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What is Reiki?

So you find yourself here, reading this blog, for one of a few various reasons. Perhaps you stumbled across it by chance. Is there really such a thing as chance? Perhaps you are a friend of mine and you’re reading it out of the goodness of your heart. In that case, thank you for your support. Or perhaps you are already a believer in things unseen and are looking for answers. I’m not sure if I will have the ones you are searching for, but I’m glad you’re here anyway.

Now to start answering my titular question: what is Reiki? Reiki (pronounced “ray key”) is Japanese for spirit (rei) nature (ki), but more often it is considered as referring to the universal life force or energy. Reiki also refers to the energy therapy in which ki (life energy) is transmitted to the recipient through the practitioner’s palms. This definition of Reiki will be our primary focus.

So how exactly does this all work? Each and every one of us is made of energy. And each of us has access to the unlimited supply of universal energy available from, you guessed it, the universe. So because we can tap in to this energy whenever we want, we should feel fantastic all the time, right? Well, unfortunately, we are human, and as such we get bogged down by our human experiences. When this happens, that loving, beautiful universal energy just doesn’t flow quite right. That’s where I, your friendly neighborhood Reiki practitioner, come in. As a Reiki practitioner, I sense the flow of energy through your body, focusing on your chakras (a.k.a. energy centers), looking for blockages. Then once I’ve identified the blockages, I act as a conduit to help the energy work its way through so it can flow freely once more. It’s like plunging a clogged toilet. I know, not a pretty picture, but you get the idea, right? I find where the energy is stopped up and help it push its way through.

Why don’t you want your life energy getting backed up? Same reason you don’t want your toilet backed up. Your toilet doesn’t work right if water can’t flow through it, right? Well your body doesn’t work right if your life energy can’t flow through it either. Do you ever feel tired for no reason? Or feel angry and frustrated but not know why? Have headaches or stomachaches or backaches? Do you feel edgy and irritable even when things seem to be going well? Are you anxious or depressed and tired of people telling you to calm down or cheer up? Reiki can help with all of these issues.

I know it can help because it helped me when I was a very sick, very scared teenager. I was fourteen at the time. I’d been sick for the better part of a year. What had started as a viral upper respiratory infection had evolved into something much more heinous and difficult to treat. I had migraines so intense that I would blackout. There were days I felt so sick that I couldn’t eat and I was so weak I could barely walk. I was in so much constant pain that it hurt to even have my clothing touch my skin. Western medicine had essentially given up on me. My doctors had written me off and told me they didn’t know what was wrong with me but I wouldn’t live to drive a car. My mother, a registered nurse, refused to accept that. If Western medicine couldn’t and wouldn’t help me, then it was time to look elsewhere. We finally found hope with a chiropractor who prescribed herbal supplements, hydrogen peroxide IV therapy, and Reiki treatments. Reiki was the best thing to help with my pain because it is such a light touch healing modality. The practitioner I saw back then understood that I could not handle being touched because of the pain it caused me, so she used a completely hands-off approach in which she kept her hands just above my body as she channeled energy into my chakras. And her treatments worked. They lessened my pain. I was able to sleep better. I was able to eat and keep more food down. And through this unconventional collection of treatments, my body was finally able to rid itself of the virus that had been wreaking such havoc.

Now I know my story is not typical. And for some of you, it’s probably hard to believe. But I know that those Reiki treatments helped save my life. And now I want to show my gratitude to the universe by paying it forward.

So what is Reiki? Reiki is love. We are made of energy; we are made of love. Reiki is a healing force that helps us feel universal love.