Reiki: Compassionate Healing

Reiki is a Japanese form of hands-on healing with roots in ancient Buddhist Gi-Gong and Shintoist Healing.  Reiki was developed in the early 20th century by Dr. Mikao Usui. During the life of Dr. Usui Reiki hospitals were established throughout Japan. These centers focused upon healing through diet, bodywork, lifestyle, spiritual contemplation, and Reiki.

Reiki is gaining increased recognition in western medicine due to the safe application and the profound therapeutic results of treatments.  Cancer units across the states have established Reiki programs, and there is a growing trend for hospitals and doctors to offer Reiki for pre and post surgery patients, mothers and babies in delivery rooms, and people suffering from pain, asthma, anxiety, chronic illnesses, and acute infections.  Reiki had also been gaining recognition as a complimentary therapy for treating anxiety and depression.

My personal Reiki journey began upon graduating from massage school in 1996. I had a snow boarding accident that injured my left knee. The pain was excruciating with just about every activity, and woke me up throughout the night. I had no insurance and was told about a donation based Reiki clinic in my area and decided to give it a try. During this initial session, I felt the knee pain ‘melt’, as if it were wax, and move down my leg and out my foot. It was a bizarre experience unlike anything I had ever felt, and had I not experienced it first hand, I would not have believed it. That night I slept straight through pain free for the first time since the accident, and within three days my knee was completely back to normal pain free functioning.

Impressed, I immediately pursued my Reiki training. The two aspects that touched me most about Reiki, were the emphasis upon compassion, and the dedication to continued self growth every practitioner must have. I grew up with a strong Catholic influence and had admired stories of Jesus which demonstrated compassion, non-judgement, and unconditional love. Reiki follows right along with these teachings.

During a Reiki session, the client comfortably lies on a massage table fully clothed. The practitioner enters a meditative state while placing their hands on specific energy points of the body. Reiki, which translates to “Universal life force energy” begins to flow. The Reiki session serves to release blocked energy, bring relaxation and replenish states of depletion. Clients will often experience energy sensations as heat, tingling, or movement. These sensations are similar to those experienced during acupuncture treatments. As the bodily energies move freely again and relaxation occurs the body’s natural processes of healing begin to function more optimally and many positive changes are possible.

Reiki has the potential to help drastically decrease mental health costs in the U.S. Professor Adina Goldman Shore (2004) conducted a thorough study proving the benefits of Reiki for depression and anxiety.  It took only six weekly treatments to influence a significant reduction in depression and anxiety within the study participants, and the positive changes remained, or had increased, after a one year follow up.  Shore’s research, by design, served also to prove that Reiki, and not simply touch, was the component involved in the improved status of participants, and that distance Reiki is equally as powerful as hands-on Reiki, when both types are given by an experienced Reiki healer.

Reiki is used to decrease nausea, pain, stress, depression, and anxiety. When approximately 80% of illnesses we seek medical treatment for are stress related, 90% of the population suffer from depression and anxiety, and most everyone has some form of painful condition in their life, wouldn’t it be to our benefit to make Reiki available, affordable, and part of our regular health care programs?

As Reiki, through its effectiveness, continues to grow in popularity among the general population, we will come to view Reiki as a safe and effective complementary treatment to decrease medical side effects, decrease pain, increase relaxation, speed healing, and help mental well being.

Call or email for information on training to be a Reiki Practitioner or to schedule a treatment: 530.828.7726