What is Reiki?

Reiki is a natural healing system that uses variable frequency energy to heal. The energy is electromagnetic in nature and can work on any level: physical, emotional and spiritual. In it's simplest explanation Reiki incorporates elements of other alternative healing practices such as spiritual healing, aromatherapy, auras, crystals, chakra balancing, homeopathy, meditation and naturopathic. It involves the transfer of energy from practitioner to patient to improve the body’s natural ability to heal itself through the balancing of energy. Usui Mikao is quoted saying in the Reiki Ryôhô Hikkei that the mind and body are one. Recent studies in the world of science are beginning to finally comprehend that statement. Brainwaves and body pulses and their role in stimulating healing can all be measured today allowing the concept of Reiki, as spiritual energy, to be more widely understood by the medical community. 

Reiki is an ancient laying-on of hands healing technique that is used to restore a more balanced energy flow throughout the body. It was discovered about 100 years ago by Dr. Mikao Usui of Japan and first introduced to Canada and the United States in the 1960s.Reiki comes from two Japanese words which translated means "universal life force." This universal life force is an energy found within all things, people, animals, plants, rocks, trees… even the earth itself has this life force energy and without it our physical bodies would cease to live. Someone trained in the use of Reiki, channels that life force energy to the recipient allowing it to flow to where it is needed.   

According to Dr. Usui, the body is more than just a collection of functioning parts. Everything, as well as the body and its organs, generates a frequency. If our life force energy is low or blocked, we are more likely to get sick which brings on symptoms of injury, illness and disease. When the life force is high (balanced energy), we can maintain our health and well-being. 

Reiki helps restore balance and being balanced helps maintain normal functioning. It provides deep relaxation and offers the body the life force energy where it is needed and assists the body in breaking up energy blockages therefore, enhancing  healing and eliminating symptoms. If there is no energy block causing an illness there cannot be any symptoms. Reiki gets to the root of the blockage (issue), breaks it apart and restores the proper balance. Reiki treats the whole of the person addressing physical, emotional, mental and spiritual imbalances during each session. You must have balance in all these areas for optimal health. The Reiki practitioner serves as an instrument that supplies healing energies where they are most needed. Reiki's ki-energies flow out of the practitioner's body through the palms of the hands and into the recipient's body.  

The principle teachings of Reiki embrace a life of balance and promotes spiritual growth. But, Reiki is not a religion, nor is it based in any particular religious doctrine. Reiki does not infringe on anyone's beliefs or personal values. People of many different faiths have discovered the love-energies Reiki offers.

The best way to understand Reiki is to experience it. As best as we might try to describe Energy Healing or Reiki in words, no teacher is better than direct experience. Reiki treatments bring rapid stress reduction and relief from pain and anxiety. Recipients commonly report improved sleep and digestion and a greater sense of well-being. Other benefits, such as feeling more motivated, less depressed or experience relief from side effects of medications, radiation or chemotherapy, vary from person to person as does the time it takes to reach this state. Each person is unique. Reiki supports our well-being and strengthens our natural ability to heal itself by encouraging balance in our energy centres called Chakras. Some even claim that Reiki is great for aiding in the relief of headaches, cold symptoms, flu symptoms, strains, sprains and even the side effects of cancer treatments. Reiki practitioners are also known to assist in the shrinking of tumors and in bringing diseases into remission.

How Often Do I Have Sessions?

Healing with Reiki is a process not an event and varies from client to client. In general acute problems will heal quicker than chronic issues. If your problem is of long standing or discomfort, it may require treatments over a longer period of time. The practitioner will give advice on your sessions but you are ultimately responsible for your own health and well-being, so the frequency of the sessions is left to the discretion of the client.

During the Reiki healing session the practitioner will place her hands and or fingers lightly on or slightly above different parts of your body. Some Reiki practitioners will follow a predetermined sequence of hand placements, allowing their hands/fingers to rest on or slightly above each body placement for about 1 to 2 minutes, before moving on to the next. Some times more time at each placement is needed and the practitioner will be guided to stay there for as long as necessary. Empathic practitioners will freely move their hands in no particular order to the areas where they "feel" Reiki is most needed. Reiki responds uniquely to each person and works according to the level of acceptance that person maintains. This treatment option is most suited for open-minded people who tend to adopt innovative treatments. Permission is also necessary because Reiki energy will not override a person's free will.

Reiki, Depression and Anxiety

Anxiety and depression often accompany one another. Treating depression and anxiety with Reiki is becoming a more and more sought after alternative to taking drugs. Reiki deals with depression  and  anxiety as a negative energy. Negative energy manifests as imbalance in the Chakras or energy centres. 

Common symptoms of depression include insomnia or increased need for sleep, fatigue, loss of interest in hobbies or life in general, sadness, crying, anger, suicidal thoughts, etc.

Symptoms of anxiety often include insomnia, irritability, unreasonable fear, heart palpitations and chest pain.

