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Energy Series - Reiki Session
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Description
Performed while fully clothed, Reiki treatments involve the directed
focusing of the energies of both the practitioner and recipient managed or
choreographed by by the practitioner. Using the classic 12 hand
positions with additional positions added to cover the whole body, the
therapy aids in achieving physical, emotional, mental and spiritual
purification.
If you are new to Reiki, please schedule a longer session to accommodate
your education into it's prosperities.
Key Benefits
- relieves stress and pain
- relaxes muscle spasms
- releases emotional blockages
- accelerates natural healing
- stimulates the immune system
- balances subtle body energies
Procedure
Recommended duration - 55 min.
Note: By Scheduled Appointment Only!
Treatment Data
Please read this additional information...
Author/s: Douglas Dupler
Definition
Reiki is a form of therapy that uses simple hands-on, no-touch, and
visualization techniques, with the goal of improving the flow of life energy
in a person. Reiki (pronounced ray-key) means "universal life energy" in
Japanese, and Reiki practitioners are trained to detect and alleviate
problems of energy flow on the physical, emotional, and spiritual level.
Reiki touch therapy is used in much the same way to achieve similar effects
that traditional massage therapy is used--to relieve stress and pain, and to
improve the symptoms of various Health conditions.
Origins
Reiki was developed in the mid-1800s by Dr. Mikao Usui, a Japanese
scholar of religion. According to the story that has been passed down among
Reiki teachers, Usui was a Christian who was intrigued by the idea that
Christ could heal sick people by touching them with his hands. Searching for
clues that would explain the secrets of healing with hands, Usui made a long
pilgrimage around the world, visiting many ancient religious sects and
studying ancient books. Some Reiki teachers claim that Usui found clues
leading back nearly 10,000 years to healing arts that originated in ancient
Tibet. During his intense studies, Usui claimed he had a spiritual
experience, which enabled him to heal with his own hands by becoming aware
of and tapping into the universal life force. After that, he dedicated his
life to helping the sick and poor. His reputation grew as he healed sick
people for many years in Kyoto, Japan. Before his death, Usui passed on his
healing insights using universal life energy to Dr. Chujiru Hayashi, a close
acquaintance. Hayashi, in turn, passed on the healing techniques in 1938 to
Hawayo Takata, a Japanese woman from Hawaii, whom he had cured of
life-threatening illness using Reiki methods. Takata became a firm believer
and proponent of Reiki, and during the 1970s formed an initiation program
for training Reiki masters to preserve Usui's teachings. Before she died,
she prepared her granddaughter, Phyllis Lei Furumoto, to continue the
lineage. Takata had personally trained 21 practitioners before she died at
the age of 80 in 1980. Along with other Reiki masters authorized by Takata,
Furumoto formed the Reiki Alliance. A faction led by Barbara Ray, formed the
American Reiki Association, which was known as Radiance Technique
Association International. Today, there are over 1,000 Reiki masters
practicing around the world, whose methods can all be traced back directly
to Dr. Usui.
Benefits
Reiki claims to provide many of the same benefits as traditional massage
therapy, such as reducing stress, stimulating the immune system, increasing
energy, and relieving the pain and symptoms of Health conditions.
Practitioners have reported success in helping patients with acute and
chronic illnesses, from asthma and arthritis to trauma and recovery from
surgery. Reiki is a gentle and safe technique, and has been used
successfully in some hospitals. It has been found to be very calming and
reassuring for those suffering from severe or fatal conditions. Reiki can
been used by doctors, nurses, psychologists and other Health professionals
to bring touch and deeper caring into their healing practices.
Description
The basic philosophy of Reiki
The basic idea of Reiki is that the body has an energy field that is
central to its Health and proper functioning, and this energy travels in
certain pathways that can become blocked or weakened. This idea of energy
flow in the body is also a central concept in Ayurvedic medicine and
traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture.
Reiki practitioners believe that everyone has the potential to access the
universal life energy, but that over time most people's systems become
blocked and the energy becomes weakened in them. A Reiki practitioner is
trained to be able to detect these blockages, and practitioners will use
their hands, thoughts, and own energy fields to improve the energy flow in a
patient. Reiki is one of the more esoteric alternative medical practices,
because no one is sure exactly how it works on the physiological level.
Practitioners claim that it works on very subtle energy levels, or possibly
works on the chakra system. The chakras are the system of seven energy
centers along the middle of the body believed to be connected with the
nervous and endocrine systems, as defined by yoga and Ayurvedic medicine.
Reiki masters claim that healing energy can even be sent to a person from
far away, noting that Reiki works on the same principles that enables
praying to work for some patients, although a practitioner needs advanced
training to be able to send energy from afar.
According to the original principles of Usui, patients must also have a
proper attitude for Reiki to work most effectively. Patients must take
responsibility for their own Health, and must want to be healed.
Furthermore, when energy is received from a Reiki healer, patients must be
willing to give back energy to others, and to compensate the healer in some
way, as well. Finally, Usui claimed that a healing attitude was free from
worry and fear, was filled with gratitude for life and for others, and
placed emphasis on each person finding honest and meaningful work in their
lives--all this, in order to complete the picture of overall Health.
A Reiki session
Reiki sessions can take various forms, but most commonly resemble typical
bodywork appointments, where the receiver lies clothed on his or her back on
a flat surface or massage table. A session generally lasts from an hour to
an hour and a half. Reiki is a simple procedure, consisting of calm and
concentrated touching, with the practitioner focusing on healing and giving
energy to specific areas on the receiver's body. Practitioners place their
hands over positions on the body where the organs and endocrine glands
reside, and the areas that correspond to the chakra centers. Practitioners
also use mental visualization to send healing energy to areas of the
receiver's body that need it. In special cases or with injuries, a no-touch
technique is used, where the practitioner's hands are sometimes held just
above the body without touching it. Advanced practitioners rely on intuition
and experience to determine which areas of a body need the most energy
healing.
