Standing in the churchyard of Chang-Bin Catholic Church at Changpin in Taitung County, brown-haired Father Josef Eugster welcomes a party of more than ten guests from Japan. They are friends whom Father Josef got to know over a decade ago when he went to Japan to teach reflexology, after which a group of people set up a reflexology association there. In early November, while making a leisure trip to Taiwan, they take the opportunity to visit Father Josef.

In fluent Mandarin, Father Josef introduces the principles of reflexology, and tells the story of how he has promoted the technique in Taiwan. All this is relayed to the visitors by the Japanese interpreter at his side. Chairs, lotion and paper towels have been set out under the shelter of the church's broad eaves, and three Aboriginal friends are waiting to give the guests' feet a good "going over."

Father Josef introduces one of them, named Banay. Banay learned reflexology from him 13 years ago, when he first came to Changpin. Around that time Banay's husband had died of cancer, leaving her with six children and some unpaid debts. Banay diligently studied the massage technique as a means to support her family, and not only paid back her debts, but was able to build a new house.

"I came to Taiwan 32 years ago," relates Father Josef. "First I studied Taiwanese, then Mandarin and finally Amis." Having previously only been in contact with Minnan Chinese, at first he was hesitant about coming to the remote countryside of Changpin, where Aborigines are in the majority. But today he thanks the Lord for giving him this opportunity, and feels he is able to be useful here. In the nearby villages there is no large hospital, and the Aborigines are economically disadvantaged. But by learning this simple massage technique they can keep themselves in good health.

Learning by numbers

Not having a medical background, Father Josef gained his experience and knowledge of foot massage by old-fashioned self-study, combined with his faith and his determination to help others.

Father Josef came to Taiwan in 1970. After several years of missionary work, he often felt pain in his knees, but when he went to the doctor all he got was painkillers. The pain did not improve, and as well as limiting his mobility and preventing him from sleeping properly at night, it left him feeling weak throughout the day, so he was unable to properly prepare his Sunday sermons.

Then Father Josef's co-worker Brother Laurenz Schelbert gave him a copy of the book Gesund in die Zukunft (Good Health for the Future through Foot Reflexology) by Swiss nurse Hedi Masafret. The book indicates the positions of "reflex zones" on the feet that correspond to the organs of the urinary, digestive, circulatory and immune systems, and states that the nerve endings in these reflex zones are linked to the major organs of the body. People's feet spend months and years closed up in "shoe hell," so that the blood circulation is restricted, and this can easily lead to poor health. Therefore the reflex zones in the feet need to be appropriately stimulated to allow them to function properly again.

Brother Laurenz told Father Josef that at home in Switzerland he had started massaging his mother's feet according to the instructions in the book. After two weeks, his mother's stomach pains had cleared up without medication. Brother Laurenz lifted up Father Josef's feet and energetically massaged the centers of the soles. Father Josef cried out in pain and pulled his feet away. Brother Laurenz told him that pain in that spot was a warning sign from his kidneys, and that people with rheumatism or arthritis generally had problems with their kidneys-it was not just a joint problem. Out of curiosity, Father Josef began reading the book, massaging his own feet as he read. Before long, he noticed that the pain in his knees was receding, and he could get to sleep more easily at night.

Who would have imagined that this book so casually given to Father Josef would give rise to a reflexology movement in Taiwan? Because foot massage had benefitted his own health, Father Josef was happy to teach the technique to church friends who had health problems.

In 1980, Police Radio Station presenter Li Wen came to Father Josef for help because of the side effects she was suffering due to taking 18 steroid tablets a day for her myasthenia gravis. After ten days of intensive massage, Li's symptoms had eased considerably. She explained the principles of Father Josef's massage treatment on her radio program, and before long a TV station also went to interview him. After that, a stream of curious people came from all over Taiwan to the church in Taitung to seek treatment.

