What is Reiki?

Reiki has been taught in the West since the 1970s, and it has been presented rather like an oriental version of spiritual healing, though in its original Japanese form the emphasis was very much on self-healing and spiritual development. Certainly the practice of Reiki is based on working with, and channelling energy, or a spiritual energy. This energy can be referred to as ‘chi’, which you may have heard of. When you visit an acupuncturist they use needles to encourage energy to flow through a series of meridians or energy channels that run the length of your body; that energy is called ‘chi’.

You may have heard of a Japanese massage technique called Shiatsu, which uses finger pressure on acupuncture points to achieve a similar effect; the Japanese adopted the Chinese view of the body's energy system. You will probably have heard of Tai Chi (or maybe Chi Kung/QiGong), a graceful system of exercises that are designed to build up, or cultivate, your personal reserves of this energy, and the graceful movements that you make serve to circulate this energy smoothly throughout your body, breaking down any blockages and bringing things into balance on all levels. The energy is seen as animating all living things.

When we move from China to India, the same energy is referred to as ‘prana’, and breathing exercises and yoga techniques have been developed to again bring your energy system into balance. In India they do not think in terms of meridians, but of chakras: energy centres running the length of your body from the crown of your head to the base of your spine, seven main ones and further subsidiary ones in other locations.

The intention with all these energy techniques is that if you can harmonise your energy system, you are putting your body in the best possible position to heal itself on all levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. In fact, the Chinese view is that chi not only flows through your body, but surrounds and engulfs you, too.

When you practice Reiki you are not just dealing with a ‘cold’ ‘clinical’ energy, the same energy that is manipulated by acupuncturists or controlled by practitioners of yoga or tai chi. There is more to Reiki than that. When you channel Reiki, it does not feel like a neutral energy that you are dealing with: it feels beautiful, and the more you practice Reiki, the more beautiful it becomes!

Reiki has important similarities to conventional spiritual healing, particularly in terms of the things that people feel when they are having a Reiki treatment. Many people see the Reiki energy as having divine origins, and interpret the energy as divine love or divine light. Reiki opens you up to the divine, however you wish to interpret that; Reiki reinforces your individual connection to your deity, and it feels beautiful. Because Reiki is not attached to any religion or belief system, though, it does not conflict with an individual's beliefs, or lack of beliefs, so Reiki is acceptable to atheists and believers alike, agnostics and Catholics, Moslems and Pagans. 

What can Reiki do for me?

Over the years, Reiki seems to have dealt successfully with most problems and disorders, and I have found it to be effective in a wide range of conditions. However, there is no 'proper' scientific evidence to back up any claims made about the effectiveness of Reiki treatments, and all the evidence so far is anecdotal. In my experience, the general effect of a course of Reiki treatments is to produce a feeling of being calm and serene, more able to cope. If energy levels are low then they will be boosted, if spirits are low then they will be lifted; it makes you feel more positive and brings things back into balance.

These same effects are produced if you become attuned to Reiki yourself, since you can focus the energy on yourself by way of regular self-treatments. When you treat others you also receive some benefit from the Reiki energy that is flowing through you, so you are balanced yourself as you share the energy with others.

In my experience of treating a whole range of conditions, Reiki seems to produce fast and long-lasting results in almost all cases of:

Stress, tension, anxiety and related symptoms

Sleeplessness

Emotional turmoil and discord

Feeling unable to cope

Compulsive Eating

Low spirits, depression

...even when these problems have continued unresolved for years. Usually a course of four Reiki treatments at weekly intervals would seem to be enough to produce long-term beneficial changes in these areas.

Physical problems do seem to take longer to shift sometimes, but I have experienced Reiki being successful with all of the following, and others besides:

•           Sports injuries

•           Long term pain, e.g. back pain

•           Rheumatism, arthritis, sciatica, scoliosis

•           Low energy levels

•           M.E.

I am also able to give domestic animals reiki treatments too. If they are feeling down or suffering pain please give me a call.