This Reiki overview will show you how the healing modality works and how it works in adjunction to the medical industry.
In this Reiki overview Reiki Practitioners do not claim to heal ailments or dis-ease, they only assist and facilitate the process through love and prayer.
Usui Reiki emerged in Japan in the late 1800’s as a form of alternative therapy, referred to as energy healing.
The healing involves the transfer of Rei ‘universal’, Ki ‘energy’ from the practitioner’s hands to the patient’s body and aura of the patient.
Reiki has been used to heal over the centuries, yet is still surrounded by controversy. The reason is that it is hard to prove its effectiveness through scientific means. A reiki overview and comprehensive study is seriously needed.
However, many people who receive Reiki say it works, and its popularity is increasing. A Google search for the term currently returns no less than 89 200 000 results.
A survey conducted in 2007 showed that, in the United States, 1.2 million adults had tried Reiki or a similar therapy at least once in the previous year – 60 hospitals are believed to offer Reiki services to patients.
Reiki Facts
Some key points about Reiki:
- Reiki is a form of alternate energy therapy.
- Despite scepticism in some circles, it is growing in popularity and by 2001, there were 6000 Reiki masters globally.
- Reiki is love and cannot harm you.
- Reiki he;ps to treat many conditions and emotional issues at the root cause.
- Small studies show that Reiki can slightly reduce pain or ease the process.
- Some hospitals in America and Europe offer Reiki, but insurance does not always cover it.
What is Reiki?
A Reiki practitioner transfers energy by placing their hands over the patient’s body and aura field.
The word “Reiki” means “rei” (universal) and “ki” (life energy). Reiki is a form of energy healing.
The energy healing targets the energy fields around the body.
According to practitioners, due to our daily habits, energy and toxins become stagnate. Emotional trauma and physical injuries also hold blocked energy in the body. In time, these energy blocks can cause disorders, dis-ease and later illness.
Reiki clears the energy block in a similar way to acupressure or acupuncture. It improves the flow of energy around the body and enables relaxation, reduce pain, speed healing, and reduce other symptoms of illness.
The current practise of Reiki was first developed in 1922 by a Japanese Theologist called Mikao Usui, who reportedly attuned 2,000 people in the Reiki method during his lifetime. The practice spread to the U.S. through Hawaii in the 1940s, and then to Europe in the 1980s.
A Reiki overview has shown there has been a great increase in the spread of practice over the decades.
What happens during a Reiki session?
Reiki can be carried out anywhere but is best held in a peaceful setting. The patient will either sit in a comfortable chair or lie on a table, fully clothed. There may or may not be music, depending on the situation.
The practitioner places their hands lightly above specific energy areas of the head, limbs, and torso for between 2 and 5 minutes. A reiki overview of the patient is maintained during a session on an intuitive level. However, te energy knows where to go and the practitioner is only a conduit.
For particular injuries, such as a burn, the hands are held just above the wound.
While the practitioner holds their hands lightly on or over the body, the transfer of energy takes place. During this time, the practitioner’s hands may be warm and tingling. Each hand position is held until the practitioner intuitively knows to move on or end the session.
The patient may feel pulsation, tingling or even that there are many hands placed on the body. Sometimes they feel nothing at all. This does not mean the session is not working, as many have noted that healing still took place.
Reiki techniques
The techniques involved have names such as:
- Centering
- beaming
- clearing
- infusing
- extracting harmful energies
- smoothing and raking the aura
- Psychic surgery
- Distant Healing
Some Reiki practitioners use crystals and chakra healing wands, as they find these can enhance healing or protect a home from negative energy.
However, Annie Harrington, Chair of the Reiki Federation of the United Kingdom (U.K.), told Medical News Today:
“Reiki relies on no other instruments beyond the practitioner. We do not use crystals, powders or wands as a general rule. However, one of the benefits of Reiki healing is distance healing (where Reiki is sent over several miles) then, many practitioners will use crystals to assist with the energy vibrations.”
Sessions can last between 5 and 90 minutes. The number of sessions will vary, depending on what a patient wishes to accomplish. Some patients prefer to have one session while others have a series of sessions to work on a particular issue.
The health benefits
According to practitioners, the healing effects are mediated by conduiting the universal energy known as qi, pronounced “chi.” In India, this is known as “prana.” This is the same energy involved in tai chi exercise. It is the life force energy that some believe surrounds all of us. This is inherently our birth right.
This energy is said to permeate the body. Reiki experts point out that, while this energy is not measurable by modern scientific techniques, it can be felt by many who tune in to it. Animals are and plants are receptive as they have no expectations.
Reiki is alleged to aid relaxation, assist in the body’s natural healing processes, and develop emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.
Reiki does not change you, only enhances the beauty within. It is also said to induce deep relaxation, help people cope with difficulties, relieve emotional stress, and improve overall wellbeing.
The healing works on all levels of a person’s being to restore an upward spiral of positivity, which in turn brings on a feeling of health and well-being.
People who receive Reiki explain it as an “intensely relaxing and a feeling of immense peace.”
Conditions that Reiki has been used to help treat include:
- cancer
- heart disease
- anxiety
- depression
- chronic pain
- infertility
- neurodegenerative disorders
- autism
- Crohn’s disease
- fatigue syndromes
According to the University of Minnesota, patients who have undergone a Reiki session have noted the following:
- “I feel very refreshed and seem to be thinking more clearly.”