Many of these visitors were afflicted by chronic diseases, and seemed like someone adrift in the ocean who suddenly feels a glimmer of fresh hope on catching sight of a piece of driftwood to cling on to. Other people too, when they heard there was a way to stay healthy without injections or medicines, were eager to come and give it a try. In no time, the "good news" of reflexology spread far and wide.

Easy to learn

But to Father Josef's surprise, pharmaceuticals companies soon protested to the Department of Health about this "unscientific" folk remedy.

In 1982, the DOH sent Father Josef a letter informing him that he was breaking the law by giving medical treatment when he was not qualified as a doctor, and ordered him to stop. "At the time I was glad, because I was getting worn out. But there were still so many people coming to the church," says Father Josef. Later, after an expression of interest from the then vice president Hsieh Tung-min, Father Josef was invited by Lin You-pai, director of Youmin Hospital in Sanchung, to go and do massages and train students there. Only then did the DOH give him permission to perform massages under the supervision of the hospital's doctors.

At one time, because the church was opposed to Father Josef giving massages, and because he himself was so tired, he asked for a sabbatical and went to Jerusalem. But while there he continued to practice and teach reflexology, and later taught it on several continents. "In the three-and-a-half years of Jesus' ministry on Earth, he often cured the sick. I was doing no more than following his example," explains Father Josef.

Over the course of many years of study, critical appraisal and practice, Father Josef and Dr. Eugene Chen, one of the first people to study reflexology with him, have combined the existing ideas behind reflexology with the theory of the five elements and yin and yang that underlies traditional Chinese medicine. Thus they have developed a new theory to underpin reflexology.

"Previously we thought that many areas were unclear or incorrect, so we decided to do our own research and more correctly identify the reflex zones." For example, says Father Josef, according to Hedi Masafret's book the reflex points for the genitals are on the soles of the feet. But on the basis of patients' reactions, he and Chen came to the view that the reflex points for such delicate organs were more likely to be protected by being at a position less often subjected to pressure, so they amended the position to the inside of the heel. Late last year, Father Josef and Eugene Chen completed the book Father Josef's New Foot Reflexology Method. In it, they change the Chinese name for reflexology from the previous "sole massage" to "foot health method," to reflect the fact that they have extended the area in which the reflex zones are found from the soles of the feet to the whole of the lower leg below the knee.

Ancient origins

Just what are the origins of the ancient art of reflexology? When and where was it invented? There are many different versions. A mural depicting foot massage is said to have been discovered in the tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh's physician. But in the era of the Yellow Emperor in China, there was also a technique called guanzhifa ("examination of the feet"), and in the Han dynasty the great physician Hua Tuo revised this method and included it in his Hua Tuo's Secret Basket under the name of zuxindao ("the way of the sole"). During the Tang dynasty, foot massage spread from China to Japan, and in the late 19th century it was carried from Asia to Europe and America by missionaries.

Father Josef's new reflexology method brings together both ancient and modern ideas, but is still based on the idea that the feet are a microcosm of the body, and in the feet one can find reflex points corresponding to all parts of the body. When both feet are placed together, they form a map of the human body.

In their book, Father Josef and Eugene Chen explain that according to Chinese medical theory, 12 regular meridians and eight additional meridians link together the five viscera (heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys), the six bowels (gall bladder, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, urinary bladder, and "three burners," i.e. the upper, middle and lower portions of the body cavity), the five sense organs (nose, eyes, lips, tongue, ears), the seven orifices (ears, eyes, nostrils, mouth), the four limbs and the skeleton into a systematic whole. The qi flows continuously through the meridians to all parts of the body, making the body into an organic, self-regulating system. Therefore, if any part of the body becomes diseased or is functionally impaired, this will affect the relationship of mutually reinforcing and suppressing influences between the five viscera and six bowels, leading to further pathological change. This creates an excess or deficiency of qi in the viscera and bowels, which is expressed at the surface of the body via the meridians in the form of symptoms such as pain, numbness or swelling. By massaging and stimulating the feet, one can free up the stagnant flow of qi through the meridians; this has a modulating effect throughout the body, and improves and adjusts the function of the viscera and bowels. The book also includes color illustrations of the organs corresponding to the five elements. For instance, the heart is the organ of fire (red) and the stomach is earth (yellow). This explains the mutually reinforcing and suppressing relationship between the various organs of the body, and their connection with the external environment.

