With so many different healing modalities available, why choose Reiki? Many people choose Reiki because of its profound simplicity and wide-ranging application. Reiki can be done in person or at a distance. Like electricity, the energy our body creates flows and is measurable. Like gravity, Reiki is an unseen and ever-present force.
So, what is Reiki?
The American National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s definition for this practice is: “Reiki is a complementary health practice in which practitioners place their hands lightly on or just above the person, with the goal of facilitating the person’s own healing response.”
Reiki connects the full body together. Our thinking brain is connected to our emotional heart and intuitive gut through the Vagus Nerve. Serotonin and dopamine are created in our gut. It travels to the brain leaving the greatest amount in the gut.
When we are triggered or anxiety in its fullness shows up, our breathing becomes shallow making it harder to easily oxygenate the cells. We can actively make a difference.
Reiki releases things we are done with energetically carrying. “I appreciate talk therapy, but sometimes we just don’t know what we are releasing.”
Reiki calms the body, decreases anxiety. Our toes are farthest from our heart and lungs. Having areas of our physical body needing more oxygen automatically increases the feelings of anxiety.
Reiki provides clarity and increased creativity. “When driving my car out of the garage, I like to think of my third eye as having a garage door. As a sensitive, I want to be safe and aware, however I don’t need to take everything in. As I pull out and close the garage door, I like to close the garage door over my 3rd eye.”
“Now, when I get home, if I forget to open my 3rd eye, I might feel disconnected from my loved ones.”
This space is also the center of our creativity. All things begin in darkness. A new life, a sprouting seed underground, a new star.
Bodies want to move towards homeostasis, balance, wholeness. Reiki encourages the body to relax and find balance, allowing the body towards homeostasis. “We call it ‘healing’.”
Reiki origins
Born out of a culture of meditation, Reiki is a gentle practice that seeks to help the body move towards balance, facilitating faster healing. It does not replace western medicine like yoga, essential oils and deep breathing, it complements it.
“I see Reiki as a foundational tool, or a gateway for all other healing modalities. Before it could be scientifically proven, Einstein knew two or more places were inner connected energetically. Today, we call it ‘quantum physics’, and when the actions of one person impacts events or energies in a different location, we call it ‘quantum entanglement’. Do you have experience with quantum entanglement or prayer?”
Time and space, or distance, are Earthly constraints. The unseen world is not bound by Earthly constraints. When someone holds the vision for another to heal, or holds them in Light, whether they are in the room, the next room or across the country, source of Reiki listens, changes occur.
The physical distance between the one asking and the one needing is irrelevant in this case. To “use” or apply Reiki, life energy guided by spiritual wisdom, just two things are “needed”:
- A request
-
The Reiki practitioner’s willingness to put aside ego, open intuition and allow healing to flow.
Perhaps another way is to say: an awareness of a need and willingness to open to the healing flow. No other tools are needed. Reiki requires no music, crystals or pendulum. These tools were added later by others who found them helpful. And they can be very useful.
“Sometimes I’m asked how I ‘work’. During a Reiki session, sometimes I feel angels present ‘doing the work’.” Here are some scenarios you may experience:
- You’re simply present.
- No colors.
- No energetic “hits”.
- You are fully present and its quiet.
“Other times, I may be prompted to use or have the client hold crystals”. A Selenite wand over full body at the end can be very helpful to finish the session. Rhythm can be helpful. It could be swaying to support balancing energy, or using an instrument, like a drum. Or singing or humming healing sounds. Occasionally kneeling to pray, seeing the heaviness in pure Light, feeling it transmute.
In each healing, the intention is wholeness, and the client receives exactly what she is ready for in that moment. Reiki is the foundational healing modality because of its simplicity.
It doesn’t matter what mood one is in, how much sleep, or how helpful one feels like being in the moment. If you allow it, Reiki naturally flows. (Even cracked pots carry water).
“Reiki is a complementary health practice in which practitioners place their hands lightly on or just above the person, with the goal of FACILITATING the person’s own healing response.” NCCAM
Hands on Reiki may be done on yourself, another, pets, animals or even plants! Anything living!
The idea of a practitioner placing hands directly on the body or lightly above is important to note. Some American states require a massage license in order to touch the body. Additionally, when the Reiki receiver has just had surgery or been hurt, beaming Reiki’s healing energy into the space with hands just above the body is necessary.
Reiki is a compound word. Rei in Japanese means “spirit” or “spiritual wisdom.” In Hebrew Rei means “my shepherd” or protector. Ki, prana or chi as some call it, is “life energy”.
Life Energy
All living things have energy. When a person’s life energy, or Ki, is seriously weakened or under great stress, they may look pale, perhaps withdrawn. If not attended to, their parasympathetic nervous system may move to crisis mode.
On the other hand, when someone is full of life, or their Ki is strong and flowing, they appear vibrant. Breathing deeply is easy. Problem solving flows more naturally. Creativity is easy. One sees oneself as capable.
Although spiritual in nature, Reiki is not religious. Many students from different faiths have taken Reiki classes with me and have embraced and enjoyed the benefits of being attuned to Reiki. One does not need prior experience with Reiki to fully participate in this time together.
Reiki, like peace, is an experience of healing from Source of Reiki. And like peace, one must be willing to receive and allow Reiki in. If someone has never experienced peace, they have no context for how gentle and stabilizing the experience is. Same with Reiki.