Treating depression with Reiki is fast becoming a sought-after alternative to modern drugs which is safer and more permanent.

Reiki brings about immediate and dramatic improvement in condition of persons suffering from depression. It is also evident from countless testimonials that people who have come out of their depression by using Reiki have not had a recurrence of the same. Many hospitals around the world are recommending Reiki as a parallel system of treatment. Treating depression with Reiki is becoming a recognized practice within hospitals and more so with local doctors. The efficacy and impact of Reiki is best understood when it is personally experienced.

Reiki and Grieving

Reiki offers relief during emotional distress and sorrow. It clears the emotions and offers clarity, stress relief and deep relaxation aiding in restful sleep all of which help someone going through a tramatic experience or grieving the loss of a loved one.

Reiki and Breathing

Healthy breathing is often overlooked, yet it's through breathing that tension and anxiety are naturally dissipated. Unhealthy breathing patterns can aggravate conditions such as asthma and chronic bronchitis. During even just the beginning of a Reiki treatment, there is a rapid response in deeper breathing in the client. 

Reiki and Sleeping

Difficult sleeping is usually the first recognized symptom of stress, even though compromised breathing occurs first. If left untreated, sleep disturbances or deprivation can lead to fatigue, difficulty concentrating, achy muscles (as in fibromyalgia) and impaired immune functioning. Fatigue often leads to overeating and reliance on stimulants in a misguided attempt to restore vitality.

Insufficient, poor quality sleep can undermine all your other efforts to lead a healthy lifestyle. Lack of sleep can set the stage for some very serious illnesses, including:

• Changes in your brain activity similar to those experienced by people with psychiatric disorders
• Entering into a pre-diabetic state
• Weakened immune system
• Faster tumor growth
• Hormonal changes and fertility problems
• Increased risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity

Clients receiving Reiki often relax into a deep sleep like meditative sate that is profoundly refreshing to the body and mind. Even people with a history of insomnia often sleep better the first night after a Reiki treatment. 

Reiki and EMF Disturbances

Using a cell phone before bed could cause insomnia, headaches and confusion, and may also cut your amount of deep sleep, interfering with your body‘s ability to refresh itself. Additionally you may have an improperly wired bedroom with unshielded wires or you might have a point source of high EMFs such as a refrigerator on the other side of your bedroom wall. Magnetic fields are not blocked by walls and it will go right through them. 

It is always better to find non medication remedies for sleep disturbances. All sleep medications have unwanted side effects, pushing the brain toward unconsciousness without giving the profound benefits of deep sleep and can result in dependence. It has been reported that with Reiki treatments, people experience deeper more refreshing sleep. Reiki's role in creating better rest then, is important. 

Reiki and Nervous-Systems

Hormonal imbalances and neurological conditions typically respond quickly to Reiki treatment. Since the nervous system and hormonal systems regulate functions throughout the body, maintaining natural rhythms and organizing the complex levels of self-regulation and repair that maintain health, it seems likely that the responsiveness of these systems to Reiki is a large part of how Reiki can benefit people with a wide range of conditions. Reiki can be particularly helpful addressing the uncertainty that comes with a diagnosis of MS. Alzheimer's patients are often calmed by Reiki treatment and people with Parkinson's disease may find relief from tremors, muscle tension and agitation. Reiki can soothe painful neuropathy caused by disease or medication. Reiki can also be helpful with epilepsy or undiagnosed seizure disorders. 

Reiki and Inflammatory Conditions

Inflammation occurs in response to injury or infection as part of the normal healing process. Inflammatory disease such as arthritis, where the body's ability to regulate inflammation has been lost. Balance brought by Reiki treatment can be valuable in preventing or minimizing flare-ups. People treated often report lessening of pain and increased mobility.  

Reiki and Cancer

Reiki is used by cancer patients for the relief from the anxiety, pain and fatigue that can accompany every stage of the illness and treatment and to support recovery "beyond" the active treatment phase. Reiki is also an invaluable support after treatment, when patients often feel abandoned once they are sent home after treatment, left to dwell alone in a land between illness and wellness.

Reiki and Pregnancy

Reiki is safe in pregnancy and childbirth and while breast-feeding infants. It can also be useful in treating infertility and miscarriages. Woman's menstrual cycles usually normalize or at least improve with the first cycle. Others have found Reiki helped with endometriosis, ovarian cysts, and polycystic breasts. Experiencing Reiki while pregnant will allow you and your baby to evolve and synchronize on many levels and the blending of energies will help to unite you both. Babies sense and love Reiki energy and don't be surprised by an increase in movement during a Reiki session. Reiki energy helps moms to reduce stress and relax the body, experience a better nights sleep, it eases anxiety, fatigue and reduces aches and pains. Reiki can assist you in having a successful and fulfilling delivery. It removes energy blocks therefore allowing the birth to flow more freely. 

