Westport’s Vicky Tindal launches The Reflexology Room

Vicky Tindal, who has lived in Westport for the past eighteen years, says her journey from international aid work to holistic health has been ‘a long time coming.’

“I grew up beside the sea in Donegal, and I have always had an interest in health and complementary therapies,” she told The Mayo News.

“I had a completely different career before I moved to Mayo. I was an aid worker, so I lived all over the world and worked in some very traumatic and stressful situations. It was an amazing, challenging, and very privileged experience,” she said.

After returning to Ireland to work with Trócaire, she met her husband, actor Lochlann Ó Mearáin, who would collect her from the airport when she returned from work in conflict zones: “We’d drive to the west and dream about living there.”

The couple married, settled in Westport, and raised four children. For a time, she continued working as a consultant for aid agencies, but as her family grew, she began looking for a change.

“I first came across reflexology through my sister, who is a natural therapist.” Her fascination came about when working with her sister one summer. “I was surrounded by all kinds of complementary therapists. It really opened my eyes to another way of helping people.”

Now that fascination has turned into a full-fledged vocation.

“I’ve always loved working with people,” she said. Working two days a week in a health food shop, Vicky says, “Reflexology feels like an extension of that. It’s about listening, caring, and supporting other people.”

So, what is reflexology? It is described as a “complementary therapy”, not an alternative one, she explains.

Overall well-being

“IT supports overall well-being. Using gentle thumb and finger pressure, we work on reflex points on the feet or hands that correspond to organs and systems in the body. It’s a holistic therapy, so it works through the whole body. It considers the physical, emotional, and even spiritual aspects of health.”

Stress, she says, is something everyone can relate to. “We all experience stress; it’s part of life. But prolonged stress can cause inflammation, which in turn can lead to long-term health issues. Reflexology helps calm the system and reduce that inflammation.”

As she prepares to welcome clients to The Reflexology Room in Brackloon, Vicky hopes they will leave feeling restored and rebalanced. “I want people to have a moment for themselves — a bit of calm, some time out, and hopefully a really good night’s sleep afterwards.”

The qualified reflexologist says, “A course of 6 treatments is where the real transformation happens physically, mentally, and emotionally.”

Vicky is fully insured and registered with the National Register of Reflexologists Ireland (NRRI), meaning clients with private health insurance such as Laya, VHI, and others may be eligible to claim back some or all of their treatment costs.