Thursday, September 30, 2010

Going Bedside With Reflexology

Interesting day. I heard from a hospital chain and a hospice center. Both are providing reflexology for their patients. The nurse at the hospital chain I talked to spoke about getting permission to "go bedside." The hospice center is offering hand reflexology.

It's in the wards, folks. That is news. Good news!!!


Kevin Kunz


Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Becoming A Happily Published Reflexology Author

© Judy823. Image from BigStockPhoto.com.

There are so many more options for publishing your work available today than when we started out with The Complete Guide to Foot Reflexology almost 30 years ago. Back then you had basically two choices, self publishing or going with a publisher.

In 1980 when we started out the odds of making it with a published work through a publisher was 8 out of 10 failing. That meant you had a 20% chance of making it.  And if you did make it your title helped support those the other titles that had failed.

The odds have gotten even worse according to one CEO I talked with. Now the odds are 9 of 10 that your book would fail. Again this is a one in ten chance of making it. A bit grim considering the amount of work publishing a book takes.

 If you chose the self publishing option back then you face a lot of time, money and effort. It costs a lot of money to publish your own book and there is a great deal of time and effort in marketing and selling your book, Then there is storing the book, shipping the book and collecting on the accounts.

The bright side of this is that there are more options available. Electronic books are a lot cheaper because there is not the usual publishing costs like printing, shipping, storing and so forth. Once the book has been produce it can be distributed on a lot of different platforms like eBook readers and smartphones. And it easy to have a worldwide audience.

There is also the option of doing a blog like this one. And this blog is free to use.  There have been bloggers like Julie and Julia who have gone from blog to bestselling book to a movie. So there is a chance you may get noticed.

These blogs are easy to sign up for and they are easy to maintain. Theses blogs are a great way to practice your writing. And they get a lot of exposure, worldwide.

So these are your options. And don't let me discourage you from trying any particular option. Yes the odds are against you with publishers but they aren't impossible. A friend of ours years ago asked about publishing a children's book. I had to be honest that at that point in time publishing was pretty bleak. She went on to produce three bestsellers.

Self publishing is hard but you are your own boss and not held hostage by a publishing system that seems mired in problems. And you collect the whole amount with having to share it with agents and publishers.

But the new options are very intriguing. Electronic books mean you can be in print immediately and don't have to wait a couple of months in self publishing to 8 to 12 months in mainstream publishing. They give you access to a worldwide audience.

Blogs are intriguing because you can be in print the moment you push the "Publish Post" button. They also give you a worldwide audience to speak to about your work. I recently found my blog translated into Japanese. How neat is that?

So at this point there is absolutely nothing standing in your way. We have been with the big publishers, self published, electronically published and blogged. All have their upsides and their downsides. But there is no greater satisfaction than seeing your thoughts and ideas spread through your writing.

So time to start your publishing career. What are you going to write about first?

Kevin Kunz

Facebook www.facebook.com/kevin.kunz

Monday, September 27, 2010

How to Be a Reflexology Writer


© Studio Araminta. Image from BigStockPhoto.com.

We talked earlier about why it is a good idea to become a writer if you are a reflexologist. The next step is how to get started. And the trick here is surprising simple but yet deceivingly difficult. JUST START.

First tip- Take your pen, pencil or computer keyboard and start. That it the greatest advice I can give you. Most people mean to get started but never do.

My father gave me this piece of advice. Just start writing. Don't worry about perfection.  Just put something, anything down to start the process. You or someone else can edit it after you have written it down. Or you can delete it or throw it away but you are started. Success!!!

Second tip- Never stop writing. If you are always writing down your observations, thoughts and so forth it gets easier and easier to express yourself. A journal is a great way to keep the ball rolling. Index cards in your pocket can be a great way to write things down on the go. Scribble with a crayon but do whatever you can to keep writing.

Third tip- Mind map your ideas to get going. (Just Google "Mind mapping". There are a ton of resources.) Mind mapping is a great way to jump start your writing. Simply put you can take a piece of paper and put your central idea in the middle. Then you draw out branches with ideas you think are associated with this idea.

Fourth tip- Find writing you like and then decide why you like it. Break it down and study what it is that appeals to you. Is it a newspaper, a book or a blog? What do you like? what writers do you like?

Fifth tip- What is your passion? What do you have an opinion on? What is interesting to you? Tell me what ignites your interest. Have you observed something you think other reflexologists should know about? Is there a technique you want to talk about? Has a client presented a challenge that you resolved? Remember a simple observation that you may take for granted may be a real revelation or very valuable to another reflexologist.

And example of this is an observation I had made for years on how to spot a tailbone injury. We were doing a class and I happen to mention it. The class was extremely excited to find out about this technique. That one observation lead to the writing MyReflexologist Says: Feet Don't Lie and a revision of The Complete Guide to Foot Reflexology as well as a whole system for stress cue assessment. And we are still writing on it.

Now time to get to it. What do you want to say?


Kevin Kunz






   

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Why Reflexologists Need to Be Writers

© Digimist523.Image from BigStockPhoto.com.