It doesn't have to hurt

In line with the new theory, Father Josef explained at a press conference that the widely held idea that "the more it hurts, the better it works" is misleading: a gentle but correct technique will be more effective.

"It's not right to simply go by whether it hurts, because someone who has been taking medication for a long time may no longer have any sensation of pain," says Father Josef. He once embarrassed himself greatly when he was massaging the feet of a lady from Hong Kong. She felt no pain when he massaged the reflex points for her kidneys, so he told her, "Your kidneys are pretty healthy." To his surprise, she answered, "I've been on dialysis for two years."

Father Josef rejects the long-standing notion that "massage has to hurt to be effective," but his ideas are not accepted by some experienced old masseurs.

On the basis of 20 years of experience, reflexologist Chen Pi-hsiung of Taichitong Hospital Management Consultant Company says: "You do have to use a moderate amount of stimulation for it to be effective." For example, he says, in 1992 he went to Vancouver, Canada to teach reflexology classes. One patient had suffered lower back pain for ten years and could never get a good night's sleep. Chen gave him one vigorous massage session, and the next morning he came specially to thank Chen, because he had been able to get a full night's sleep.

The idea of reflex zones on the feet is compatible with the meridian theory of traditional Chinese medicine. But how do the feet reflect the organs and glands of the rest of the body, and how are effects transmitted from the reflex points to the corresponding parts? And how effective is foot massage-can it really cure disease? These are points of doubt for doctors of Western medicine.

Pick up your feet

Although this controversy is far from being resolved, after many years of development there is a degree of public understanding of reflexology in Taiwan. For instance, people know not to apply too much pressure in the vicinity of a wound, and that a light touch is needed with old people and young children because their blood vessels have thin walls. Also, when choosing massage rods and foot massage paths, it is best to avoid sharp objects-round pebbles are better. Side-effect free reflexology has become one of the most common ways of maintaining health among people in Taiwan.

But "Taiwanese-style reflexology" as promoted by Father Josef is not only popular in Taiwan. It has long since also caused a stir in Japan, Korea, Europe and America. In New York a Father Josef Eugster School for Foot Reflexology has been set up, similar to the classes to be found in many places in Taiwan.

"Until I reached age 50, it was all very tiring. Every day lots of patients came, some of them even in the middle of the night. Now, I can tell them where to find a reflexology center, so they don't have to come all the way to Taitung." The latest challenge that the energetic priest has taken up is learning another language. When he is not reading theological works or studying other people's insights into reflexology, he also often goes swimming. At present, Father Josef has to preach at eight churches in Changpin Rural Township. At two of them he gives his sermons in Taiwanese, while at the other six he uses the Amis language.

Although he has been learning Amis for more than ten years, even today he still practices it three hours each day, and in his pocket he always carries some little cards on which are written corresponding phrases in German, English and Amis.

After 30 long years, to this day Father Josef still massages feet-a part of the body regarded as dirty by many people-every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon under the shelter of the church eaves. The remote church at Changpin no longer witnesses scenes like those of the past when people queued overnight to wait for a massage, for thanks to Father Josef's efforts, the techniques of reflexology have now spread deep among the people.

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For the past 20 years Father Josef Eugster of Taitung County's Changpin Rural Township has been energetically promoting foot reflexology. He is pictured here demonstrating to visitors from Japan how the fingers should be lightly pressed into the soles of the feet.

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The theory behind reflexology is that by vigorously stimulating reflex zones in the soles of the feet, one can treat ailments in corresponding organs of the body.