Reiki

Last Monday, after listening to Deepak Chopra speak to the power of the mind to heal the body and reading from his new book, “Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul,” I decided to make an appointment for a Reiki treatment. I had never experienced Reiki before, and had always been intrigued by the (what I thought to be)  non-massage-massage.

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that promotes healing. Reiki practitioners use their hands to promote the flow of “life force energy” through the body.

For the previous month or so, I had been feeling drained. I’d been battling a cold for weeks, which included lots of coughing and a nearly constant runny nose. I was sick of being sick! A Reiki session seemed to be in order.

I made an appointment with the Reiki and massage therapist who practices at one of the gyms I teach yoga at (gotta love employee discounts!). She was able to get me in last Wednesday. I heard from two friends that I would love Reiki. One even shared that her experience was so powerful she cried afterward! I had varying expectations as the day of my appointment approached.

I arrived at my appointment after a extremely stressful and annoying situation at work…being talked at for nearly 2 hours by a person who was ignorant to the fact that his ideals were falling on deaf ears…but that’s another story…

So, with all these emotions of frustration, anger and anxiety boiling about in my body, I followed my therapist into a small room with a massage table. I’d had massages before, so this was all familiar to me.

For Reiki, you keep your clothes on. I laid with my back on the table (each time I have a massage, I want one of these things in my house!). My therapist instructed me to being with deep abdominal breathing…I guessed to get myself to relax and settle into the room.

The “treatment” is hard to describe. My therapist brought her hands to different parts of my body and held them there for varied lengths of time. I eventually turned onto my stomach, and she touched other areas of my body. Finally, she brushed my body with her hands as if she were brushing off dust.

I was instructed to slowly sit up. I was a bit light headed at first, more relaxed than when I walked into the small room. The therapist asked me to rate my level of relaxation from 1-10. I felt pretty relaxed, so I said between a 7 and 8. She looked at me with surprise, and said that usually people will let out a sigh at some point and let go completely.

I took that to mean that I was not one of those people. I reevaluated my answer…my mind was still during the session, but perhaps my body was tense…

To be honest, I left the room feeling slightly defeated and wondering if any of the treatment would “take” after all! I decided there was nothing I could do now, I just had to wait and see what happened.

I taught a class about 15 minutes after my treatment. Class was great, as usual. I went home, ate, read, slept. The next morning I woke up and did a mental scan of my body for any illness. I felt pretty good, the best I had in a while.

I wasn’t sure if I should attribute all my healing to the Reiki or the Emergen-C I’d been taking for days. Either way, I was glad to be feeling like my old self!

Since my treatment, which was about 5 days ago, I’ve been feeling better every day! On the second day, I felt an openness in my neck and lower part of the back of my head (areas I’d mentioned to the therapist as being tight and holding much stress).

I am undecided as to whether I will go back for another session. I think I will be able to become more relaxed the next time because I will know what to expect. I believe my inability to relax was from anxiety about the session and the expectations I’d had. But, I’m unsure whether I will go back to the same place (it wasn’t till after the session that I was told the rates had changed and raised…ugh!).

I am excited to try other forms of healing. Anyone out there have suggestions? What have your experiences with this type of therapy been?