought "yep, its another article informing about or promoting a reflexologist", not much here I thought.

But as I continued I started reading about Wendi's training and certification process. And what really got me enthusiastic was the status of  Massage Therapist Requirements in Minnesota which seems to apply to reflexologists too!

All that I read is great for me, one of the best examples around!

Who wants to meet Wendi the new Reflexologist?

Wendi Buzick took up some classes with the International Institute of Reflexology which is always a good choice considering that this is where Reflexology began due to Eunice Ingham the originator of the method.

In the article we read...
She explained that she took three courses that are 32 hours each, and then had 100 hours of practicing before she could officially start her own business.

That was about 10 months ago, and in February she decided that she wanted to officially open her own business by the end of 2020. She won't be certified by the International Institute of Reflexology until February when they come to Minnesota, but she is still cleared to practice, as per Minnesota laws.

After just a few days of being open, she is loving having her own business.

"It's wonderful, it's so nice coming here every day and knowing that I can influence (people)," she said.

Three courses x 32 hours plus 100 hours of practising on your own (I imagine) is one of the trainings with the lowest hours around, yet with a credible and the most historic "training school" around too. Wendi is waiting for her certification from the IIR, which in essence she does not need as in most places around the world to work as a reflexologist. Certified or registered reflexologists exist because they have too in order to be paid by private insurance or goverment, but these examples are scarce if any at all. Besides that, in most places everyone can practise, registered or not.

Wendi also lives in Minnesota and this is how it is there...

"Minnesota does not, as of 2015, have a law to license or register massage therapists at the state level. However, this does not mean there are no laws in place. Massage therapists in many municipalities, including St. Paul, Hopkins, and Burnsville do work under licenses. The Alliance for Licensing Massage Therapists, a Minnesota-based organization, reports that massage therapists statewide are required to abide by the Unlicensed Complementary and Alternative Health Care Practices Act, and that the act requires them to provide patients with a bill of rights."

So our colleague Wendi, who seems to fit the traditional average profile of a reflexologist, found Reflexology, trained in it with ease for a short time initially (which is a good thing, because hopefully she will still have annual continuing education) and thus made a "short" investment initially, opened her own buisness with much ease and had no exaggerated requirements to satisfy, does not seem to care at all about national or state associations, is helping people relax, has moved with her husband where they wanted and is pursuing a new career in a profession she loves!

Around the world I have seen the struggle many colleagues go through to make it in this profession, to be happy practising reflexologists. There are already enough challenges on the street, our field could do with much less requirements, training hours etc...

Wendi best of luck to you and as you said

"(Reflexology) really has the potential to do a lot of great things for people," 

...if we allow it!

PS: the totally opposite is happening in Massachusetts...
...a bill was introduced by Sen. Mark Montigny, D-New Bedford, as a solution to end human trafficking. However, this bill will actually severely restrict, or more likely, put every Reiki practitioner out of business, as well as dozens of other alternative healing methods. In addition to Reiki, others include: The Feldenkrais Method, Reflexology, the Trager Approach, Ayurvedic Therapies, Rolf Structural Integration, Polarity or Polarity Therapy, Polarity Therapy Bodywork, Asian Bodywork, Acupressure, Jin Shin Do, Qi Gong, Tui Na, Shiatsu and Body/Mind Centering.

This bill, if passed, would require professional licensure for more than 200 alternative and complementary holistic modalities and offers no reasonable route to licensure. In addition, you could only become licensed if you take courses at state licensed schools, but there are currently no state licensed schools that offer courses in the majority of these 200 disciplines! This is the epitome of a Catch-22!