The practitioner's hands are held flat against the receiver's body, with
the fingertips touching. There can be over 20 positions on both sides of the
body where the hands are placed. The positions begin at the crown of the
head and move towards the feet. The receiver usually turns over once during
the session. The practitioner's hands are held in each position for a
usually five minutes, to allow the transfer of energy and the healing
process to take place. In each position, the hands are kept stationary,
unlike typical massage where the hands move, and both the giver and receiver
attempt to maintain an attitude of awareness, openness, and caring.
Reiki practitioners recommend that those receiving Reiki for the first
time go through a series of three to four initial treatments over the course
of about a week, to allow for cleansing and the initial readjustment of
energy. Reiki sessions can cost from $30-100 per session. Insurance coverage
is rare, and consumers should consult their individual policies as to
whether or not such therapies are included.
Self-treatment with Reiki
Although Reiki practitioners believe that formal training is necessary to
learn the proper methods of energy channeling and healing, individuals can
still use some of the basic positions of Reiki to relieve stress and to
stimulate healing on themselves or another. The positions can be performed
anywhere and for however long they are needed. Positions generally move from
the top of the body down, but positions can be used wherever there is pain
or stress. Mental attitude is important during Reiki; the mind should be
cleared of all stressful thoughts and concentrated on compassion, love, and
peace as forms of energy that are surrounding, entering, and healing the
body.
The following positions are illustrated in Reiki: Energy Medicine:
Position one: Hands are placed on the top of the head, with the wrists
near the ears and the fingertips touching on the crown of the head. Eyes
should be closed. Hold for five minutes or more, until the mind feels clear
and calm.
Position two: Cup the hands slightly and place the palms over the closed
eyes, with the fingers resting on the forehead.
Position three: Place the hands on the sides of the head, with the thumbs
behind the ear and the palms over the lower jaws, with the fingers covering
the temples.
Position four: Place one hand on the back of the neck, at the base of the
skull, and put the other hand on the head just above it, parallel to it.
Position five: Wrap the hands around the front of the throat, and rest
them there gently with the heels of the hands touching in front.
Position six: Place each hand on top of a shoulder, close to the side of
neck, on top of the trapezius muscle.
Position seven: Form a T-shape with the hands over the chest, with the
left hand covering the heart and the right hand above it, covering the upper
part of the chest.
Position eight: The hands are placed flat against the front of the body
with fingertips touching. Hold for five minutes or so, and repeat four or
five times, moving down a hand-width each time until the pelvic region is
reached, which is covered with a v-shape of the hands. Then, for the final
position, repeat this technique on the back, beginning as close to the
shoulders as the hands can reach, and ending by forming a T-shape with the
hands at the base of the spine.
Side effects
Reiki generally has no side effects, as it is a very low impact and
gentle procedure. Some receivers report tingling or sensations of heat or
cold during treatment. Others have reported sadness or anxiety during
treatment, which practitioners claim are buried or repressed emotions being
released by the new energy flow.
Research & general acceptance
Reiki has been used in major clinics and hospitals as part of alternative
healing practice, and doctors, dentists, nurses and other Health
professionals have been trained to use its gentle touch techniques as part
of their practice. To date, the little scientific research that has been
conducted with Reiki implies that its techniques bring about the relaxation
response , in which stress levels decrease, and immune response increases.
Reiki practitioners claim that the most important measurement of their
technique is whether the individual feels better after treatment. They also
claim that science cannot measure the subtle energy changes that they are
attempting to make.
Training & certification
Reiki practitioners undergo a series of attunements , which are sessions
with Reiki masters that teach the basic methods of energy healing. Several
organizations provide resources for Reiki training. Reiki practitioners
believe these attunements are necessary for correct technique. The masters
teach each person how to activate the universal life energy in themselves
before they can pass it on to others. These initiations often are held
during weekend workshops. Trainees can achieve up to four levels of
attunements, until they reach the level of master themselves. The
certification process is not a formal one; masters approve students when
they feel satisfied with their progress.
Key Terms
- Attunement - Life energy teaching given by Reiki master to a student.
- Chakra - One of seven major energy centers in the body, as defined by
Hindu and yoga philosophy.
- Relaxation response - Body's response to relaxation techniques, during
which metabolism and stress levels decrease and immune response increases.
Further Reading
For Your Information
Books
- Baginski, B.J. and S. Sharamon. Reiki: Universal Life Energy.
Mendocino, CA: LifeRhythm, 1988.
- Barnett, Libby and Maggie Chambers. Reiki: Energy Medicine. Rochester,
VT: Healing Arts Press, 1996.
- Brown, Fran. Living Reiki: Takata's Teachings. Mendocino, CA:
LifeRhythm, 1992.
Organizations
- The International Association of Reiki Professionals. P.O. Box 104,
Harrisville, NH 03450 USA.
http://www.iarp.org.
Other
- The American Reiki Masters Association (ARMA). PO Box 130, Lake City,
FL 32056-0130. (904) 755-9638.
- The Center for Reiki Training. 29209 Northwestern Highway, #592,
Southfield, MI 48034. (800) 332-8112.
- The International Center for Reiki Training.
http://www.Reiki.org.
- Reiki Alliance. P.O. Box 41, Cataldo, ID 83810-1041. (208) 682-3535.
Source: Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine. Gale
Group, 2001. |