The other day I made the comment that reflexologists need to become writers. There was quite a bit of reaction to my comment. So I thought I would clarify my thinking a little more.

Please understand we never set out to become writers. We were happy to be reflexologists. But as fate would have it there was no book outlining the practices of reflexology and there was a serious threat.

The serious threat was that the techniques and practices had not be documented. And like anything that has not been written down there is a real possibility that these practices can be lost or altered so the existing practices fade out of existence.


There have been many reflexologists over the years who we have encourage to write down their experiences. Many have been reluctant and some have even passed away taking their experiences with them.

Excuses abound from being too busy to not being a very good writer. The bottom line is that if you don't write it down it can slip away very easily.

So here are my reasons to become a reflexology writer.

1) Becoming a writer helps you to become a better reflexologist. Writing helps you to focus on the issues at hand. We are credited with being international experts on reflexology. That didn't happen overnight but there is no question that writing made us focus on what we were observing. It also left a trail that we could pick up on at a later time. It made us focus on each and every pair of feet as a story that need some telling.

2) Becoming a writer documents your work. This isn't just record keeping but it is also documenting your observations. What unique elements did you observe? Or what elements do you see in a fairly consistent basis?

3) Becoming a writer gives you an ability to compare and contrast your results with past results. Or it gives you the ability to compare and contrast the stress cues with other stress cues you have seen. Our whole approach to reading the feet comes from our writing. (We even wrote a whole book on a longer second toe which lead to some really interesting conclusions.)

4) Becoming a writer  promotes a good profession image of you. People respect writers in general as having a purpose and a focused approach. It gives you credibility with not only other your clients but other professionals. Writing is an important part of respected professions.

Finally writing can be a joy. It can let you explore an idea and help it grow. It can be very satisfying to see it finally in print. (I will cover this in the next blog.) Becoming a writer can make you grow as not only a reflexologist but also as a person.

With 17 books in 19 languages we have had a great deal of joy from the letters we have received telling us of the help reflexology has been to them.

Writing is somewhat like touching your toes. If you practice enough it becomes easier and easier.

So get writing and don't stop. What would you write about if you were going to write about reflexology?


Kevin Kunz


Why Reflexologists Need to Be Writers

© Digimist523.Image from BigStockPhoto.com.

The other day I made the comment that reflexologists need to become writers. There was quite a bit of reaction to my comment. So I thought I would clarify my thinking a little more.

Please understand we never set out to become writers. We were happy to be reflexologists. But as fate would have it there was no book outlining the practices of reflexology and there was a serious threat.

The serious threat was that the techniques and practices had not be documented. And like anything that has not been written down there is a real possibility that these practices can be lost or altered so the existing practices fade out of existence.



There have been many reflexologists over the years who we have encourage to write down their experiences. Many have been reluctant and some have even passed away taking their experiences with them.

Excuses abound from being too busy to not being a very good writer. The bottom line is that if you don't write it down it can slip away very easily.

So here are my reasons to become a reflexology writer.

1) Becoming a writer helps you to become a better reflexologist. Writing helps you to focus on the issues at hand. We are credited with being international experts on reflexology. That didn't happen overnight but there is no question that writing made us focus on what we were observing. It also left a trail that we could pick up on at a later time. It made us focus on each and every pair of feet as a story that need some telling.

2) Becoming a writer documents your work. This isn't just record keeping but it is also documenting your observations. What unique elements did you observe? Or what elements do you see in a fairly consistent basis?

3) Becoming a writer gives you an ability to compare and contrast your results with past results. Or it gives you the ability to compare and contrast the stress cues with other stress cues you have seen. Our whole approach to reading the feet comes from our writing. (We even wrote a whole book on a longer second toe which lead to some really interesting conclusions.)

4) Becoming a writer  promotes a good profession image of you. People respect writers in general as having a purpose and a focused approach. It gives you credibility with not only other your clients but other professionals. Writing is an important part of respected professions.

Finally writing can be a joy. It can let you explore an idea and help it grow. It can be very satisfying to see it finally in print. (I will cover this in the next blog.) Becoming a writer can make you grow as not only a reflexologist but also as a person.

With 17 books in 19 languages we have had a great deal of joy from the letters we have received telling us of the help reflexology has been to them.

Writing is somewhat like touching your toes. If you practice enough it becomes easier and easier.

So get writing and don't stop. What would you write about if you were going to write about reflexology?


Kevin Kunz


Why Reflexologists Need to Be Writers

The other day I made the comment that reflexologists need to become writers. There was quite a bit of reaction to my comment. So I thought I would clarify my thinking a little more.

Please understand we never set out to become writers. We were happy to be reflexologists. But as fate would have it there was no book outlining the practices of reflexology and there was a serious threat.

The serious threat was that the techniques and practices had not be documented. And like anything that has not been written down there is a real possibility that these practices can be lost or altered so the existing practices fade out of existence.
© Digimist523.Image from BigStockPhoto.com.

There have been many reflexologists over the years who we have encourage to write down their experiences. Many have been reluctant and some have even passed away taking their experiences with them.

