About Reiki

REIKI -- ENERGY THERAPY

The word Reiki comes from the Japanese word (rei) which means “universal life” and (ki) which means “energy". 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.

Working predominately with the seven chakras, Reiki balances the energy centers of the body and activates the body’s innate wisdom to heal. This natural healing process helps to shift patterns of disease by releasing energetic blockages and encouraging the flow of life force energy throughout the body. â€‹Research has shown that the natural and non-invasive technique of Reiki can reduce pain, nausea, anxiety, and improve sleep. The lightness felt after a session leaves the client calm and energized.

A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing.

Energy therapy often relieves chronic pain, emotional stress, increases energy levels, and is over all balanced for all levels of being. Especially recommended for those experiencing recent or severe emotional distress due to grief or anxiety.

You may benefit from energy therapy if you’re seeking:

Stress reduction
Pain management
Relaxation improvement
Disease prevention
Wound healing
Pre- and post-operative surgical care
Chemotherapy and radiation relief

As a Reiki practitioner, I will use this art to help you find balance, reduce stress and guide you to personal wellness and comfort. It should not replace any current or future medical treatment.

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â€‹FINDING PEACE WITH REIKI

Our energy is scattered when our thoughts and emotions are moving from the past to the future and constantly reacting to the stimuli around us. We lose the feeling of wholeness that we crave -- that feeling of peace we somehow know is our birthright. Many of us have not experienced a sense of wholeness and inner peace for a long time. It might even seem unattainable -- an almost mythic state we know exists but cannot reach. Modern people overwhelmingly experience malaise, and anxiety disorders are now the most prevalent mental disorders in the United States. We can see our mental and emotional states from a mind-body perspective as part of the subtle energies that are a counterpart to our physical states. Energetically speaking -- a feeling of peace equates to a centered, calm, and free-flowing energy field.

The stress-reduction technique of Reiki uses the power of our intrinsically perfect animating life force to center our energy body and engage the parasympathetic nervous system. Reiki energy invigorates our energy flow, removing obstacles caused by mental, emotional, and physical disruptions. It hits the reset button allowing space to recover.
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Reiki is popularly portrayed as being given by a professional practitioner while the client lies on a massage table. However, Reiki is a fundamentally personal practice that focuses on self-transformation. Self-treatments are the bedrock of the practice for both the professional and the private practitioner. A self-practice involves laying one’s hands on the body daily or as often as possible. When contact is made for any extended time, the movement and balancing taking place can often be felt tangibly and intuitively. Results blossom when Reiki is done regularly, as with all practices. As with our breath, our hands are always with us, imbued with the power of our life force. The more our hands are laid on ourselves, our families, our neighbors, our animals, and our plants, the more vibrant we become with free-flowing energy, and the more Reiki we can take into the world.
Originally appeared as a blog for Duke Integrative Medicine, April 2018