So, what is Reiki?

When I tell people I am a Reiki practitioner I am often met with a puzzled look and asked what Reiki is. It’s actually a hard question to answer in words and it’s easier to show someone or let them experience it. But I’ll give it a go…

Reiki (pronounced ‘RAY KEY’) is a Japanese word derived from ‘rei’ meaning ‘universal’ and ‘ki’ meaning ‘vital life force energy’ – so it’s ‘universal life energy’. Reiki is believed to have been developed in Japan the early 20th century by Mikau Usui and it’s an energy healing technique. During a Reiki treatment there is a transfer of positive energy through the practitioner to the person they are working on. The practitioner will normally place their hands on or above the person receiving the treatment in a series of hand positions over the body’s energy centres (known as chakras). The goal of Reiki is to provide relaxation to the person being treated, which in turn can promote self-healing in the body and mind.

Now, for those of you who are thinking that’s all hippy dippy or woo woo sounding, Reiki can be explained by science (specifically quantum physics) and the good news is that there’s actually a lot of scientific testing been done on Reiki. So don’t switch off just yet…

Many people live their lives based on traditional Western Science – if we can’t see it, touch it and measure it then it doesn’t exist. However, Albert Einstein (and his colleagues) introduced us to quantum physics which proves many of the concepts that have been practiced by indigenous cultures all over the world for centuries. The most basic of these concepts is that EVERYTHING IS ENERGY AND IS CONNECTED TO EVERYTHING ELSE – humans; animals; birds; oceans; clouds; trees; hills/mountains/rocks and so on…. you get the picture!

Our thoughts and feelings/emotions are energy too. Unresolved thoughts, feelings and emotions get trapped in our body and stored in our organs, muscles, and tissues. It leads to inflammation and chronic health problems. A lot of times when we are experiencing physical ailments, including pain, it can actually be caused by emotional blockages!

In Dr David Hamilton’s new book ‘Why Woo Woo works’ he gave a good explanation. ‘There’s a simple way to visualise the way reiki and other biofield energy therapies are believed to work. A plate of hot food gives off heat. The temperature of the environment around the plate is correlated with the temperature of the food, and that’s why the air close to the food feels warm. But if we altered the temperature ‘field’ (the area of heat) around the food, it would impact on the food itself. So we could cool the food by cooling the environment around it or we could make it warmer by placing it in a hot environment. In biofield energy therapies, the idea is to work with the energy field that surrounds the human body in the understanding that it’s correlated with the body’s internal state. Changes in the biofield are therefore, believed to induce changes in the organism (human body) that produces the field’.

Reiki is a very relaxing treatment and when we relax in that way, we activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which in turns boosts our immune system by relieving some of the stress on it. Studies have demonstrated that it reduces pain, anxiety, depression, and even blood pressure in patients suffering from a range of conditions. It treats the whole person and balances the physical body, the mind, the emotions and the spirit. It can be used alongside conventional treatments, as well as other complementary therapies. It can also be used for deep relaxation, for recharging your batteries and rebalancing your energy and chakras. I have several clients who have reported improvements in things like anxiety, chronic joint pain and insomnia.

Some people experience the Reiki energy as heat, whilst others feel it as coolness, tingling or vibration. Some people even see different colours, which normally reflect the colours of the chakras or vivid pictures. Some people may not feel anything other than a sense of relaxation, but that doesn’t mean Reiki isn’t working. Every person is different, and it even varies between treatments on the same person depending on what is going on with that person at the time. As mentioned above EVERYTHING IS ENERGY, and EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED TO EVERYTHING ELSE. So, whilst Reiki is usually carried out as an in-person treatment, Reiki healing can actually take place on someone who is not present in the same place as the Reiki practitioner (this as sometimes referred to as Distance Reiki). Now I know the sceptic in you must be thinking I have really lost the plot now. But it really works as we’re all energy and we’re all connected! The universe really is a wonderful thing.

So hopefully that gives you more of an insight into what Reiki is and what it can do.

If you have any questions then get in touch and I’ll do my best to answer

Pauline