Reiki is so much more well known about nowadays - in fact now there are hundreds of reiki practitioners up and down the UK, and it’s now become a firm fixture in the world of holistic wellbeing. But many people still don’t quite understand what reiki is or how it actually works – and how it can help such a huge variety of conditions.
As an integrative physiotherapist I’ve been using reiki within my practice for many years, and I’m always astounded by the remarkable effects it can have on so many different health concerns.
What is reiki, and how does it work?
Reiki is a type of energy healing which first originated in Japan. Modern reiki was ‘rediscovered’ by Dr Mikao Usui after a long period of meditation, who then brought it to Japan and eventually to the rest of the world. Reiki is a gentle, non-invasive complementary therapy – which makes it accessible for a much wider variety of people. The word reiki literally means ‘universal flow of life force energy’ – and during a session, we’re working with this energy to support and balance the body.
Like most types of complementary therapies, especially those from eastern traditions, it’s tricky to find scientific ‘proof’ of how exactly it works and indeed, whether it is working at all. And anyone who has felt the benefits of reiki will know that the results really do speak for themselves.
Supporting the whole body on an energetic level
Versatility is just one of the reasons I love to bring reiki into my integrative practice. Reiki is universal – it’s safe and suitable for anyone and it works with the body as a whole rather than focusing in on one specific area or symptom.
Reiki can help with many different common health concerns, including:
Fatigue
IBS and digestive difficulties
Fertility issues
Cancer and cancer treatment side-effects
Mental health concerns, such as low mood, depression and anxiety
Stress and stress-related conditions
Chronic pain
Autoimmune disease
Sleep disturbance
Reiki is a great place to start if you’re dealing with lots of different symptoms or have complex health conditions such as chronic illness or cancer, because it simultaneously supports different aspects of our mental and physical wellbeing. As with most complementary therapies, reiki is intended to support primary care treatment pathways rather than replace them. In some cases it can be advisable to ask your doctor before starting a course of reiki treatment.
Soothing stress and enhancing emotional health
I think one of the biggest benefits of reiki is its effect on our emotional health – as it is a deeply relaxing and restorative treatment. Most people rarely get time completely to themselves - many don’t receive gentle, intentional and compassionate touch very often either. Stress and emotional difficulty can also be also directly linked to physical dis-ease and ill health – and whilst there’s still some way to go before we can cite stress as a direct cause of dis-ease, the negative impact of stress on recovery and healing is well-documented. Thanks to extensive preliminary research in the fields of neurobiology and somatics, we now have a much clearer understanding of how our emotional state impacts upon our overall health. So within reiki itself there is an in-built support for our all-important mental and emotional wellbeing which then helps us to improve our physical health.
Embracing the unseen
The main barrier I find to accessing reiki is that it isn’t perceptible to the eye or to the senses in some cases. Reiki works on a completely unseen level – although the results themselves are tangible. In this way, reiki can also teach us to unconsciously trust the process. When we do, we can feel more at ease, more free and less anxious or keen to control the outcomes of our health and any treatments or interventions that may be taking place. We don’t yet know (or perhaps more accurately, can’t prove beyond doubt) how reiki works exactly, and whether the chakra and meridian systems really can be worked with during sessions to harmonise and rebalance the body. But we do know that reiki can be transformational and highly supportive for anyone needing a helping hand with their physical and/or mental wellbeing.
For more information on reiki or to book a session with me, get in touch with me here: www.physiocareholistics.co.uk
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