THE POWER OF REIKI
Hands-on therapy for you and your loved one
BY:JULIE BOTTERI
When peripheral arterial disease demanded another bypass surgery for my mother, I changed bandages, monitored for infection, administered meds. Yet my contributions were mostly inconspicuous, defined by an undeniable, constant heat that ignited my palms. The tingling was strongest when I laid my hands on her abdomen, legs and feet. Within days, healing proof: garish incisions mended, staples were removed early and her circulation improved. My assertion that Reiki energy had contributed to her healing, though, left her-and the doctor-perplexed.Transcendental ideas elude us. We're conditioned to think we exist only in the flesh. However, universal creative energy organizes everything in our world. Reiki (ray-kee) connects us to this infinite energy, recharging our organs and body cells. Rei (higher intelligence, the all-knowing universal mind) and ki (life-force energy) work together to help restore the body to wholeness based on its vibration or subtle energy need.
Originating in ancient Eastern cultures, hands-on healing for body and spirit was rediscovered by Dr. Mikao Usui (1865-1926), a Buddhist monk who taught others this religiously neutral appreciation for life. Today, over four million people worldwide practice self-Reiki as a common stress-reduction tool to promote stillness, clarity and clear pathways for energy flow.
Fueled by our need for mind-body awareness and prevention techniques, receiving and practicing Reiki can be an invaluable tool for maintaining health, personal renewal and growth. You needn't believe in anything; you need only have the open-mindedness to experience it.
Subtle, Pure, Invisible
The "self" has four levels: a solid physical frame; emotions; an intellectual understanding of things; and our spiritual endeavor to be content, to love unconditionally and transition peacefully into death. When these levels are stressed, our energy centers—or chakras—become blocked and we become worn out and lethargic.
Unresolved conflicts, deep-seated hurts, depression or family anxieties can result in "dis-ease" as well as manifest into physical illness. But, when ki flows freely, we are strong, confident and healthy. This rejuvenation provided by a Reiki treatment can help caregivers approach long days with stamina, direction, a better perspective, and both a rested mind and body.
What's Involved?
A typical Reiki session involves gentle or no touch. Clothed, you either sit comfortably or lay on a massage table while the practitioner places his or her hands around your head, shoulders, torso, stomach and back, in eight positions of three to five minutes each. A session lasts approximately 60 minutes, longer if needed.
Sensory experiences vary; some people see dazzling colors, feel warmth, tingling or heightened emotions—or nothing at all. A refreshing, peaceful feeling, though, is absolute. This deep relaxation encourages your mind and body to release tension, fear and anxiety, with twofold benefits: lowered heart rate and blood pressure, and stimulation of the brain to release pain-relieving endorphins which boost the immune system to help ward off viruses. Reiki energy is not controlled or manipulated, and flows where your body most needs it.
Reiki's supportive healing enhances gradual recuperation, and can be combined with any medical therapy. "Especially when arduous medical treatment is needed to address serious illness, Reiki can help care for the person while physicians focus their attention on the disease," says Pamela Miles, a 30-year practitioner and author of Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide.
The earlier Reiki is administered, however, the more profound the response, especially with afflictions as common as colds, flu, stomach aches and headaches, hypertension, chronic pain, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Often these result from overlooked stress, unhealthy breathing, poor posture, lack of sleep or digestive upset. People also have reported relief from minor bruises, cuts and burns. Others have reported weight loss, which it is suggested results from less abundant stress hormones in the bloodstream, which otherwise cause the body to retain weight. With better sleep, less emotional- or stress-related eating, you make better food choices and eventually can lose weight.
What Is Self-Reiki?
Learning to practice Reiki does not require prior healing experience or training. Its simple techniques can be taught to a person of any age or state of health. The most compelling reason to use Reiki is that it works, and is beneficial to all of us in some way. "Although Reiki can help people with any medical condition," says Miles, "it's wise to start using Reiki while one is still healthy to help strengthen well-being rather than to wait for disease to strike. But when there is a medical condition, learning Reiki self-treatment can enhance well-being, reduce side effects of medication and speed recovery...providing an easy transition to a more healthful lifestyle."
A self-Reiki treatment consists of 12 to 15 hand positions, depending on one's preference. A complete treatment takes 30 to 40 minutes, but you can determine how much time you allot. However, extra time for Reiki is not required because many of the positions can be incorporated into normal activities like sitting at a desk, talking on the phone, watching TV or lying in bed to drift off to sleep. Common hand positions include: resting on top of the head with fingertips touching; cupped slightly with palms over each eye and fingers resting on the forehead; cupped at the side of the head, covering the ears; and variations of placing hands horizontally along the torso, with fingertips touching.
Taking care of oneself is practical, not selfish, according to Maggie Chambers and Libby Barnett, co-authors of Reiki Energy Medicine: Bringing Healing Touch Into Home, Hospital and Hospice. "If our desire is to help others, we must first be full within ourselves. Reiki is a way of achieving this fullness with little effort or time," says Chambers. "Caregivers," Barnett adds, "deserve their own well-being and can honor themselves with Reiki, replenishing lost energy reserves."
Learning the Techniques
Although teaching styles vary, Reiki I (or First Degree) initiation classes are appealingly doable in a weekend, with approximately 10 to 12 hours of class time and practice. You generally spend your time not only learning the history and Usui precepts of Reiki, but also the appropriate hand placements. First Degree Reiki training enables you to practice hands-on Reiki on yourself; the most important element of the class is the initiation that empowers you to begin practice. This attunement unlocks your existing healing channel, raising your personal energy field enough to act as a conduit for Reiki to flow spontaneously and effortlessly.
Once you've been attuned, self-treatment and treating others can begin at once simply by placing your hands gently on yourself or another. Miles encourages students to use hand placements, but says "the most important thing for you to know is that at any given moment of need, you can access Reiki healing simply by placing your Reiki hand or hands on yourself or someone else, wherever you can." Says one Reiki student, "It was the most valuable alternative-medicine class I've taken, opening a healing skill that is really simple.... What a gift to be able to be my own therapist!"
A Natural Experience
Increasingly integrated into conventional medicine, Reiki helps minimize trauma from invasive procedures while promoting patient recovery, quickened healing and shorter hospital stays. Used worldwide in emergency rooms, hospice, psychiatric settings, nursing homes, neonatal care units, obstetrics and organ-transplantation care units, Reiki is commonly credited with patients' improved appetite, sleep and decreased anxiety.
"Some of the most powerful things in this world cannot be seen or quantitatively measured, like love," says Linda M. LaFlamme, executive director of the International Association of Reiki Professionals. "Reiki cannot be seen, and it is difficult to see it as real in physical terms. The only way to form an educated opinion is to experience it. Many people have tried it and realized its benefits...and that is why it is growing so rapidly."
If you are considering learning to practice Reiki, you will want a Reiki master with whom you feel at ease, one who is open to sharing and who facilitates learning. As you consider your options, ask questions such as: "Do you self-treat every day?" "Are you committed to Reiki as a practice?" "What can I expect during the session?" "Do you incorporate other practices with Reiki?" "Were you physically present with your Reiki master during your initiations?"
Be cautious of practitioners who solicit themselves with just Internet training. Your choice is as much about personal preference as it is about their experience with Reiki and the healing process itself.