Reiki

What it is…

Reiki is an ancient Japanese method of hands-on healing used to relieve stress, balance energy flows in the body and promote healing. Everything is energy: ourselves, animals, plants, the air, our planet and the universe. This is Universal Life Force Energy and it surrounds us, flowing through all living things.

It is believed by many ancient cultures that when the energy pathways in our bodies become obstructed, our life force energy is lowered and the quality of our health is impaired. Having a Reiki session done on you allows a practitioner to be a channel through which Universal Life Force Energy flows, helping to raise your own life force energy.

Reiki can heal on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels, therefore making it a truly unique healing experience. And although Reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. There is no dogma to believe in or rituals to perform. It is a natural, safe and simple method of self-improvement and spiritual healing. Many miraculous results have been reported.

The Reiki technique is simple to learn, but the ability to use Reiki is achieved through a series of attunements given during a class by a Reiki Master. These attunements open the practitioner to open their own energy pathways, allowing them to become a conduit for an endless supply of Universal Life Force Energy which will flow through them, out of their hands, and into the recipient. Although a practitioner can direct the energy to certain areas of the body, it has been found that the recipient's body will actually take the energy and send it to where it is needed most within. For example, I could put my hands on your knees, but you may feel the energy moving in your neck. So there is never the worry that the recipient is not getting the energy in the right spot.

Who can benefit…

Everyone can benefit from Reiki, and Reiki always has a beneficial effect. It works in conjunction with other therapeutic techniques to help promote balance, healing, and enhance your quality of life.

Reiki sessions can be done on humans, animals, plants or any other "living" thing you can name. When working on humans, they often report many sensations: such as tremendous heat coming from the practitioners hands, even though the practitioner may not have her hands on them; visions such as colours, shapes, or scenic images; a feeling of vibrations; and especially a deep, secure, peaceful feeling.

The hands of a Reiki practitioner is the only physical tool needed for a session. There are a series of hand placements that many practitioners subscribe to, but I encourage my students to let their hands go to where they seem to be drawn. Sessions often last about 45 minutes to an hour, but really are dictated by the flow of energy. A practitioner will often realize the energy has slowed down and disappeared, or that it simply stops abruptly. Like any holisitic therapy, a practitioner needs to let the body guide them as to what it needs and when it's had enough.

When Reiki is done on animals, I have noticed many things. The first and foremost being that animals often do not want a practitioners hands directly on them, preferring instead that their hands be raised above their body by an inch or so, or even beamed at them from across the room. Also, animals will often move about underneath a practitioner's hands, positioning themselves where they want the energy directed, even though the body will send it to where it is needed most. Sessions with animals are often very short, the animal just getting up and leaving not long after you start, but then there are some animals who lay there and don't want you to stop. If they know the energy is flowing, they paste themselves to you.