Blog

I try Reiki!

Posted on January 5, 2018

My wonderful wife got me a session of Reiki for Christmas. Having a profound interest in healing of all sort, I had some general knowledge of the practice but never tried it personally. As my wife knows, I love experiencing things first hand as much as I love learning about different approaches to healing.

With holiday fun in full swing, I didn’t have a great deal of time to research more on the practice of Reiki before walking into my appointment. After a quick hello with Reiki Master, she gave me a little background on Reiki and asked about my goals for our work together. I did not come in with specific goals so I asked for more of a general assessment and to work on anything that came up during the check-in. I know, a very western medical approach to an eastern Buddhist practice!

So, what is Reiki? I want to answer this in two ways. First, intellectually. According to Wikipedia:

Reiki (霊気) (/ˈreɪkiː/) is a form of alternative medicine developed in 1922 by Japanese Buddhist Mikao Usui. Since originating in Japan, Reiki has been adapted into varying cultural traditions across the world. Reiki practitioners use a technique called palm healing or hands-on healing through which a “universal energy” is allegedly transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the patient in order to encourage emotional or physical healing.

Second, what was my experience? The session started with me lying flat on my back, and after a little deep breathing (similar to the beginning of a massage) I was in a relaxed state. The Master then used crystals to balance my energy or chi (side note: my New Year’s resolution is to learn the 40 movements Tai Chi set so I’ve been thinking a great deal about chi lately!). It was all a very passive experience from the “patient” standpoint and lasted a little under an hour.

With my eyes closed the whole time, I could clearly feel different parts of my body get very warm throughout the session. Not expecting this sensation, it surprised me at first but, in my relaxed state, I enjoyed this experience more and more as the session continue. Coming out of the relaxed state as the session wrapped up, I felt a couple of very deep sensations.

First, I was incredibly relaxed physically, similar to what I experience after a massage. I was a little surprised to feel this way as there was no physical contact made during the session. Second, my mind (or conscious awareness) seemed more centered in my body. Hard to describe this sensation, the best I can say is for a guy whose mind is always spinning a million miles per second, the spinning stopped, and it felt my mind was now in sync with my body (a sensation I rarely experience). Overall, I felt great both physically and mentally.

The exciting thing about Reiki (verse massage) is that these sensations are still with me nearly a week later. This result peaked my interested, and I have decided to put my Massage Envy membership on hold for now and explore Reiki further. I’ll give you another update in the coming months and let you know my ongoing experience and how Reiki might benefit those struggling with trauma. For now, I’m still enjoying the centeredness from my first session!