By Cyndi Myers
Have you been hearing a lot about Reiki or Healing Touch therapies and wonder what the heck it actually IS? Do you see these alternative therapies as silly voodoo ceremonies reserved only for the remaining hippy generation?? If this describes you, then sit back and buckle up because I’m about to BLOW. YOUR. MIND! Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. My husband suggested a more compelling intro to this blog than I originally wrote, so I obliged. I may have gone a little overboard. Nevertheless, I want to share with you my own personal experience with Reiki and how I believe energy work can benefit everyone.
The Backstory
Alternative “medical” treatments such as energy healing have been around for hundreds of years, primarily in the Eastern part of the world. The US is only now seeing an explosion of energy healers because - in my opinion - we’ve been so wrapped up in our conventional ways that we’ve been too frightened to go outside the box to investigate what Eastern medicine is really all about and how it might actually help. We are finally opening not only our eyes to alternative healing, but our minds and hearts as well.
Rewind to 2014. I, too, had no real sense of what Reiki was and/or how (or IF!!) it would actually work. My first real experience with the energy healing modality of Reiki was at the outset of my leukemia diagnosis. In significant pain after a lumbar puncture, and with seemingly no end in sight, one of my nurses asked if I wanted someone from the Healing Touch Department to try their hand (pun intended) at providing some relief. I had no idea what this department was or what such a person could do for me. But, HECK YEAH! Sign me up!
Enter Diane.
It didn’t take long for me to realize my good fortune. Not only was I lucky enough to be in a hospital that had a Healing Touch Department, but I also had the good luck to have crossed paths with the woman who led the department - one of my favorite people in the world, Diane. And, what Diane and her ethereal energy did for me at one of the most critical points in my life was nothing short of lifesaving. Her energy not only opened up my own energy flow, but allowed my body to give way to opening my mind and heart to the beauty of the energetic universe. It was a spiritual awakening of sorts; an awakening, I contend, that truly saved my life
But, you might ask, what exactly IS Reiki and how can it help ME?
“Just for today, do not anger. Do not worry, and be filled with gratitude. Devote yourself to your work and be kind to people.” ~ Dr. Mikao Usui, Founder of Reiki
Reiki, Explained
Reiki is a Japanese spiritual healing technique where practitioners can help your body heal using energy. “Rei” translates to “universe” or “life force,” and “ki” translates to the physical energy of the body (also known as qi); connecting them together, Reiki translates to “universal life force energy.” Simply put, Reiki is pure energy.
Let’s look at it another way. There are anywhere from 50-100 trillion atoms in one grain of sand alone. These atoms are constantly moving and generating energy. We all learned in high school physics class that matter is made up of molecules, and, thanks to Albert Einstein, everything IS energy. Even something solid, such as a glass or your desk or even your cell phone, is vibrating energy all the time. As humans, we, too, are vibrating. Reiki helps you use this “invisible” energy - the energy around and inside of you - to release energy blockages and achieve balance. Once your own life energy is clear, moving freely, and vibrating at a higher frequency, you experience an inner connection to your true self, your intuition, and a deeper spiritual awareness. And, most importantly, you will feel a sense of calm and relief.
So Why Do I Need A Practitioner If Energy Is All Around Me?
A Reiki practitioner is trained to know not only where the body’s energy centers are, but how to move the energy for the patient’s greatest or highest good. She is able to channel this universal energy into the patient so the patient can use it to promote healing and support for her/his physical and emotional well-being. During a typical Reiki session, you will lay on a massage table, fully clothed and covered with a sheet and/or blanket. The practitioner lightly rests her hands on (or hovers them over) your energy centers (chakras) and pathways (meridians) - or, in other words, various parts of your body where energy is most concentrated. The Reiki practitioner can actually feel whether your energy is flowing freely or stuck, and will remain on one spot until she feels the energy starting to flow.
Simple, right?? Maybe so, but the effects on the body are anything but simple. I fully believe that if one opens their mind to the idea of using the energy that surrounds us to heal their body, the results will be as profound as they were for me. And, the best part about using energy to heal is that everything in the universe is just that…energy.
What’s more, because everything in the universe is made up of energy, a Reiki practitioner does not need the patient to be physically present to perform this healing modality. Distance Reiki can actually be performed on a patient from anywhere around the globe. Skeptical? Think of it this way…when you listen to the radio, you don’t see or feel radio waves, yet you hear the music playing. You hear the music because it’s projecting an energy wave from a distance (the radio station), and if you’re tuned into that wave you get the information. The same concept holds true for Distance Reiki. Typically the practitioner will ask that you simply provide your name and birthdate or a photo of yourself prior to the session (not all Reiki practitioners require all of this information) in order to tune into your energy or “wave”, and that, like an in-person session, you reserve your session for when you are able to find a quiet place to relax and lean into the experience.
Distant Reiki sessions work simply because energy is not limited by distance; distance is only a physical limitation. When you open up your mind and your heart, you see that we are all truly connected; we’re all just smaller parts of the same, larger whole.
Curious about Distance Reiki? Transcend Mind & Body Wellness is here to help! We provide Distance Reiki Sessions if you are interested in experiencing this amazing healing technique. Book your appointment here! And, as always, please contact us if you have any questions!