What is Reiki and How Can It Help?

Reiki is a Japanese healing technique that uses hand placements over different energy centers of the body to clear energetic blockages, stagnation, imbalances and disruptions. The hands hold a concentrated amount of energy which can be channeled to meridians, chakras and auras allowing for a state of deep relaxation. Allowing the body to relax can have beneficial affects on the nervous system, immune system, stress tolerance, sleep, physical aliments, connection to self and spirituality. It allows for the client to check in with their body on any tensions, discomforts or emotions they have been holding onto and come back to harmony in their body. Clients often feel very relaxed, light, grounded, emotionally re-charged and mentally clear after a treatment².

Clients lay down, fully clothed, while the practitioner’s hands hover an inch above the physical body or are gently placed on the client’s energy centers depending on their preference. Many reiki masters can sense heaviness and energetic blockages through a hot, pulsing or almost magnetic feeling in the hands. These blocks can be released by clearing the emotions and energies tied to the area affected, which often intuitively come up for the practitioner and client. Some practitioners combine reiki with mental/emotional release techniques, meditation, visualization, flower essences, intuitive readings and sound therapy for a more integrative approach.

Energy Comes in Many Forms

Whether you are familiar with energy or not, I am here to break it down for you so you can feel inspired to tap into your own innate energy that can be harnessed for creativity, mental clarity, pleasure, purpose and healing.

Energy comes in many forms; physical, kinetic, thermal, chemical, nuclear, electrical, electromagnetic and subtle. Many of these forms of energy can be detected by our 5 senses; the heat from someone’s hands, seeing magnets attract or repel one another, feeling the beating of our heart, seeing rainbow colours reflect through a pane of glass and feeling the wind against our skin.

“Subtle” energies are those that we may not be able to detect with our 5 senses, however our bodies interact with them constantly¹. These energies often feel like an inner knowing; like the sense of someone staring at you without looking, the energy or mood shift you feel around certain people, the hairs standing up at the back of your neck, the sense to walk down one street and not the other, a vivid dream or vision that then has significant meaning in real life. The subtle energies we interact with in our environment, can make us more connected but can also disrupt our internal energy system.

Energy medicine encompasses many modalities including, but not limited to, reiki, shamanism, meditation, acupuncture, chi and intuitive healing. Although these practices are slightly different and originate from different areas, the principles of channeling and guiding universal life force energy are very similar.

How is Energy Disrupted?

Much like a fuzzy television with an interrupted signal, our bodies can become “disconnected” when energetic disruptions happen due to trapped emotions, traumatic events, stress and physical ailments. When in a calm, relaxed state, energy flows freely through each of us. In situations of stress and trauma our bodies stop the flow of vital energy in order to “protect” us from feeling what may be too overwhelming or hurtful. Events such as an argument with a spouse, financial stress, a health diagnosis, verbal abuse, bullying, discrimination, road rage and negative self talk can create energetic disruption.

Our innate intelligence can limit the flow of energy as a protection mechanism which is genius in acute circumstances, but over time these energetic blockages can lead to physical and emotional imbalances. It is important to understand the root cause of energetic imbalances. That is why working with an energy practitioner can be helpful when starting your path to intuitive healing. Tapping into your own energy and intuition can help with self-esteem, emotional release, physical ailments, anxiety, low energy and sleep disturbances.

References

1. Eden, D. (2008). Energy medicine: Balancing your body’s energies for optimal health, joy, and vitality. Tarcher Perigee.

2. International Association of Reiki Professionals. (2020). What is reiki?. https://iarp.org/what-is-reiki/