Energetic healing is something I think a lot of people misunderstand. Techniques such as Reiki, Touch for Health, Therapeutic Touch, or others too numerous to list look at the individual as consisting of a physical, flesh and blood body, and an energetic body. Each effects the other and, in these modes of thinking, must be kept in proper working order to achieve balance.

Energetics have always fascinated me. I have countless books throughout the years on the above mentioned approaches and the ancient Ayurvedic chakra systems and the Barbara Brennan Healing Hands methods and Traditional Chinese Medicine….on and on. So, when a friend of mine put me in contact with someone who was a Reiki Master and Teacher, I jumped at the experience! I wanted to know how to do that. I wanted to be able to help people I wanted to be able to soothe energies and be that channel. And so I went. I did my level I and II training with the same woman. She was gracious enough to travel from Rhode Island to Ohio in order to share with us. But as things go, I lost contact with her. I was unable to line things up to continue my training.

 

A few years later, I ran into a woman who had a wonderful energy about her. She was a yoga teacher and a Reiki Master and Teacher. She and I traded services for some time. After about six months of trading Reiki sessions and essential oils, she offered to pass along the Reiki Master/Teacher level attunement. I am honored she felt I was ready and I am blessed to have received it.

 

Fast forward through the last ten years and my receiving more and more Reiki training in various styles, techniques and modes. I have received attunements not only in Usui Reiki but in Khundalini and Reiju, as well as others. I now teach and offer the attunements, as well as seeing clients for sessions. It has made a difference in my life. After a few weeks of feeling myself slip off the edge energetically, I come back to my teachings. I center. I focus. I soothe the energies. Even if I cannot realize what I need in the moment, I find it back. I pick up my teachings, and I begin again.

 

What is Reiki?

As I was taught, Reiki is a Japanese word meaning Divine Wisdom or Divine Love life force. It refers to the energy which flows through all. It is not originated with the practitioner. He/she is merely a channel for the energy from the universal life force to the client. Some like to refer to this as the healing energy of God. Some like to call it prana, or the breath of life. Does it really matter what it is called?

This energy flows through all living beings. At times the channels in the energetic body are thought to become clogged or dys-functional. The attuned practitioner acts as a funnel and conduit to redirect those energies. The practice involves the person performing the Reiki to be mentally focusing on the receiver. He/she may lay hands on the receiver or hold them slightly above the receiver’s physical body. This does not require the removal of clothing, although some massage therapists may incorporate it into their practices. This would mean the client was partially disrobed anyway. It should never feel threatening or uncomfortable in any way to the receiver not the giver. The receiver may experience a sensation of heat, vibration, mood shifts, or nothing at all. The sender’s hands may become hot or feel as if they were buzzing. The experience seems to be a bit different for everyone. However, now science is showing the promise of these modalities.

 

Science backing

 

In the American Journal of Palliative Care a study on Reiki being used for oncology patients at a day facility (Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2012 Jun;29(4):290-4. doi: 10.1177/1049909111420859. Epub 2011 Oct 13.), favorable results have been found for the use of Reiki. “Overall, the sessions were felt helpful in improving well-being, relaxation, pain relief, sleep quality and reducing anxiety. Offering Reiki therapy in hospitals could respond to patients’ physical and emotional needs.”

In a 2015 study involving bariatric surgery patients (Explore (NY). 2015 May-Jun;11(3):208-16. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2015.02.006. Epub 2015 Feb 17.), ” Healing Touch intervention is feasible and acceptable to patients undergoing bariatric surgery, and significantly improved pain, nausea, and anxiety in these patients.” This study looked at patients receiving Healing Touch sessions in day one and two of post operative care.

A 2010 article in the Journal of Holistic Nursing states (J Holist Nurs. 2010 Sep;28(3):193-200. doi: 10.1177/0898010110368861. Epub 2010 Jun 28.) that when “compared with those who received usual care, participants who received TT had significantly lower level of pain, lower cortisol level, and higher NKC level.” TT stands for Therapeutic Touch, which is an energetics system taught and practiced by medical nurses.

A June 2016 article in the Journal of Oncology Nursing (Clin J Oncol Nurs. 2016 Jun 1;20(3):E77-81. doi: 10.1188/16.CJON.E77-E81.) points out that Reiki outperformed massage and yoga as a method to help manage pain, decrease stress and anxiety, and improve mood of cancer patients.

There is research to support Reiki as a way to aid community mental health professionals suffering from burnout type symptoms (J Altern Complement Med. 2015 Aug;21(8):489-95. doi: 10.1089/acm.2014.0403. Epub 2015 Jul 13.). Reiki recipients have been shown to use less pain medications after C-section births (Holist Nurs Pract. 2016 Nov/Dec;30(6):368-378.).

There is more and more research done on this type of therapy every single day!

In a world where prescription pain medications are now thought to act as gateway drugs to dangerous street drugs like heroin; diseases associated with high stress and increased chronic pain like fibromyalgia and post traumatic stress disorders are running rampant, why could we not turn to trying Reiki? It does no harm.

Anyone interested in Reiki sessions (both in person and distance recipients) and/or learning more about it and receiving attunements, please do not hesitate to let me know!