What is breathwork and how can it help us?
Reiki is known to be a relieving, clarifying, relaxing, healing and re-vitalising treatment that focuses on the fundamentals of our energy forces. It is defined as: a healing technique based on the principle that the therapist can channel energy into the patient by means of touch, to activate the natural healing processes of the patient’s body and restore physical and emotional well-being.
When our energy centres become clogged up, it can mess with our entire being. Often, when people experience a sense of being ”stuck,” it is the result of a chakra needing release. In the workplace, this can result in writers block, feelings of fatigue, slowed reaction, lack of inspiration and then our confidence takes a hit, creating a vicious circle. By getting your energy balanced, you will feel clarity of the mind and those creative juices will come flowing back, allowing you to be productive once again in all aspects of your life.
“If you spend enough time with yourself in silence, you’ll be surprised what goes through your head.”
Sanda Bullock
Chakras
Chakras are centres of energy, located on the midline of the body. There are seven of them, and they govern our psychological properties. The chakras located on the lower part of our body are our instinctual side, the highest ones our mental side.
The chakras can have various levels of activity. When they’re “open,” they’re considered operative in a normal fashion.
Ideally, all chakras would contribute to our being. Our instincts would work together with our feelings and thinking. However, this is usually not the case. Some chakras are not open enough (being under-active), and to compensate, other chakras are over-active. The ideal state is where the chakras are balanced.
Reiki is a treatment in which the practitioner aims to bring your chakras into a harmonious state, aligning them.
We have a choice about how we take what happens to us in our life and whether or not we allow it to turn us. We can become consumed by hate and darkness, or we’re able to regain our humanity somehow, or come to terms with things and learn something about ourselves.
Angela Joile
Reiki’s place in the hall of fame
Unsurprisingly, the media has brought attention to successful people in the limelight who claim Reiki has helped get them to where they are today. The supply and demand for this treatment has shot upwards in recent years, as more and more people are becoming aware of themselves, and the benefits of leading a holistic lifestyle.
The A-list Reiki celebrity club is quite substantial and ever-growing. When you’re super busy and famous, you need to take even more care of your spiritual self than most under-the-radar people. Fame is not all it’s cracked up to be, and if you’re not careful, you can lose yourself in the circus of it all.
Familiar faces that use Reiki:
- Mel B
- Halle Berry
- Kate Bosworth
- Sandra Bullock
- Ellen DeGeneres
- Gaynor Faye
- Michael Flatley
- Sadie Frost
- Macy Gray
- Goldie Hawn
- Kate Hudson
- Helen Hunt
- Angelina Jolie
- Nicole Kidman
- Gwyneth Paltrow
- Joely Richardson
- Sharon Stone
- Uma Thurman
- Naomi Watts
What to expect
A complete Reiki session is offered to a fully clothed recipient who is lying on a treatment table or sitting comfortably supported in a chair.
Most commonly, Reiki is offered through light, non-invasive touch with the practitioner’s hands placed and held on a series of locations on the head and front and back of the torso. The placement of the hands should never be intrusive or inappropriate, nor should there be any pressure.
Additional placements on the limbs can be done as needed (for example, if there is an injury or surgical scar), and some practitioners routinely do so. The Reiki practitioner can hold her hands just off the body if needed (for example, in the presence of an open wound or burn), and some practitioners always offer Reiki in this way.
Reiki works like a thermostat that regulates the body. Much like a furnace that automatically turns on and off to regulate the temperature, it flows slowly or rapidly-as needed–to dispense balancing energies. Like a pendulum swinging back and forth, it sometimes moves erratically, other times smoothly. These fluctuations of energy churning within us can often be felt as pins-and-needles tingling, hot flashes, goose bumps, chills, throbbing, etc.
You may experience any of the following sensations during a Reiki session: heat or coolness, pins-and-needle tingling, vibrational buzzing, electrical sparks, numbness, throbbing, itchiness, and sleepiness. A practitioner’s hands will often heat up as a result of the flow coursing through his palms. The recipient frequently feels sleepy and yawns repeatedly as incoming energies soothe and calm pent-up emotional tension and stress.
Some people are more in tune with their bodies than others and will be able to share fantastic stories about feeling the different sensations that occur while using Reiki. They will talk about experiencing imagery, kinesthesia, and/or inner voices. For other people, sensations can be very subtle and may be overlooked, but with continued practice most people will begin to notice even the slightest shifts of energy. A few people will seldom, if ever, feel anything with Reiki beyond the tactile sensation of hands-to-body touch.
Fortunately, Reiki works whether you feel it or not. If you are having difficulty feeling sensations while giving a Reiki treatment, try closing your eyes. Keeping your eyes shut eliminates visual distractions, which will help you focus more on the person and the sensations.
Learn more about Reiki and get your diploma!
The School of Natural Health Sciences (SNHS) offers a remarkable Reiki syllabus which is available to study online. You can study on your own schedule from the comfort of your own home and have your diploma mailed to your front door. SNHS has been training holistic practitioners for over 18 years and has over 50 holistic therapy courses available. Don’t miss out on our regular blog posts regarding all things healthy, lovely and important. We hope to see you around! 🙂
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