What is Reiki?
At once a gentle and yet powerful healing therapy originating from Japan, Reiki (pronounced RAY-key) works with each person's system, leading one toward their own individual path of health and healing of body, mind and spirit. "Rei" means Life Force and "ki" means energy. Our bodies have a natural flow of energy which like the stream after a storm can become blocked in places for many reasons as we go about living our lives. In a hands-on Reiki treatment, lying fully clothed on a massage table, you will experience the introduction of the positive Reiki energy through the practitioner’s hands as she gently places them on or above several places on your body. Most people experience deep relaxation after an hour Reiki session. And the results often carry over into your day to day life. You may sleep easier, be able to face a situation or approach a problem with more clarity, feel more at ease and at peace. You may even feel more creative. And for many people pain is reduced too. An environment is created to support the body’s natural ability to heal. As energy blockages are released, overall physical, mental and emotional well-being can improve. Regular Reiki treatments can help people find that stream of healthy energy flowing strong and clear from within again. Reiki is absolutely painless, and just feels good! A distance Reiki session can be just as powerful and effective, with the practitioner and you setting aside a mutually agreeable time for the healing to happen, as you sit or lie down in a comfortable place in your home.
Reiki as Complementary Treatment
Reiki is a wonderful complement to traditional medicine and is becoming more accepted as such within the medical community. In hospital and controlled settings, Reiki has been proven to reduce pain, improve sleep, reduce heart rate and improve relaxation in patients with cancer, acute, and chronic illnesses. Science now recognizes that Reiki does shift the electromagnetics of our biofield. A number of experiments show that Reiki can be a valuable aid in physical healing. Many doctors are recognizing the benefits of the healing touch of Reiki and are recommending it pre and post surgery and to help patients to better cope with and benefit from treatments for many illnesses.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York offers Reiki therapy to patients. “Patients love it,” says Simone Zappa, RN, an administrator in the Integrative Medicine Department at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. “And they love it because it works.”
Reiki and Stress Reduction
Feeling stressed out? You are so not alone. The American Institute of Stress calls stress “America’s #1 Health Problem”. Stress may be financial, relational, or just come from never being able to find that time just for you, among many other things. Medical research has shown that every single illness is exacerbated by stress. Research has also shown that Reiki can help with this. Continual stress can hinder the body’s natural ability to heal itself, and has been linked to increasingly common health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and fibromyalgia. Reiki can help to unblock the body’s energetic pathways to help foster each person’s healing process. It is a wonderful way to give yourself some potentially much needed self-care!