Reiki and Hospitals

Many hospitals, offer Reiki to relieve pain, speed healing, reduce stress, depression, anxiety, and the side effects of chemotherapy. A hospital in Portsmouth, N.H. showed that patients who received 15 minutes of Reiki pre and post op used less medication, had shorter lengths of stay and increased patient satisfaction. Reiki has been clinically proven to reduce stress, aid in pain management, speed recovery from illness and surgery and mentally support those coping with traumatic life changes and issues.

Physical

• Promotes and accelerates the bodies own natural ability to heal
• Aids in deep, restful, peaceful sleep. 1hr of Reiki is equal to 3hrs of deep sleep on the healing and repair level
  
  
• Balances the energy centres (Chakras) in the body
• Strengthens the immune system allowing it to better deal with daily stress and viruses
• Relieves pain ie: headaches, backaches, relaxing the muscles

• Helps to free from addictions

• Clears toxins from the body (something of great concern these days)
• Relaxes and reduces stress
• Treats the root cause of illnesses
• Balances the organs and glands and their bodily functions

• Use in tandem with conventional health practices and medicine

• Used in hospitals to lesson pain and side effects of drugs as well as shorten recovery time
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Mental

• Releases blocked and suppressed feelings and emotions
• Improves mental well-being and promotes greater ability to deal with everyday challenges
  
  
• Calms and relaxes the mind and relieves stress
• Improves the ability to concentrate
• Facilitates decision making abilities
  
  
• Enhances personal awareness
• Promotes creativity and improves memory
• Aids in meditation and positive thinking
• Promotes courage in making positive changes in one’s life
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Emotional

• Releases fears
• Deeper Self-Love and Self-Worth
• Improves confidence
• Calms and balances the emotions
• Promotes feelings of contentment, love and peace
• Enhances relationships 

Spiritual

• Increases intuition and other multisensory abilities
• Helps in the progression of spiritual growth
• Deepens the connection with the Higher Self

Some Things You May Experience During a Session

• Some fall asleep
• Some warmth, cold or a tingling sensation from the Reiki energy
• Gurgling and sounds from your stomach
  
  
• Most experience a reduction in pain or sometimes an elimination of the pain in first session
• Some more sensitive people may even have spiritual or visual experience 

This is just a short list of what someone may experience during a session. Everyone is different and deals with healing differently.

What May Happen After a Session?

Reiki energy heals on all levels. When this healing is taking place, there are blockages removed, energy flowing that have not flowed smoothly for a period of time, and releases of emotional/mental blockages that have been held onto.

Please keep in mind that we are all unique expressions of God (Source, Spirit, Buddha, etc.) and that our healing will take on different symptoms to different levels of healing to each person. So what might be true for one's experience may not be the norm for someone else and some may not even experience healing symptoms and this is in no way an indication that something is being healed or not. Some are just more sensitive to the shifts in energy than others and it will also depend greatly on what energy distortions are being healed. So do not compare your experiences to another’s. Only be concerned with your own healing.

Your Healing Journey is as unique as you are!

Here is an example of some of the things you may or may not experience in the event that things come up and you are not sure of what is happening.

“All cure starts from within out and from the head down and in reverse order as the symptoms have appeared”. (Hering’s Law of Cure) (Source: Dr. Anne McMurtry - Second Degree Reiki Class Handout -- taken from The Science and Practice of Iridology, Bernard Jensen, D.C., N.D., & Food and Healing, Anne-Marie Colbin )

The healing is nature’s way. The healing may last from a few hours to a few days; or it will last a few weeks. The healthier our general condition, the fewer symptoms there will be. The more the body has to clean up, the stronger and/or the longer will be the discharge reactions.

The healing differs from the dis-ease process in that it is a blessing and not a curse to the body. Though the manifestations may be similar, a healing is brought about through an accumulation of health in the body, and the active healing power carries the person through.

A healing comes right after the person is feeling his best, usually following a positive change in lifestyle, such as a better diet, a high-quality food supplement, a fast or detoxification cure, giving up smoking, alcohol or drugs, a new exercise program such as yoga, or a new spiritual discipline such as meditation. There is a feeling of well-being at the core during the healing crisis; that is, deep down inside, it feels O.K., while a sickness feels like something is definitely wrong.

The average person develops healing within three months, but sometimes it does not come until after a year. The young person will have healing much more quickly than those of advanced years. Please know that one session is not always enough for a complete healing and a person may need more than one Reiki Treatment.

Each healing is followed by increased vitality and a greater feeling of well-being.

The secret art of inviting happiness
The miraculous medicine of all diseases
Just for today, do not anger
Do not worry and be filled with gratitude
Devote yourself to your work. Be kind to people.
Every morning and evening, join your hands in prayer.
Pray these words to your heart
and chant these words with your mouth
Usui Reiki Treatment for the improvement of body and mind
The founder , Usui Mikao