- “I think I fell asleep.”
- “I can’t believe how hot your hands got!”
- “I feel more relaxed than even after a massage.”
- “My headache is gone.”
Cancer patients who have Reiki say they feel better after. This may be because it helps them relax. Another reason, according to Cancer Research U.K. could be that the therapist spends time with them and touches them. This has a soothing effect on patients who may be overwhelmed by invasive therapy, fear, and stress.
Individuals report different experiences. Some say that the practitioner’s hands become hot, others report cooling hands and some people feel pulsating waves. The most common reports are of a release of stress and deep relaxation.
Becoming a Reiki practitioner
No prior training, education, or experience is needed to enter the Reiki training, or “attunement process.” In this process, said to be a “powerful spiritual experience,” the master is said to transfer the attunement energy and healing techniques into the student.
Reiki training varies, but mostly students learn about:
- the energies around the body
- how to work with healing energy
- the ethics of working with clients
Preparation for attunement includes fasting for 2 to 3 days, meditation, focusing on nature, and releasing negative emotions.
There are three levels of mastery. Those who reach “Master” level can teach others and are reportedly able to heal from a distance, in a form of prayer.Top of FormBottom of Form
Scientific Validation
A research study at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut indicates that Reiki improved patient sleep by 86 percent, reduced pain by 78 percent, reduced nausea by 80 percent, and reduced anxiety during pregnancy by 94 percent.
In 2009, The Center for Reiki Research completed the Touchstone Project, which summarized Reiki overview studies published in peer-reviewed journals.
The 25 studies examined were further evaluated to determine the effectiveness of Reiki.
The conclusion states: “Overall, based on the summaries of those studies that were rated according to scientific rigor as “Very Good” or “Excellent” by at least one reviewer and were not rated as weak by any reviewer, 83 percent show moderate to strong evidence in support of Reiki as a therapeutic modality.”
Critics say that it flies in the face of our current understanding of the laws of nature. Advocates respond that the benefits of well being and reduced stress are real but hard to measure with a scientific study. Scientists note that high-quality research into its effectiveness is lacking.
In 2015, a review of studies on Reiki and the treatment of anxiety and depression was published by Cochrane. The investigators concluded that there was “insufficient evidence to say whether or not Reiki is useful for people over 16 years of age with anxiety or depression or both.” Of the few studies that had been done, most were of a low quality, with small sample sizes, no peer review, or no control group.
Meanwhile, research published in BMC Nephrology has suggested that allowing dialysis patients, for example, to benefit from the “healing touch” may be worthwhile, especially if it offered for free by volunteers. Pain reduction may be only slight, but it is non-traumatic, does no harm, and allows patients to feel they are “doing something” themselves to ease their pain.
More recently, Annie Harrington told MNT that the U.K. Reiki Federation currently has a “large document cataloging many research trials.” Maybe these findings, which are being studied by the Federation and the U.K.’s Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), will help bring Reiki further into the mainstream.
Regulatory issues: Is there a need for change?
Regulatory authorities sometimes expect Reiki overveiw websites to change their information to conform with legal standards. Sites selling Reiki products may carry a legal disclaimer, stating that the products are not a medical device, and not intended for use in diagnosing, healing, or preventing disease.
In the U.K., the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has rejected claims that Reiki can heal a range of diseases on a number of occasions. Practitioners and patients however feel differently and the art is growing by the day.
Judy Kosovich, in a study published by Physics Procedia, calls for a “fresh look” at the regulation of energy medicine. While accepting that regulatory bodies exist to protect the public, she argues that there is still much about how the body works that is not understood or described by science.
Reiki overview on it being harmful?
The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) state that, “Reiki has not been clearly shown to be useful for any health-related purpose.” However, they add that it does not appear to have any harmful effects.
The main concern appears to be that people with serious health issues may opt for Reiki and other complementary therapies instead of rigorously tested modern medicine. However, using it alongside other treatments is unlikely to be hazardous.
Indeed, touch alone, whether with or without “universal energy,” appears to have a range of benefits, from building trust to enhancing overall wellbeing. The Reiki overview is love and it cannot be used for harm.
Kosovich points out that expensive conventional treatments that are currently available often have serious adverse effects, and may or may not work. Many people, therefore, would like the freedom to choose an alternative
Overview of the cost of Reiki
Reiki is growing in popularity. It appears to induce feelings of well being and appears to entail little risk of harm.
As a result, Reiki is now available in some major hospitals. Some medical providers, such as hospices, may offer it free of charge, delivered by volunteers, as part of palliative care.
A private Reiki session can cost from $30 to $100, and it is not usually covered by insurance.
Reiki courses range from 300 to 10 00 depending on the master. There are 3 levels to Reiki, 4 courses and 3 attunements. Level 3 combines the 3rd and 4th course.
Anyone who is seeking a qualified, professional Reiki practitioner should do so with caution, since there are few regulations governing this field. It can help to ask a practitioner about their training and experience.
Reiki Overview Conclusion
Reiki is not an alternative treatment for medical issues but works in adjunction to treatment. The therapy assists and supports healing to increase a feeling of well being.
It is always best to discuss any alternative therapies first with a medical doctor.
Note from Author: Reiki is not a religious or political science. Reiki is love and right now that is what the world needs. Treat yourself to a Reiki session before committing to being trained in Reiki and discern for yourself. This is a Reiki overview to help assist you with making the best decision.
