What’s the difference between Foot Zoning and Footzonology?
This is a question that has come up frequently, especially in light of the legislative changes in Utah which spurred the creation of two organizations – the Utah Foot Zone Association and the American FootZonology Practitioners Association.
Even during legislative meetings, the question was asked, “What’s the difference?”
As I explained in my article on The History of Foot Zoning in America, the Foot Zone Technique was developed by Dr. Charles Ersdal. Dr. Ersdal drew the “map” of the body as it is found on the feet and then began developing treatments to trigger the signals for the various body systems, organs, and parts. One of Dr. Ersdal’s students, Katri Nordblom, invited Dr. Ersdal to teach the Foot Zone Technique in America and in 1989 Dr. Ersdal held his first American class in Montana. He continued coming to America over the next several years teaching his technique around the country at the request of several different students who later became mentors for new students when Dr. Ersdal had to return to Norway and as popularity for the Foot Zone Technique increased.
Dr. Ersdal continued to develop treatments for the various signals on his “map” and about 6 weeks before his death shared in his class that there were 11 new treatments that he had developed which he would share with his students after he had tested them on 1,000 clients. Unfortunately, Dr. Ersdal died before he was able to share these treatments with his students.
Dr. Ersdal is not the only practitioner who continued to develop treatments for the various signals. We Do Feet has developed treatments for the heart signals and the eye signals that are very in-depth and effective. Other schools have developed treatments as well, and each practitioner as they progress in their expertise finds treatments and techniques that they implement into their zone session.
This is what happened with Katri Nordblom, the owner of the Nordblom Institute of Footzonology. As she continued her training, she developed treatments that were not being taught by Dr. Ersdal and decided to begin teaching her own classes. To avoid confusion, she called her method Footzonology. Another of Dr. Ersdal’s students, Robert Personnette, also developed treatments and began teaching his own classes too. He called his method BEZT. Other students of Dr. Ersdal began teaching what they called European Reflexology. All of them were building upon the Foot Zone Technique that they had learned from Dr. Ersdal by adding their own touch and their own treatments to his technique.
After Dr. Ersdal’s death, other schools arose and began teaching the Foot Zone Technique – each one building upon the techniques they were taught by Dr. Ersdal (or Katri or Robert etc.) and implementing their own techniques and treatments. However, instead of changing the name of what they were teaching (as Katri Nordblom and Robert Personnette had done when Dr. Ersdal was alive) they simply called the treatment the Foot Zone Technique.
Dr. Ersdal’s map of the body stayed the same – none of the various school owners changed the location of the heart signal or the eye signal or the teeth signal – the difference became who was teaching and what treatments they were adding beyond what had been taught by their instructor.
So when you think of Footzonology, think of the Foot Zone Technique with treatments added by Katri Nordblom When you think of BEZT, think of the Foot Zone Technique with treatments added by Robert Personnette. When you think of Foot Zoning, recognize that the Foot Zone professional will have been trained in the same technique that Dr. Charles Ersdal taught, with additional treatments added by the owner and instructors of the school they attended.
But most importantly, whether you think of foot zoning, footzonology, European reflexology, or BEZT, remember that without Dr. Charles Ersdal and his “map”, none of this would have been possible.