Excuses abound from being too busy to not being a very good writer. The bottom line is that if you don't write it down it can slip away very easily.

So here are my reasons to become a reflexology writer.

1) Becoming a writer helps you to become a better reflexologist. Writing helps you to focus on the issues at hand. We are credited with being international experts on reflexology. That didn't happen overnight but there is no question that writing made us focus on what we were observing. It also left a trail that we could pick up on at a later time. It made us focus on each and every pair of feet as a story that need some telling.

2) Becoming a writer documents your work. This isn't just record keeping but it is also documenting your observations. What unique elements did you observe? Or what elements do you see in a fairly consistent basis?

3) Becoming a writer gives you an ability to compare and contrast your results with past results. Or it gives you the ability to compare and contrast the stress cues with other stress cues you have seen. Our whole approach to reading the feet comes from our writing. (We even wrote a whole book on a longer second toe which lead to some really interesting conclusions.)

4) Becoming a writer  promotes a good profession image of you. People respect writers in general as having a purpose and a focused approach. It gives you credibility with not only other your clients but other professionals. Writing is an important part of respected professions.

Finally writing can be a joy. It can let you explore an idea and help it grow. It can be very satisfying to see it finally in print. (I will cover this in the next blog.) Becoming a writer can make you grow as not only a reflexologist but also as a person.

With 17 books in 19 languages we have had a great deal of joy from the letters we have received telling us of the help reflexology has been to them.

Writing is somewhat like touching your toes. If you practice enough it becomes easier and easier.

So get writing and don't stop. What would you write about if you were going to write about reflexology?


Kevin Kunz


Monday, September 20, 2010

World Reflexology Week- Become An Author

To celebrate World Reflexology Week I have a great idea. Reflexologists should become authors. After all everyday stories are being made through the work of reflexologists all over this world.

I have been a reflexologist for over three decades. During that time I have seen reflexologists with remarkable stories to tell neglecting to write them down. And some are sadly lost forever.

With blogging and other forms of social media there is no longer any excuses for not making a record of what you have seen and observed. The blogging site I use is free and very easy to use.

And if you want to take it one step further publishing in today's Internet world is remarkably simple. You can even get your works on Amazon and other ebook sites.

So what is your story? Write it down and share it with the world. Thank you.


Kevin Kunz


Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Forest Bathing- Forest Medicine

Could forests cure cancer? I don't know but a 50% increase in white blood cells? WOW!!!

Imagine if they had done this experiment without their shoes. Or if they had added reflexology to the mix what would the outcome been?

I love the terms "forest bathing" and "forest medicine". 

Forest bathing enhances human natural killer activity and expression of anti-cancer proteins.

Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo. qing-li@nms.ac.jp

Abstract

In order to explore the effect of forest bathing on human immune function, we investigated natural killer (NK) activity; the number of NK cells, and perforin, granzymes and granulysin-expression in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) during a visit to forest fields. Twelve healthy male subjects, age 37-55 years, were selected with informed consent from three large companies in Tokyo, Japan. The subjects experienced a three-day/two-night trip in three different forest fields. On the first day, subjects walked for two hours in the afternoon in a forest field; and on the second day, they walked for two hours in the morning and afternoon, respectively, in two different forest fields. Blood was sampled on the second and third days, and NK activity; proportions of NK, T cells, granulysin, perforin, and granzymes A/B-expressing cells in PBL were measured. Similar measurements were made before the trip on a normal working day as the control. Almost all of the subjects (11/12) showed higher NK activity after the trip (about 50 percent increased) compared with before. There are significant differences both before and after the trip and between days 1 and 2 in NK activity. The forest bathing trip also significantly increased the numbers of NK, perforin, granulysin, and granzymes A/B-expressing cells. Taken together, these findings indicate that a forest bathing trip can increase NK activity, and that this effect at least partially mediated by increasing the number of NK cells and by the induction of intracellular anti-cancer protein.


Kevin Kunz

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Kunz & Kunz Publishing Launched

Dear Friends

We are pleased to announce the launch of Kunz & Kunz Publishing. 

Kunz & Kunz Publishing will expand its natural solutions for self-reliant health care with new digital titles and educational wellness systems.

The new business follows on the heels of a successful year of publishing and viral marketing for Barbara and Kevin Kunz. In the past year, 95,000 Kunz and Kunz books and kits have been sold.

The figures includes sales propelled by viral marketing. Most notable were sales of 60,000 copies of Reflexology, Health at your fingertips (Dorling Kindersley), driven by installs of 32,000 widgets of an Interactive Reflexology Chart developed from the book. Further sales include: 15,000 copies of Hand Reflexology and Complete Reflexology for Life (Dorling Kindersley) as well as 20,000 kits sold (Barnes & Noble).

The month of August saw increased activity with the Kunz and Kunz Web page and App receiving: 510,000 hits at www.reflexology-research.com and17,430 downloads of an Interactive Reflexology Chart App at ITunes.


Barbara and Kevin Kunz
Kunz& Kunz Publishing