What Is Reiki?

 Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction  and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying  on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy"  flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force  energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and  if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy. 

The word Reiki is made  of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher  Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually  "spiritually guided life force energy." 

Usually, the client lies on a massage table fully clothed while the practitioner lightly touches or holds her hands above the client's body. A treatment feels like a wonderful, glowing radiance that flows through and around the client. Many report a warm, tingly feeling; some become so relaxed that they drift off to sleep.

Reiki treats the whole person, including  body, emotions, mind and spirit--creating many beneficial effects that  include relaxation and feelings of peace, security, and well-being. Many have reported miraculous results.  

Distance Reiki, or remote Reiki, is a healing session that is given while you are (typically) in your own home and your Reiki Practitioner is somewhere else. You do not have to attend in person to receive the benefits of Reiki healing.

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Many people are skeptical of distance or remote Reiki until they experience it for themselves. Some clients describe a tingling or warm feeling in different parts of their bodies. Others just experience a deep state of relaxation.

A couple of years ago, a client requested a distance session to help her relax because her daughter was stationed in Turkey with the military during a particularly stressful time. During the session, I kept feeling something wrong with her left hip, so when I got back on the phone with her, I told her I spent some time on her hip. Surprised, she texted me a picture of a huge bruise on her hip from a fall the day before. She had forgotten about it with her worry over her daughter.

Because everything is made of energy, we can connect through space and time. Clients can receive deep healing through distant sessions. In fact, sometimes the sessions are better because the clients can relax more in their own homes.

When you receive distance Reiki,  I want you to be in full receiving mode, relaxed, comfortable and uninterrupted. The process is very similar to an in-person session:

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• First, you make an appointment, just as you would with an office visit.
• At the appointed time,  I will call you using a method we agree to ( Zoom, Facebook Messenger, phone etc.) and we talk briefly. You can choose to keep the line open or we simply hang up while you receive Reiki.
• You make yourself comfortable in a space where it is safe to fall asleep and where you are not going to be disturbed for 45 minutes. You can play soft music, light a salt lamp, or diffuse any essential oils you desire (we recommend Young Living's essential oils). 
• I send you distance Reiki for about 45 minutes. You will feel the Reiki begin to flow a minute or two after the session begins. Distance Reiki is a subtle feeling that is somewhat different for everyone: tingling, warmth, sometimes a twitch as energy releases.
• At the end of the session I usually send a text message.
• If you have fallen asleep, I  don't want to wake you up. Your body does its best healing while you are resting. When you are ready, we will get in touch and talk briefly to exchange notes on what we each experienced. 

An interesting article discusses the science supporting all forms of distance healing,  Distant Mental Interaction with Living Systems (DMILS).  

Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual  healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been  effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always  creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all  other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and  promote recovery.  Many hospitals around the world integrate Reiki into their programs, from surgery to chemotherapy. It is also beneficial in palliative care and hospice programs.

In her Living Well article "Reiki in a Hospital Setting," Michele Anderson gives a couple of examples:

"Mary, a yoga instructor and registered nurse, tried Reiki treatments out of curiosity. After her first session, she was pleasantly surprised to learn that Reiki  had the ability to work beyond just the physical level.  “Not only did I  feel totally relaxed, but I found for two months after the treatment,  my sleeping was better, I had a more positive outlook, and…experienced a  reduction in peri-menopausal symptoms,” she says.

Like  Mary, clients often report an improvement in physical maladies as well  an overall improvement in mood, mental clarity, and stress levels.

When Kate Peterson from Red Hook, NY had her first Reiki  session, she was suffering from stress and anxiety coupled with chronic  back pain. While she wasn’t sure to expect from the treatment, she soon  became relaxed and comfortable.  Within moments, she began to feel a  pulsing sensation in her lower back which lasted the duration of the  session.  

“After my session,” says  Peterson, “I felt great.  But the next morning was the best part.  I got  out of bed quickly, forgetting the fact that I normally have to do it  slowly or have my husband help me.”   

According to William Rand, founder of the International Center for Reiki Training:

"We are alive because life force is flowing through us. Life force flows within the physical body through pathways called chakras, meridians and nadis. It also flows around us in a field of energy called  the aura. Life force nourishes the organs and cells of the body, supporting them in their vital functions. When this flow of life force is disrupted, it causes diminished function in one or more of the organs and tissues of the physical body. The life force is responsive to thoughts and feelings. It becomes disrupted when we accept, either consciously or unconsciously, negative thoughts or feelings about ourselves. These negative thoughts and feelings attach themselves to the energy field and cause a disruption in the flow of life force. This diminishes the vital function of the organs and cells of the physical body.

Reiki heals by flowing through the affected parts of the energy field and  charging them with positive energy. It raises the vibratory level of the energy field in and around the physical body where the negative thoughts and feelings are attached. This causes the negative energy to break apart and fall away. In so doing, Reiki clears,  straightens, and heals the energy pathways, thus allowing the life force to flow in a healthy and natural way."
 

 An amazingly simple technique to learn, Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an "attunement" given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of "life force energy" to improve one's health and enhance the quality of life.

Its use is not dependent on one's intellectual capacity or spiritual development and, therefore, is available to everyone. It has been successfully taught to thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds.

Many hospitals have programs to train parents of ill children and caregivers to those in palliative care.