REIKI | The Universal Vital Life Force Energy

What is Reiki? 

Reiki is an energy healing technique that promotes relaxation and reduces stress and anxiety through gentle touch. Reiki practitioners use their hands to deliver energy to your body, through various positions across the body from head to toe, and across chakra centers and the auric field improving the flow and balance of your energy to support the body's natural ability to heal.  

Reiki is not linked to or associated with any specific religion or belief system, as it serves as only a channel of ever present energy around and within us universally, that transcends all cultures and times.

Mikao Usui developed Reiki in the early 1900s, his hands on methods and process for healing and enlightenment later was coined Reiki, deriving the term from the Japanese words rei, meaning “universal,” and ki, which refers to the vital life force energy that flows through all living things. Now, Reiki is used all over the world, including in hospitals and hospices, to complement other forms of health treatments.  

Reiki aids in healing by helping people become energetically balanced — physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. 

The health benefits of Reiki:

Reiki promotes relaxation, stress reduction and symptom relief to improve overall health and well-being. 

It can:  

༄ؘBring on a meditative state. 

༄ؘFoster tissue and bone healing after injury or surgery. 

༄ؘStimulate your body’s immune system. 

༄ؘPromote natural self-healing. 

༄ؘRelieve pain and tension. 

༄ؘSupport the well-being of people receiving traditional medical treatments such as: chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and kidney dialysis. 

Studies show that Reiki treatment may create feelings of:  

Peace. Relaxation. Security. Wellness.

Reiki complements, but does not replace other types of medical and therapeutic treatments, however, it can increase the efficacy of other types of healing.  If you’re already in good health, though, regular reiki treatments can enhance your ability to respond to stress and serve as a form of preventive medicine. Conventional medicine (or Western medicine), at its foundation, focuses on the biochemistry of cells, tissue, and organs. 

Energy healing, on the other hand, focuses on the energy fields of the body that organize and control the growth and repair of cells, tissue, and organs.  

To maintain vibrant health, the body needs its energies to:  

-Move and have space to flow — energies may become blocked due to toxins, muscular or other constrictions, prolonged stress, or interference from other energies. 

-Move in specific patterns — generally in harmony with the physical structures and functions that the energies animate and support. “Flow follows function.” 

-Cross-over — at all levels; from the micro-level of the double helix of DNA, to the macro-level where the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and the right side controls the left. 

-Maintain a balance with other energies — the energies may lose their natural balance due to prolonged stress or other conditions that keep specific energy systems in a survival mode. 

Conversely, when the body is not healthy, corresponding disturbances in its energies can be identified and treated. By balancing impaired energy patterns, we improve the vitality of organs, cells, and psyche through the most efficient, least invasive means.

Because it works on the entire self – mind, body and emotions – and because it is universal life force energy, Reiki may be successful in all types of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual healing. Reiki energetic work isn’t specific to any particular type of disease or condition but may help people with:  Cancer, Chronic pain, Infertility, Digestive problems, Parkinson’s disease, Psychological distress, including depression and anxiety, and Stress-related illnesses. Reiki can also help you prepare for surgery, which may help boost your recovery afterward.

How does Reiki work? 

Reiki practitioners act as a conduit between you and the source of the universal life force energy. The energy flows through the practitioner’s hands to you.  The patient's energetic body determines the energy flow from the practitioner’s hands by taking only what it needs. This helps the patient know that we are supporting them only in what their body is open to receiving,  rather than what we think they need. This makes it the perfect balance to meet the patient’s specific needs. Energy wants to flow fully and consistently through the body and when it encounters blockages or a lul in vitality, energy will build to support the opening of that area...just as our cells migrate to areas of dis-ease to aid in relief.

What happens during a Reiki session? 

Reiki treatments typically last about 50 minutes. During a session, you’ll lie on a massage table fully clothed, as your reiki practitioner gently places their hands, palms down, on or just above your body in specific energy locations. They use a series of 12 to 15 different hand positions.  The length of time that the practitioner leaves their hands in each position is determined by the flow of energy through their hands at each location. Reiki differs from other touch therapies in that there is no pressure, massage, or tissue manipulation involved.

What does Reiki feel like?  

The experience of Reiki is subjective, changeable, and sometimes very subtle. People often experience heat in the practitioner's hands, but sometimes the practitioner's hands feel refreshingly cool and these sensations may vary over various parts of the body. Other common experiences are subtle pulsations where the practitioner's hands are placed or cascading waves of tingling sensations throughout the body.  People often comment how comforting they find the experience of Reiki to be. An interesting study reported that recipients frequently feel that they are hovering in a threshold state of consciousness, simultaneously aware of their surroundings and deeply indrawn. Some people fall into a deep, sleeplike meditative state. Sometimes the experience of Reiki is dramatic, while for other people, the first session in particular may be uneventful, although they feel somehow better afterward. The most common experience is an almost immediate release of stress and a feeling of deep relaxation.  Besides the immediate experience of the Reiki, you may notice other changes that continue to unfold as the day goes on: perhaps stronger digestion, a sense of being more centered and poised and less reactive, and sleeping deeply that night. Although people typically leave a Reiki session feeling refreshed, sometimes they notice feeling more tired in the evening than usual. This is not viewed as an adverse reaction, but rather as the body's natural healing response, something to be heeded. People commonly report a sense of calm and mental clarity and sleeping well after Reiki.  When major energy blockages are cleared it can create what is referred to as a healing crisis; the body is recalibrating and for a short duration this can make acute issues feel worse; this is part of the balancing process. Often multiple sessions are suggested in the cases of severe imbalances. Reiki is cumulative and even people who don't notice much the first time usually have progressively deeper experiences if they continue. 

Following a Reiki Session: 

Typical protocol following a reiki session is to abstain from alcohol, nicotine and caffeine for 24hrs, drink plenty of water, and give yourself time to assimilate and rest. Epsom salt baths are also a great additive for releasing toxins and fostering the flow of ki through the body. 

I detail these and other aftercare suggestions in our Higher Vibrational Living integration packet following each session.