October 23, 2024
Many people wonder what Reiki actually is. It is a naturally existing “laying on hands” technique that uses the practitioner’s intuition, compassion and empathy to promote stress reduction, relaxation, pain reduction and so much more! The word Reiki comes from a Japanese kanji. It’s general meaning is divided into two meanings. Rei is universal spiritual wisdom. Meaning that it is present everywhere. Ki is the same as Chi, Prana or Ki and science calls it our biofield energy. Reiki is considered life energy known as the universal energy that emanates all life. (See reference HERE ).Despite the fact that Reiki is a Japanese technique, it is often confused as a religious practice. Reiki is not a religious practice. It is a practice that is based in a respectful complementary approach that uses gentle touch to encourage the mind, body & soul to self heal. This is done with the understanding that there is a life force energy, electromagnetic field, energy force that is within every living being, animal and plant. This energy flows between the practitioner and the receiver to promote self healing. Reiki is theorized to work by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which can also assist with reducing both heart rate and blood pressure. Due to Reiki’s plethora of benefits, it is being promoted more collaboratively into the healthcare system as a complementary treatment. The National Institute of Health (NIH - September 2017) defined Reiki as a “biofield therapy that aims to affect energy fields around the body and is considered non-invasive and a safe complementary therapy that may have a number of benefits.” Some of these included: Pain relief: Reiki may help reduce pain for patients with chronic health conditions. Anxiety reduction: Reiki may help reduce anxiety for patients with chronic health conditions. Improved mood: Reiki may help improve mood and sleep. Stress reduction: Reiki may help reduce stress. Improved quality of life: Reiki may help improve quality of life. Better relaxation: Reiki may help the body relax, which may help it heal from damage caused by stress, injury, or disease. Improved immune system: Reiki may help balance the immune system. Reiki is a beneficial therapy to have in itself, however, when uniting Sound Healing with Reiki, the results can be very therapeutically transformative. Movement & Sound Healing offers these techniques individually or combined.