One of the things I always encourage practicing is self-care. One of my ways of practicing self-care and to live stress-free is to have monthly reiki sessions. You may be asking yourself “What is reiki?” Well, you’re in luck because I’m going to give you a little overview of what reiki is, how it works and give you my personal experience to help you see if it’s right for you.
Let’s start with an easy question – What is reiki? The word itself has Japanese origins. Rei means “God’s wisdom or the higher power” and Ki means “life force energy”. Essentially, reiki is spiritually guided life force energy. And they say you should connect more and more to your life force energy to live a well balanced life.
Reiki is an alternative practice that helps to promote stress reduction and relaxation. It uses a technique called palm healing or hands-on healing. Practitioners transfer universal energy through the palms to the body to allow the body to heal itself and reach balance. The idea behind reiki is that unseen life force energy flows through our body and allows us to be alive. If our energy is low, we are more likely to get sick and feel stressed out. If our energy is high, we are more capable of being in “the flow” and feeling happy and staying healthy.
Reiki treats the whole person – body, emotion, mind and spirit. A session can be different for everyone too. Some may feel the energy literally flowing through the body and around it. Most feel a sense of relaxation, inner peace, security and well-being. Reiki works through hand placement on energy lines or chakras along a person’s body.
- Crown Chakra – Our consciousness concerned with perceptions of unity or separation comes from this chakra. It also involves one’s inner wisdom.
- Third Eye – This is where our spiritual perspective comes from, our deep inner level of being. It’s where our ability to trust our inner guidance comes from.
- Throat Chakra – Communication and expression come from this chakra. All aspects of expressing, listening to and receiving our intuition are based here.
- Heart Chakra – The feelings we have of compassion, tenderness, unconditional love, rejection and well-being come through this chakra.
- Solar Plexus Chakra – Perceptions of power, control and freedom stem from this chakra. This is the chakra that allows us to be ourselves.
- Sacral Chakra – Our wants and needs, what we find pleasurable and true in emotion come through this chakra. Food and sex desires come through here.
- Root Chakra – This chakra represents security and survival and the ability to be grounded in the present.
I’ve been going for reiki for years and it’s been an amazing journey. I don’t know what I’d do without it. It took a few sessions before I really felt any changes but once I did, the flood gates opened. It’s like any other practice…you have to do it a few times before you’ll see results.
My practitioner has me lie down on a table, puts on soft music to help me relax and get in the zone and has me take a few deep breaths before we start. As she goes through my chakras she moves the energy around and helps balance my system. Sometimes I can feel the energy being moved and I can see images that may or may not mean something for me. In the past, I have felt like I was floating off the table. Believe it or not, I’ve even visualized the moving staircase at Hogwarts. Yes, strange, but there is always a reason. These types of events happen simply because the energy is being moved about and the life force energy wants me to feel or see these things.
My sessions last about an hour and sometimes go a little over that. When my session is over, I feel like I’ve had a HUGE weight has been lifted off my chest. I feel a sense of relief and feel like the world is right. I can relate reiki to going to a therapist for a talk therapy session. Although my practitioner and I don’t always talk, she helps me feel better and feel more at ease. I highly recommend reiki for anyone looking to try something new to help them de-stress and live a more balanced life.
If you’ve tried reiki, share your thoughts below. I’d love to hear about your experiences and how it helps you.