Marquardt - Reflexotherapy of the Feet

Dedicated to my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren

Hanne Marquardt, registered nurse and naturopath, is a pioneer in teaching and practicing RTF. For almost 60 years she has trained around 80,000 therapists and set up 18 training centers around the globe. The founding school is situated in Knigsfeld-Burgberg, Germany

Reflexotherapy of the Feet

Second Edition

Hanne Marquardt
International School of Reflexotherapy of the Feet
Knigsfeld-Burgberg, Germany

88 illustrations

Thieme
Stuttgart New York Delhi Rio de Janeiro

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.

This book is an authorized translation of the 7th German
edition published and copyrighted 2012 by Karl
F. Haug Verlag, Stuttgart. Title of the German edition:
Praktisches Lehrbuch der Reflexzonentherapie am Fu

Translator: Angela Trowell, Radstock, UK
Illustrator: Christiane Schott, Rottweil, Germany

2nd Czech edition 2016
1st Danish edition 2001
1st French edition 2004
1st Greek edition 2004
3rd Italian edition 2016
1st Japanese edition 2007
1st Korean edition 2010
1st Lithuanian edition 2006
1st Polish edition 2012
1st Portuguese (Brazil) edition 2005
2nd Russian edition 2016
3rd Spanish edition 2015
1st Swedish edition 2004

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5 4 3 2 1

ISBN 978-3-13-125242-5
Also available as an e-book:
eISBN 978-3-13-203832-5

Important note: Medicine is an ever-changing science undergoing continual development. Research and clinical experience are continually expanding our knowledge, in particular our knowledge of proper treatment and drug therapy. Insofar as this book mentions any dosage or application, readers may rest assured that the authors, editors, and publishers have made every effort to ensure that such references are in accordance with the state of knowledge at the time of production of the book.

Nevertheless, this does not involve, imply, or express any guarantee or responsibility on the part of the publishers in respect to any dosage instructions and forms of applications stated in the book. Every user is requested to examine carefully the manufacturers leaflets accompanying each drug and to check, if necessary in consultation with a physician or specialist, whether the dosage schedules mentioned therein or the contraindications stated by the manufacturers differ from the statements made in the present book. Such examination is particularly important with drugs that are either rarely used or have been newly released on the market. Every dosage schedule or every form of application used is entirely at the user's own risk and responsibility. The authors and publishers request every user to report to the publishers any discrepancies or inaccuracies noticed. If errors in this work are found after publication, errata will be posted at www.thieme.com on the product description page.

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I gladly accepted the offer of writing the foreword to this book for two reasons. First, as a professional physician and acupuncturist, I have for years been working on the phenomenon of projections of the whole body into various microsystems; second, I have known Hanne Marquardt for a long time and have myself experienced the profound and convincing effect of RTF on my own feet.

The projection of the organism to clearly circumscribed parts of the body is a known phenomenon. Many new holographic fields, such as ear, skull, nose, hand, and oral cavity have been described during the past decades. Microsystems are used by a large number of therapists all over the world to treat patients, but treatment based on the microsystem of the foot can rightly be called the oldest and most widespread method. As a great deal of therapeutic experience exists over a number of decades, RTF does not require much further recommendation.

However, from a strictly scientific point of view a number of questions remain open as the results achieved in everyday work on this microsystem reach beyond that which can be explained by known neural reflex mechanisms.

None of the microsystems can be understood or classified without considering their basic phenomenological character. According to their essence and functions, microsystems are self-reflections of the wholethe macrosystemeach in their own individual and specific way. Their significance lies in the correlation between themselves and the whole: autonomous control systems that strive for homeostasis and harmonization. In modern physics, professionals are beginning to orient themselves in a holistic universe (David Bohm). Chaos and fractal research offers an insight into the openness of non-linear, unrestricted systems, which ultimately suggest a transparent view within the constant repetition of reflections of the whole. A new theory explaining the holistic phenomena of the development of plants, animals, and human beings at the embryonic stage originates from China, the motherland of acupuncture, and is leading to astonishing practical results in agriculture and medicine. In this context, the following remark by Goethe seems appropriate: No phenomenon is self-explanatory; only many together in methodical order bring about what can be called a theory. More important than the effect of a quantitative summary is the qualitative aspect, which alone leads to the unification of all parts. The parts can guarantee the whole as they carry its information as an intrinsic memory in themselves.

The fear that the basic understanding of our human nature could fail due to the recognition of similarities and self-reflections, originates from the old perception of the world and human nature. But time goes on and it leaves us behind if we don't have the courage to accept and recognize the many changes in our environment that are already obvious.

For 58 years Hanne Marquardt has been working with this method. Her name is closely connected with it and she is rightly acknowledged to be the person responsible for developing reflexotherapy of the feet into a convincing method accepted by medical professionals. She developed it from a basic knowledge to a professional level in Germany and in a number of other countries. The reliability of this therapy has been proved not only by Hanne Marquardt, but by many other therapists besides and after her. They have all worked with these zones in their everyday practice and found them effective. This English edition by Hanne Marquardt is written completely anew and covers her whole professional life's work and conclusions in this field.