THE EXTREME IMPORTANCE OF DAILY SELF-TREATING

Pamela Miles in her book "Reiki-A Comprehensive Guide",  talks a lot about the extreme importance of establishing a self-healing practice daily.  This has caused me to re-examine my own self-practice and how much I need to emphasis this more in my classes.  "Because we are creatures of habit, it helps to have a form to our practice.  We honor the teachers who initiated us into the practice by adopting their form (their hand placement patterns). Practicing as we have been taught protects our investment and allows it to mature with interest.  After all, if we change the practice, how can we be sure we are receiving the full benefits?  Only practice revels the depth of this healing art and develops its mature powers," Pamela Miles - "Reiki-A Comprehensive Guide"

Pamela goes on to say that she will not except a student for Reiki Master training unless they have an established practice of daily self-healing and have worked on many people (in other words have demonstrated that they have made Reiki a number one priority in their lives).  What really blew me away, was her saying that only those who are willing to dedicate their lives to Reiki will she take on as Reiki Masters.  So I got to thinking, have I dedicated my life to Reiki.

When I had an extreme healing crisis several years ago I begun to doubt the efficacy of Reiki.  I had devoted myself to Reiki for years and then had this doubt creeping in as to whether I should continue on with Reiki or give it up. To prove to myself once and for all that Reiki was all it was cracked up to be,  I made a contract with myself to do a full self-treatment every night for a year - if I didn't heal myself in that year, then I would know.  I healed!!!!

I then made a contract with myself to read every book on Reiki I could get my hands on and I have.  And I am still profoundly moved by each new book, like this one.  Always finding something new, and fresh and AH HA in each one,

How Reiki Can Benefit People in Hospitals and Hospice Care

I'm going to be  interviewed on "Reiki Radio" in September, an organization that is centered around nurses and doctors doing Reiki or are thinking about how they can bring it into their practice or situation.  Just so happens that I am reading a wonderful book by Reiki Master Teacher Pamela Miles called "Reiki - A Comprehensive Guide" which is very much about this topic as Pamela does Reiki in many hospital settings, and works with Dr. Oz while he is performing heart surgery.

I am finding out a lot about how Reiki can assist those who are in hospitals or hospice settings for one reason or the other. Here are some examples: 

BREATHING: Reiki changes ones breathing pattern, by shifting it to a freer, more rhythmic and open pattern, even as the treatment begins.  As the treatment progresses, the receiver (person having the Reiki session) falls into  a deep meditative state of relaxation and the breath becomes quieter, similar to what happens when one meditates. Why is this important?  Ancient Yoga texts speak at length of the connection between the breath and the ones mental state .  If your client is dealing with anxiety or stress, they are most likely doing a lot of chest breathing (short rapid upper chest breathing keeps the body in a state of alarm).  So to be able to facilitate a deep pattern of relaxed (probably abdominal) breathing, helps to turn off the fight/flight system and the body can relax, be open and receive the healing energy more readily. There is a whole cascade of healing effects that takes place when one relaxes.

SLEEP:  Disruption of normal sleep patterns is one of the first signs of stress, compromised breathing being one of the first.  It is very common for people receiving Reiki to fall into a deep state of what looks like sleep but is actually a sort of meditative state (what Reiki practitioners call "Reiki slumber) which greatly refreshes both the body and the mind.   I have had people report they don't remember when they have been that relaxed in ages and want to know how they get back to that state more often. The result of being able to "go down with the power" as Carolyn Myss calls it, is that even people with a long history of insomnia report sleeping better the night after their first Reiki treatment or the evening after their first Reiki class.  Pamela says many of her students/clients who had a history of trying many medications to help them sleep, were able to lower their doses or get off their medications altogether after having regular Reiki treatments or doing daily self-treating.

DIGESTION:  The capacity to digest what one ingests is all about how well the body is being nourished.  A compromised digestive systems manifest as all kinds of issues: irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, diarrhea, constipation, cramping, bloating, nausea, etc.  The body's response in this area to Reiki can be very noisy.  It is quite common for the receiver and the practitioner to experience a lot of abdominal rumbling and growling noises, clinically called borborgymis (we call it belly music) during a Reiki session, a clear sign that the body is responding and normalizing! Improvement in digestion shows up in many ways - return of appetite, being attracted to healthier foods or enjoying meal preparation more, return to normal bowel function even after years of issues, and abatement of IBS and Crohn's symptoms.

So you can see how bringing Reiki into the mix in clinical settings is "win win" for all involved!

How Do You Explain Reiki to Someone Whose Never Heard Of It?

I started reading a new book (for me) on Reiki and it occurred to me how interesting it was that each author or practitioner of Reiki described what Reiki is just a little bit differently. So, I thought it would make a good topic for a newsletter or blog post.

So, when you meet with new clients, or you are trying to explain Reiki to family members or new friends, do you stumble over your words, trying to find just the right way to tell this particular person all about your greatest passion? Or are you very well versed on the subject and can just shoot our your spiel at the drop of a hat, no problem?

Here are some of the most common questions people ask me about Reiki:  Is Reiki connected to any religion?  Do I have to believe in it for it to work?  Do I have to take off my clothes like for a massage?  Is it like a massage? Where does the energy come from?  How many Reiki sessions do I have to have before I am cured?  Can Reiki heal my problem?  What kinds of issues can Reiki heal?  And so on and so on.

Do you know the answers to these kinds of questions?  If not, where would you go to find out the answers? A book, ask your teacher, look it up on Google?

So to back it up a bit, many years ago, I made a contract with myself to read every book I could get my hands on about Reiki - I'm on like almost 60 right now.  I wanted to know EVERYTHING I could about Reiki - EVERYTHING!

Let me be the first to tell you, THERE IS A LOT OF CONFUSING AND OPPOSING views out there about it it all.  A lot of books do overlap and generally speaking, everyone nowadays is up to speed with the real story of the origins of Reiki and it's founder Mikao Usui, not the fabricated Christian one.  But there is still of a lot of stuff out there that is just plain bunk.

So do your research!  Read lots of Reiki books, check out lots of Reiki websites, join a couple of Facebook or Yahoo Reiki Groups and ask a lot of questions.  Ultimately though, Reiki will be your teacher.  Doing Reiki,  receiving Reiki,  and especially teaching Reiki, will answer all your questions, eventually.