I know you have heard about ‘Reiki’ and many controversies surrounding it. One of the biggest controversies surrounding it is that it can directly cure diseases. And I know you were pretty amazed by this.
But it is not true. Reiki can be complementary to a health approach but can never cure your illness directly. Remember, Reiki is not a ‘say-bye’ to your doctor but it is an alternative therapy.
So how does Reiki work? What benefit will it provide me? Is it safe to practice Reiki? I know many questions are going on in your head right now. Let me clear all these queries one by one.
What is Reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese art of healing. The human body has a vibrational energy field that surrounds and penetrates the whole body. Rei meaning universal or higher body and Ki meaning life energy, come together as ‘Reiki’, a healing therapy, to tap into the unlimited pool of energy flowing through the body and to guide it for the overall well-being of a person.
Reiki, though discovered by a Japanese Buddhist Dr. Mikao Usui in the late 1800s, has existed as an ancient healing practice in Japan for more than 1000 years. It is not medicine to cure diseases but energy therapy to spark the healing abilities of the body on its own.
It is believed that a Reiki practitioner can stimulate a body’s natural healing abilities by placing his hands on you or just above you.
Doesn’t it sound mysterious? How can someone place their hands on us and energize our healing abilities? Let’s find out what happens in the session (I won’t leave you hanging).
What happens in your Reiki session?
If you are worrying that it may last longer and you can’t take out time for it, don’t worry. It only lasts up to 90 minutes. Usually, a 30-minute session but may vary depending on the issues.
While having Reiki therapy you need to tell the therapist about all your issues, let him know your sensitive and pain points or sensitive places.
The therapist will ask you to lie down. They will cover you with a blanket and will play relaxing music in the background. The practitioner will move their hands around the body or may even touch you lightly.
You may experience some visualizations or sensations during the session. Try not to attach too much to these experiences and pass through them.
TIP: Wear loose comfortable clothes like cotton or silk. You can remove your jewelry and glasses and try to switch off your phone before the session to not be distracted.
Some Reiki Techniques:
- Centering
- Beaming
- Clearing
- Infusing
- Soothing the aura
- Extraction of harmful energies
How much does one session cost?
One Reiki session may cost $50-$100. You may also get low-fee Reiki centers near your area.
Note: Reiki session is not covered by health insurance.
But how does Reiki help? How can a touch help us cure our illnesses in some way? For that, you need to understand the ‘ki’ in Reiki.
The ‘Ki’ in Reiki
To put it in simple words, Ki is the vital field of energy.
Ki is consciousness or the fundamental energy flowing through the earth, air, every living being, and universe. Since every microsecond is alive upon energy, we need to make sure it’s flowing without obstruction. When your Ki is free only then your mind, body, and soul, come together to cause your overall wellness.
Reiki teaches us that diseases are caused because of dis-connection. The solution is simply to re-align ourselves to the flow of ‘Ki’.
When we align ourselves to Ki, it awakens the wholeness within us and let go of our distractions and interferences (things that are not whole).
If our Ki is flowing naturally, it helps us become aware of the destructive elements that surround us and we naturally understand how our lifestyle should be. Your old patterns may seem inappropriate and a natural balance occurs.
A therapist understands your pain points, understands the blockage, and helps your Ki flow naturally. It may take different number of sessions for different people to get the desired result.
So now that we know about the therapy and the process, let us see what benefits it can provide. Isn’t it all about the benefits?
Benefits of Reiki Therapy
- Relieves fatigue, pain, and anxiety – A study was conducted in 2015. Some cancer patients were given Reiki therapy along with their standard procedures. They found that the patients felt less anxious, and stress-free after each session. They also started taking fewer pain killers.
People with herniated disks were also taken in a 2018 study for reiki therapy. They were also taken for physiotherapy and both the treatments were compared. Both treatments were equally effective for lower back pain but Reiki was found out to be faster and cost-effective too.
- Enhances life quality – Reiki can enhance your overall well-being like sleep patterns, depression levels, self-confidence, etc. A woman suffering from cancer felt much relieved after she received Reiki therapy and would respond to treatments much calmly.
- Treats depression – A study of older adults was conducted. They were experiencing pain. Anxiety, depression. After Reiki therapy, they experienced improvements in mood, physical symptoms, and overall well-being.
They focused more on self-care.
- Boosts mood – In every Reiki study ever conducted, one prominent change seen in people was the enhancement of good mood. People felt less stress or anxiety than earlier and thus felt an upliftment in the mood.
As a result of their good mood, they responded better to any other treatments that came along their way.
- Other symptoms it improves – It may also improve headache, insomnia, nausea, tension, etc.
It can also cure some injuries and increase the immune response of the body. It has also helped in chronic pain, autism, infertility, etc
One important thing to know is that Reiki has no side effects and is very effective but it can’t replace a standard doctor treatment.
Now I have already told you the importance of balancing chakras. Your life becomes magical after you can balance them. Reiki can also help you balance your chakras (wonderful news for Reiki practitioners and believers!!!)
Let us know how Reiki can help in chakra balancing.
Reiki and Chakras
There are 7 Chakras or energy centers in our body, from the base of the spine to the top of the head, through which flows the entire life force. Since life energy is constantly flowing through the Chakras and blocking or imbalance in the energy or disturbance in the alignment of the Chakras is the cause of physical ailments and emotional, mental disorders, depression, tiredness, and negativity.
For example imbalance in energy at the Muladhara or the Root Chakra can cause immune disorders, depression, lower back pain. Moving upwards the Chakra system, energy blocking in the Sahasrara or the Crown Chakra can manifest into destructive feelings, confusion or frustration.
A Reiki Master, by placing hands over the body or even through non-contact, tries to open the blocked energy channels, restore the balance of energy, and align the seven major Chakra centers.
He derives the constant energy flowing through the earth and above, bringing it into his own body and making it travel down the body of the person being healed through his hand.
Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
Can you do it yourself?
But Reiki can also be done at home itself. Though Reiki is to be delivered by a practitioner or better by a Reiki Master himself as it requires lots of practice and self-training to perform the therapy. However, everyone is capable of learning and practicing Reiki irrespective of her or his spiritual heights.
Takeaway: If you are going through medications or doctor treatments and want to try Reiki, always take their suggestion first. It is a complementary therapy and there are no actual scientific proofs (only some studies) and so it should be done after consulting with a doctor.