When you think of spiritual growth, what tools do you think of to help you on your journey?
Reiki can be a great tool to support you in your healing and your spiritual growth path and for your empowerment. I discovered reiki almost 10 years ago. I was experiencing a lack of interest in life and did not see the purpose of my existence. Honestly, Reiki is not the only tool I used for spiritual growth, but it surely was one of them.
I often say that we need multiple tools in our healing box for spiritual growth. More often than not, we get to choose what we intuitively feel like using at a particular moment, to receive the message or see the path of spiritual growth.
How is reiki useful on our spiritual growth journeys? Let’s begin by exploring what Reiki is.
Reiki is hands-on, natural healing using the universal life force energy. The term comes from the Japanese words “rei,” meaning universal, and “ki,” which means vital life force energy that flows through all living things. Reiki is defined as abundant, gentle energy that is not tied to any specific religion or nationality. This energy healing targets the energy fields around the body and promotes spiritual growth.
Reiki is being used all over the world in places including hospitals was developed by a Japanese man named Mikao Usui in the early 1900s. It aids in healing by helping people become balanced physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Energy can stagnate in the body where there has been physical injury or possibly emotional pain. In time, these energy blocks can cause illness. Energy medicine aims to help the flow of energy and remove blocks in a similar way to acupuncture or acupressure. Improving the flow of energy around the body, can enable relaxation, reduce pain, speed healing, and reduce other symptoms of illness.
A 2007 survey, it showed that in the United States (U.S.), 1.2 million (adults tried Reiki or a similar therapy at least once in the previous year. Over 60 hospitals offer Reiki services to patients.
A Reiki practitioner gently moves her hands just above or on the client’s clothed body. This helps reduce stress and promote healing by encouraging a healthy flow of energy. The Reiki practitioner is the conduit between the client and the source of the universal life force energy; the energy flows through the practitioner’s energy field and through their hands to the patient.
During the treatment, the patient lies on a massage table, fully clothed. The Reiki practitioner gently places their hands’ palms down on or just above the patient’s body in specific energy locations and uses a series of 12 to 15 different hand positions.
Coincidentally, the length of time that the practitioner leaves their hands in each position is determined by the flow of energy through her hands at each location. There is no pressure, massage, or manipulation while the practitioner holds their hands lightly on or over the body, the transfer of energy takes place.
The patient experiences the energy as sensations, such as heat, tingling, or pulsing where the practitioner has placed her hands. Sometimes, the sensations move through the body. Some people do not perceive any change at all. Most people feel very relaxed and peaceful, and many fall asleep during the treatment.
Occasionally, some clients prefer to have one session while others have a series of sessions to work on a particular issue.
According to a 2007 survey conducted by the National Institutes of Health, 1.2 million adults and 161,000 children in the United States received energy healing therapy like Reiki in the previous year. Also, Reiki can be used by a growing number of Americans to help with relaxation, anxiety, pain management, and depression, according to a study in March-April 2017 issue of Holistic Nursing Practice.
A Reiki treatment may do the following:
- bring about a peaceful, deep state of relaxation
- dissolve energy blockages and tension
- detoxify the body
- supply universal life force energy to the body
- stimulate the body’s immune system
- help to relieve pain
- stimulate tissue and bone healing after injury or surgery
- increase the vibrational frequency on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels
In addition, Reiki complements all other types of medical and therapeutic treatments. Don’t use it as a substitute for consultation of a physician, a practitioner of natural therapeutics, or a psychotherapist. Reiki can increase the efficacy of other types of healing.
The healing effects have been mediated through channeling the universal energy known as qi, pronounced “chi.” In India, this is known as “prana,” which is the same energy involved in tai chi exercise. It is the life force energy that surrounds all of us. The greatest benefit of Reiki is reducing stress. Meaning our bodies cannot heal when they’re in a stressed state all the time.
Your brain is constantly processing information in a region called the hypothalamus. Next, it sends signals through your autonomic nervous system to the rest of your body, to either stimulate or relax different functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and digestion, according to Harvard Health.
When you experience stressors like poor sleep, a confrontation with a friend, or even exercise, your sympathetic nervous system reacts, releasing the hormone epinephrine and increasing heart rate and blood pressure. When your body is constantly under stress, this response can shift into overdrive, which can lead to problems like a greater risk of heart disease, research has found.
Additionally, Reiki aids relaxation, assists in the body’s natural healing processes and develop emotional, mental, and spiritual growth and well-being.
It also induces deep relaxation, helps people cope with difficulties, relieves emotional stress, and improves overall well-being.
If you are in good health already, regularly applied reiki treatments enhance your ability to respond to unhealthy elements in your environment and help you to handle stress. Reiki promotes the harmonious distribution of energy, Reiki is an excellent form of preventive medicine.
When we have energy blockages and we are stressed we are having a harder time staying connected with our source of Higher Power. Reiki helps us clean energetic paths to feel stronger connection and unity with the Universe and humanity.
Lastly, Reiki helps us experience clarity on our goals, tap into our purpose and higher intention.
When we feel confused, alone, disconnected, unbalanced, irritated, reiki is a tool to use to get into the flow.
Much love,
Your coach
Resources
Campos M. Heart Rate Variability: A New Way to Track Well-Being. Harvard Medical School. October 22, 2019.
Diaz-Rodriguez L, Arroyo-Morales M, Fernandez-de-las-Penas C, et al. Immediate Effects of Reiki on Heart Rate Variability, Cortisol Levels, and Body Temperature in Health Care Professionals With Burnout. Biological Research for Nursing. October 2011.
