What is Foot Zoning?
Curious about foot zoning?
Foot Zoning is a gentle, whole-body practice that works through the feet to support balance, communication, and regulation throughout the body.
Every organ, gland, system, and cell in the body communicates through the nervous system. These communication pathways are reflected on the feet, creating a detailed map of what is happening inside the body.
By working specific areas of the feet, Foot Zoning supports the body’s natural ability to recognize stress, restore communication, and move back toward balance. Although the work is done on the feet, the effects are felt throughout the entire body.
Foot Zoning honors the body as an interconnected system rather than a collection of separate symptoms.
Many people are familiar with reflexology and assume Foot Zoning is the same. While they share early roots, they are not the same in depth, purpose, or application.
A helpful way to understand the difference is this:
Reflexology is like the tip of the iceberg.
Foot Zoning works with the entire iceberg beneath the surface.
Reflexology
-
Primarily works on mapped points on the bottom of the feet
-
Often follows a routine approach
-
Focuses mainly on surface-level physical response
-
Does not include analysis of the body’s current state
Reflexology can be relaxing and supportive, but it does not work with the full communication system of the body.
Foot Zoning
-
Works on the tops, sides, and bottoms of the feet
-
Addresses vertical and horizontal communication pathways
-
Includes both Zone Analysis and Zone Balancing
-
Always completes a full zone to support the body as a whole
Rather than targeting isolated symptoms, Foot Zoning works with the body as a complete, communicating system.
How Foot Zoning Works
A Foot Zoning session works with the body through two essential components: Zone Analysis and Zone Balancing. Together, these support awareness, communication, and balance across the entire body.
Zone Analysis: Listening to the Body Through the Feet
Zone Analysis is the part of Foot Zoning where the practitioner listens to what the body is communicating.
Zone Analysis is the observation of the body’s current state and takes place before, during, and after a Zone Balancing session. Through careful awareness using sight, touch, sound, smell, and intuitive perception, the practitioner gathers information from the feet that reflects how the body is functioning on physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels.
This practice provides valuable insight into patterns, areas of stress, and imbalances that may benefit from additional attention, nurturing, or support. Zone Analysis helps the practitioner understand how the body is communicating and what it may be asking for in the present moment.
The information gathered through Zone Analysis serves as meaningful data points that reflect the body’s history and current state. These observations help guide each session with greater clarity and intention, supporting the body in regaining or maintaining balance and overall well being. Many of these signals are often overlooked, misunderstood, or mislabeled, yet when observed with care, they offer a deeper understanding of the body and its needs.
Zone Balancing: Supporting the Body Back Toward Balance
Zone Balancing is the part of Foot Zoning where the body is gently guided back toward clearer communication.
Zone Balancing is a structured and systematic modality in which the practitioner follows a detailed map on the feet to work with the body’s internal signal system. Through precise and intentional hand techniques, these signals are supported and guided in an orderly and purposeful way to encourage balance and harmony throughout the body.
This approach is designed to support the body’s natural ability to recalibrate and reorganize itself. Zone Balancing works with the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the individual, helping the body reconnect with its original blueprint and move toward greater alignment and stability. The focus is on supporting balance and overall function, allowing the body to respond in the way it knows best.
A WHOLE-BODY, WHOLE-PERSON APPROACH
The body does not operate in isolation.
The nervous system influences digestion. Hormones influence mood and sleep. Emotional stress impacts physical health. Foot Zoning works with the entire body during every session rather than focusing on one symptom or system.
By supporting the whole system at once, the body is given the opportunity to restore balance more gently and completely. This approach honors the connection between body, mind, and spirit.
The History of Foot Zoning
Foot Zoning traces its roots back to what was originally known as Foot Zone Therapy, a form of Zone Therapy that has existed in various cultures for tens of thousands of years.
Across ancient civilizations, Zone Therapy was used as a method to support overall health and wellness by working with the body as an interconnected whole.
In the early 20th century, Ed Case and Ellen Case of Los Angeles uncovered compelling historical evidence of these practices while traveling through Egypt. During their tour, they discovered an ancient Egyptian papyrus depicting medical practitioners treating the hands and feet of patients. They also found six pictographs illustrating childbirth, dentistry, embalming, pharmacology, and reflexology in the tomb of Ankhmahor at Saqqara, near Cairo. These artifacts date back to approximately 2500 BC, offering powerful evidence that working through the hands and feet was an established healing practice thousands of years ago.
Zone Therapy re-emerged in modern history through William Fitzgerald (1872–1946), an American ear, nose, and throat specialist. Dr. Fitzgerald developed the theory that the body is divided into ten vertical zones, or electrical circuits, running from head to toe. He discovered that applying pressure in specific movements and patterns within these zones could produce pain relief and functional changes elsewhere in the body. His work was later documented by Edwin Bowers, who formally referred to these vertical meridians as “zones.”
