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What is Reiki?
The word Rei-ki means “spiritually guided life force energy” and this practice is a popular and gentle type of energy therapy that involves hands-on healing by a master practitioner. The master practitioner acts as the conduit for the positive “universal life force” allowing it to flow through him/her to the patient. This warming force helps to promote deep relaxation, a sense of well being, and encourages the body’s innate ability to heal itself.
Reiki is an ancient energetic healing practice believed to have originated thousands of years ago in Tibet, was subsequently lost then renewed in the 1800s by Dr.
Mikao Usui, a Japanese monk.
What is a Reiki session like?
Each session typically lasts between one hour and one-and-a-half hours. During a session the patient lies on a massage table fully clothed, and is then guided into slow and deep breathing. This allows for a more effective transfer of energy, and creates a calm, relaxed atmosphere that is conducive to the healing process. The practitioner puts their hands in specific positions on the patient’s body in problem areas and channels Reiki, usually starting at the head and going down to the feet, holding each position for about 5 to10 minutes.
Reiki therapy is applied in order to reduce tension and stress while promoting the expansion of self-awareness: it does this through identifying problem areas in the patient’s body including areas that have not previously displayed obvious symptoms, and by directing both the practitioner’s and the patient’s intense focus where it is most needed. Reiki can be used to treat any condition affecting a person’s mental, emotional, spiritual or physical well being, and it works well as a complementary therapy to massage, chiropractic or physiotherapy.
Reiki Now
Over the last 15 years, Reiki’s use has increased among nurses, physicians, physiotherapists and massage therapists. It is now used in hospitals, emergency departments, psychiatric settings, nursing homes, operating rooms, family practice, and other settings all over the world. Mary Anderson, a nurse and treasurer of the Reiki federation of Ireland, told the Irish Times that “in Reiki, we learn how to access a higher energy. We channel it and use our hands to bring it to the client. During a treatment, we're connected to the higher life-force which then passes through us so that the client's energy can take from it what it needs to heal.”
One study on the effects of Reiki found that the oxygen-carrying capacity within a person’s blood was increased after a Reiki session. This means that when an individual receives the Reiki energy during a session, more oxygen is delivered to all the billions of cells in their body. Oxygen helps our body cells remove toxins and carry out functions so that healing and detoxification may occur at a fundamental level.
Recently, it was reported that the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs has included Reiki in their Hepatitis C treatment program to ease recovery of an overtaxed liver. Also, it was found that healing military personnel with Reiki helps to reduce the severity of combat-induced conditions such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. The healing practice of Reiki is now becoming a necessary component of an optimal alternative healing program and various organizations have invested millions of dollars towards research and implementation of this therapy.
I have been practicing Reiki as a Reiki master for 2 years and have seen many beneficial effects on my clients, including mental clarity, reduced anxiety, headache relief, reduced fibromyalgia pain, and relief from muscle pain.
Sources:
Meaher, Ilona. Military and VA Using Reiki to Heal Returning Veterans.
www.thejournaleplurbiusmedia.net, Aug 24, 2008
Mulvey, Clodagh. Energy Channels. irishtimes.com, August 5, 2008
Wetzel, Wendy. Reiki Healing: A Physiological Perspective. Journal of Holistic Nursing,
7; 47. 1989
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