
Eunice Dakota Ingham was born in South Dakota in 1889 and went on to
work as a physiotherapist for Dr. Joe Shelby Riley. Dr Riley was very interested in work that a
colleague, Dr Fitzgerald had published on the subject of zone therapy. Eunice Ingham took time
to research and develop the zone therapy findings and developed her foot theory in the early
1930′s.
She had the opportunity to treat hundreds of patients where each reflex point of contact had
been carefully and thoughtfully checked and rechecked until with all confidence she was able to
determine that the reflexes on the feet were an exact image of the organs of the body. In
1938 Dr. Riley encouraged her to write her first book entitled "Stories The Feet Can Tell"
where she documented her cases and carefully mapped out the reflexes on the feet as we know
them today.
Eunice became very well known and travelled the world attending health
seminars where she spoke with medical practitioners about her therapy. In latter years she was
joined by her nephew, Dwight C. Byers.
Her book was later translated into seven foreign languages which spread the benefits of
Reflexology way beyond the borders of the States. The confusion between Reflexology and Zone
Therapy started at this point because the foreign publisher changed the name of Eunice’s book,
" The Stories The Feet Can Tell" to "Zone Therapy" and in some parts of the world it is still
thought of as Zone Therapy. However, there is a distinct difference between the two therapies.
Zone Therapy relies solely on the zones to determine the area to be worked, whereas Reflexology
takes the zones as well as the anatomical model to determine the area or areas to be work
Eunice’s life-long goal was to "help mankind as much as we are able, whenever possible and
wherever we might be."
Eventually, Dwight took over the teaching seminars and established the International Institute
of Reflexology, to protect Eunice’s original writings, worldwide. His daugher, Gail and
grandson, James continue Eunice and Dwight's work at the institute in St. Petersburg, FL.
On December 10, 1974, Eunice passed over at the age of 85 years. She had dedicated her
life to helping others and was totally committed to the benefits of Reflexology.
To read more about this amazing
woman read the book:
Eunice D. Ingham - A Biography of
Reflexology's Pioneer
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