Recently at a Fashion Week presentation, a bare-footed Katie Holmes urged fashion editors to take their shoes off, saying that her own feet hurt. The response of the fashion world was one of outrage and disgust but I salute her for giving her feet a well-deserved rest.

The 'Dream On' massage, specifically designed to alleviate sleep deprivation, promised to use a combination of Swedish massage, reflexology and head massage, to pummel away and soothe my tired mind and body.

Energetically speaking, there are two main approaches to a reflexology treatment, and it's down to the skill of the therapist to ascertain which one is best. One can choose to act according to a non-interference principle, as simple 'catalyst': this is when there isn't really an interaction between patient and therapist. The therapist 'lends' his/her energy as a medium to support healing. The mere 'presence' of the therapist is enough to help the healing process, the treatment being the medium. A second avenue is the one of active release, where the therapist actively stimulates or seeks to modify energy patterns, having identified an imbalance.

We all know that getting enough sleep is good for us. But I have a mental block when it comes to sleeping. I asked for some advice when having reflexology a few months ago, and last week I asked my reflexologist Paolo, to remind me which pressure points can be worked on at home, when struggling to sleep and relax.