And some have “had” Reiki “done” to them, but never got to a quiet or perhaps centered place. Maybe they didn’t get the sought after expected immediate result. Reiki is like the blessing of hearing good news. If the recipient isn’t ready, that’s okay, the healing Reiki energy will flow where it’s wanted. Reiki does not go where it is not wanted. And one cannot demand a certain result.
An energetic force for Light, Reiki can only do good. One cannot give a person or situation too much Reiki. Anyone can be connected to Source of Reiki through an attunement. It is the action of developing this healing art that only some choose to commit to.
Reiki can flow creating beautiful, healthy boundaries originating from something other than yourself. You’re not exhausted at the end of a session; you are actually being healed while allowing Reiki to flow through you.
People who can feel energy may be labeled as an ’empath”. “I prefer the word ‘sensitive’ because I am sensitive to energy. As an empath I feel like I’m sitting at the end of a fire hose of energy and have to take it all in, and it IS too much! As a sensitive, I get to see all the energy and decide what I want to interact with.”
This perspective allows my inner Being grace and opens my intuitive conversation with Source of Reiki even more. Healers and sensitives are like established majestic oak trees continually dependent on nutrients gracefully flowing through its deep, secure root structure.
In our daily journeys we experience a continual need for renewal. Our inner-dependance on spiritual nutrients can easily and effortlessly be fulfilled through our connection with Source of Reiki.
Why is Reiki an essential tool for sensitives?
There’s the seen world. This is the one we easily touch, smell, see. And there’s the unseen world where the “clair” prefix is used to describe abilities:
- Clairvoyant: seeing
- Clairaudience: hearing
- Claircognition: gut sense, knowingness
- Clairsentience: tactile
Which of these resonate with you? You can develop them, if you wish. There are many benefits to the healing energy of Reiki. As the physical, emotional and spiritual bodies move towards relaxation through the practice of Reiki, the immune system is enhanced.
Reiki’s healing energy can benefit all areas of life and to be clear, Reiki does NOT:
- Take the place of medical or psychological treatment
- Negate a person’s personal responsibility for their actions
- Treat those who do not want to be treated by Reiki, Source of Reiki
respects free will.
“Here are some Reiki benefits I have observed while teaching and being a Reiki practitioner. I’ve loosely grouped them by using the five arenas: emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, social.”
Emotional:
- Effective in diminishing anxiety levels
- Increased sense of connection to self
- Enhanced connection, sense of grounding
- Renewed sense of being valued
Mental:
- Increased focus and commitment
- Increased “balanced” thinking by using both hemispheres to
solve problems - Increased sense of purpose when awakening
- Deeper, more sustained state of balance
- Increased awareness of untapped inner resources
Physical:
- Strengthened sense of well-being
- Effective and rapid de-stressor
- Increased energy
- Rapid decrease in feelings of pain
- Deeper, more restful nights of sleep
Social:
- Willingness to calendar time for self-care
- Increased desire to commit and invest in personal relationships
- Increased balance physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and
socially - Helpful in traversing deep loss of self, depression
- Increased willingness to be in community, rather than withdrawing
Spiritual:
- Creating space for meaningful and lasting experiences of inner peace with tranquility
- A sense of timelessness, stillness, of being
- A renewed and refreshed Spirit
- Broader sense of spiritual connectedness
- Increased desire to use intuition, and bravery to follow through
- Willingness to find a fair compromise
- Courage to take intuitive risks
- A sense of knowing I am enough
What do you want to increase in your life?
TO DO: In mind’s eye, plant seeds of what I want to grow.
The largest pores are on the bottoms of our feet, so if you can’t take a full bath, soaking your feet will reap benefits. Pour a cup or two of salt in a warm/hot water. Epsom is the standard, although any salt, like Himalayan pink, Celtic grey or Hawaiian, also works. And feel free to mix them as each type has slightly different benefits. Adding essential oils can increase the experience but isn’t necessary.
Wanting to breathe deeper? Try eucalyptus (think Vicks rub).
Wanting to increase calmness? Consider lavender or rose. If there’s an area that needs extra care (hurts, feels tense—often gut, heart/lungs or shoulders) you can augment the experience by wetting the skin, adding another hand full of salt to that area and placing a wet washcloth or hand towel over it as you soak. Soak for ten minutes or longer.
This part IS important: take a quick shower after to rinse off the salt. Our skin is a two-way barrier. Wash toxins and salt off so they don’t reabsorb.
Take a moment to yourself to listen to how do you feel. There might be clarity on next self-care steps.
So, let’s look at anxiety from a completely different angle. Anxiety is not a state to take up residence in. Anxiety is an emotion to help you understand something isn’t right, so you can deal with it because your perfect natural state is a peace filled mind.
What do I mean by that? The true essence of things is not anxiety riddled. The best version of you isn’t when you are stressed to the max. Anxiety is there as warning lights. Like a siren, it’s telling us to be careful! Watch out!
If the lesson stays with you, then the energy of the anxiety served its purpose. The lesson brought you growth and expansion, awakening of consciousness. Then the uncomfortable feeling has actually fulfilled its mission.
“Let me say that again: if the lesson you learned stays with you, the energy of the lesson has served its purpose. It helps you see something. Each time it helps you see something it gives you the greatest expansion of energy ever.”