In the 1950s, a Norwegian physician, Charles Ersdal, experienced relief from paralysis after receiving Zone Therapy treatments.
This life-changing experience led Dr. Ersdal to dedicate the next 26 years to researching and refining Foot Zone Therapy.
Through his work, he concluded that the body possesses its own innate healing intelligence and that, when properly stimulated through precise foot treatments, it can restore balance on its own. Dr. Ersdal emphasized that the body responds best when treated as an integrated, interrelated system rather than as isolated parts. He charted how Foot Zone Therapy influences communication between the brain, blood circulation, lymphatic system, and musculoskeletal system.
Dr. Ersdal’s work was carried forward by Katri Nordblom, a German-trained naturopath who studied under his mentorship. Katri began teaching Foot Zone Therapy in her home country of Sweden, where she made pivotal discoveries of her own. Through her work, she identified specific signals in the feet related to the inner organs, particularly the pancreas, and realized that the feet could also be used to analyze the current state of the body, not just support it.
In the spring of 1989, Katri and her husband Hans Nordblom moved to the United States, bringing Foot Zone Therapy with them. As Katri continued her work and made increasingly revelatory discoveries, she evolved the practice beyond its original framework. This led her to change the modality’s name from Foot Zone Therapy to FootZonology, reflecting its deeper, more comprehensive approach. In 1990, Katri and Hans founded the Nordblom American Institute of FootZonology, where FootZonology was formally taught and preserved.
In 2006, Amber Bodily was introduced to Foot Zoning. She studied directly under Katri Nordblom, became a Foot Zoner, and later an instructor at the Nordblom American Institute of FootZonology.
Amber’s dedication to the work was deeply personal—she successfully used Foot Zoning to support the healing of her first two sons, further solidifying her commitment to the modality.
Through years of study and clinical experience, Amber recognized that Foot Zoning was most effective when paired with additional healing modalities. She went on to study extensively with a wide range of teachers, including Tano Lucero, Anthony William, indigenous leaders, herbalists, and medical doctors. From this, she developed a holistic approach to Foot Zoning that integrates nutrition, biomagnetism, phototherapy, and other complementary practices.
As her work deepened, Amber experienced a refinement in how she understood the body. She learned to see the body intuitively, to listen to what it was communicating, and to feel where stress and past experiences were being held. Through presence and careful observation, she began to recognize patterns, responses, and connections within the body—not to diagnose or fix, but to understand. This approach honors the body as an intelligent system and responds with awareness, respect, and support rather than force.
Amber felt a profound responsibility to bridge the wisdom of early Foot Zoning practices with the complexities of modern health challenges. She sought to expand its application by integrating insights from quantum science, energy medicine, and holistic health disciplines. The result is Integrative Foot Zoning™, the most modern, thorough, and comprehensive evolution of Foot Zoning available today—designed to support the body in resetting, rejuvenating, and recalibrating at its deepest levels. Amber continues to refine and teach this work, combining multiple healing modalities into what is now known as Integrative Foot Zoning™.
This is the work that guided my own healing. During a season when my body felt unpredictable and traditional answers felt incomplete, Foot Zoning offered clarity, structure, and connection.
Working directly with Amber helped me understand my body as an intelligent, interconnected system rather than a collection of symptoms. Through this process, I experienced firsthand how powerful it can be to support the body rather than force it. I trained directly under Amber, learning not only the techniques, but the philosophy, presence, and respect for the body that define Integrative Foot Zoning. This lineage is the foundation of the work I offer today.
"Foot Zoning is a groundbreaking approach that explores the intricate connection between our DNA code and the cells within our body through the signal system present in our feet. This unique system serves as a direct link between every cell's DNA code and our inner blueprint..." - Amber Bodily
When the entire body is supported through a full zone, the nervous system receives clearer signals.
This allows the body to regulate, adapt, and respond more effectively over time.
Foot Zoning does not force change. It creates the conditions that allow the body to do what it already knows how to do.
Serving Northern California, Utah and Wyoming.
Integrative Foot Zoning rooted in education, lived experience, and respect for the body’s innate intelligence.
(Feet Analysis + Call can be done for those who cannot come in person)
Listening to the body. Supporting balance. Healing from the feet up.
© 2026 Brooke Mickelsen Health. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy. Designed by Brand & Bloom.
Integrative Footzoning is a wellness modality intended for educational and supportive purposes only. I am not a medical doctor and do not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition. Information shared through sessions, consultations, or educational content is not medical advice. Integrative Footzoning is not a substitute for medical care. Clients are encouraged to consult with a qualified healthcare provider for medical concerns and to continue any prescribed treatments. Individual results vary and no guarantees are made. By engaging in Integrative Footzoning services, you acknowledge responsibility for your own health decisions.