Reiki and your healing potential
Chakras (energy centers of the body) are the "corner-stones" of the body's energy hub. They link the physical to the non-physical and bind everything together, helping energy flow freely through and around every cell of your being. By pinpointing each chakra, you can re-tune and re-balance the physical with the non-physical. This is the practice of Reiki.
be open to possibilities
Like cleaning the spark plug in an motorized engine, if the spark plug is dirty, the engine won't run smoothly. Similarly for our body, if the energy is not flowing effortlessly through and around our chakra points we are no longer tuned-in and at balance with our healing potential. Reiki tunes into these imbalances and adjusts what is needed to allow for
more efficient flows of life - force - energy.
you are not broken
Healing potential begins with intention of finding balance. When our mind has been convinced that something is wrong is will be wrong. Egoic judgement stifles and slows energy down. If the mind is able to allow the intelligence of our body systems to do what they do best, this is where the structures of the body can be influence by the energy flows of Reiki (Universal Life-Force-Energy) that flows through everything in the Universe.
Simple experience
PRACTICE: Third Eye Chakra (forehead) Test
( 3 - 4 mins )
To illustrate what Reiki might feel like for you, here is a simple test you can do with yourself. Lie comfortably in a safe and quiet place. Close your eyes. Bring your dominant hand just above your forehead about 1 to 2 inches away. Let your other hand rest comfortably on your belly (Solar Plexus Chakra). Have your hand that is hovering above your forehead remain there for 3 to 4 minutes. Use a prop or pillow if you need to support your arm.
Take in and release deep, steady and slow breaths. Focus your attention on what you are noticing. Try to release any thoughts of judgment, thoughts of the day or outside world, focus intently on what you are feeling. Keep your breathing slow and steady, and you may want to use your breath as a focus as well.
focus on your breath
in ... out ... in ... out ...
What do you notice? You might feel warmth radiating between your forehead and your hand. You might feel tingling sensation, almost electric, on or around your forehead, or bridge of your nose. Or you may feel relaxed and and at ease.
The practice of Reiki is subtle, and with practice and learning how to tune-into these energy currents, you can begin to attune this energy in different ways and connect with your body's healing potential. This healing potential is always present, but most times we are distracted and unfocused in our abilities to notice these subtle energies.
note
Your forehead (Third-eye Chakra) is a very sensitive energy center of your body. This Chakra tunes into your insight and intuition and also a very powerful conductor of energy transference of thoughts. You may have seen or noticed in some cultures whereby a person saying hello or good-bye, the two individuals will place their hands on each other's shoulders and bring their foreheads touch. This is a way of sharing, not just a physical connection, but also an energetic one.
How it works
The "Coles Notes"
Practitioners and teachers are attuned by their teachers in the art of sharing Reiki. The personal work of the students, before initiation, takes hours, days, months and years of study and practice, even though the actual class-time and course work is only a few hours. The process of channeling Reiki, and other methods of energy work, practitioners and teachers are attuned to channel energy from outside their bodies with time and practice. Likened to a lightening rod on a building directing the energy of a lightening strike into the ground, but the subtle nuances of Universal Life Force Energy are not quite as shocking as a lightening strike... this take time and patience to learn and be with this energy.
The practitioners hands may hover above the body or at some points may rest gently on the body surface (with permission always). Physical sensations may be felt like a slight pulsating through the body or in specific areas around your body. There might be warming or cooling sensations, or even relief from pain. Sometimes, when energy is clearing, there might be an increase of pain sensation in certain areas of the body not associated with the location of the injury. All of this is the actual flow of energy that is needed to stimulate and/or move the energy where it needed the most for healing to occur.
History of Usui Reiki
Dr. Mikao Usui, 1865 - 1926
Mikao Usui was the originator of what we today call the Usui form of Reiki. He was born on August 15th 1865 in the village of 'Taniai-mura' in the Yamagata district of Gifu prefecture Kyoto. During his life Miako Usui held many different professions such as public servant, office worker, industrialist, reporter, politician's secretary, missionary, supervisor of convicts. He also worked as a private secretary to a politician Shimpei Goto, who was Secretary of the Railroad, Postmaster General and Secretary of the Interior and State. But he is most noted for his attributes towards Reiki Ryoho.
In April 1922 he opened his first school/clinic in Harajuku, Tokyo. Mikao Usui's skills as a healer and teacher were very good and his fame spread very quickly throughout Japan. This was a time of great change in Japan, opening up to the West and changes both in government and religion. His teachings became popular among the older people who saw them as a return to old ideals and spiritual practices. The Usui teachings included instructed people on how to heal themselves (a very central point still in Reiki of today). Healing would be given to them, then they were taught how to heal themselves.
September 1st, 1923 an earthquake shook Tokyo and Yokohama, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale. The epicentre was 50 miles from Tokyo. Over 140,000 deaths were reported. The majority were killed in the fires started by the earthquake. It was the greatest natural disaster in Japanese history. Mikao Usui and his students started to give healing in the area and the demand and need for Reiki was enormous and as a result of his work he became even more famous.
Across distance and time
My experience with Reiki
Almost like bending time and space itself... if you can imagine that... there are waves of energy that extend out from each of us and interconnect outside of the physical space we occupy. Sort of like telekinesis or Extra Sensory Perception. When we are able to focus to acutely on a specific person, time and place, we can almost put ourselves right into that moment. It's just like using your imagination or seeing with your mind's eye rather than your physical eyes. Our minds have the ability to reach out and connect with other's minds.
Most people hold a view that "only what is right in front of them is what is real," but what if, just for a moment, you didn't believe in the laws of this said reality. This can be very difficult to do sometimes when we get caught up in everyday distractions of events, experiences, struggles, stress and turmoil. Could it is possible to reach out with your mind to touch and possibly influence circumstances outside of yourself and your daily distractions?
At first I had a challenging time believing this myself. So when I tried Reiki for the first time, with and on myself, and then with friends and colleagues over the course of weeks and months, I discovered that I was noticing a substantial shifting in the dynamics of energy and healing.
How can a bee can fly due to the ratio of it's size compared to it's wing span?
And yet they fly with ease grace.
Have you ever had the experience where you are thinking of someone and then,
not too long after, they call or message you?
Some would say this is just coincidence, or blind luck, or we just imagine what is happening and make a story around it. But when I was seeing and feeling and experiencing with my own body and the people that I was able to practice Reiki with (read more in testimonials), there were too many relevant happenings to prove they were mere coincidences.
There was a moment that I will never forget in my practice of sending Reiki over distance. My aunt and I had a scheduled appointment, but I had not called her to remind her of it. She lived over 1,000 kilometers away at the time, when I sat down to send the Reiki at the scheduled time of our session, she had forgotten that about it. Yet, I was still sending Distance Reiki for her. She later sent a note apologizing for having missed the session, but what she noticed during that time was that her hands were tingling and feeling hot and pain-free from arthritis in her knuckles.
To this day I am still in awe of this experience.
My mind and heart are open to the feeling that anything and everything is possible.
Our body's are incredibly powerful and sensitive senders and receivers of energy.
What a Reiki session entails
What to expect
Reiki is non-denominational – It can be linked to Spiritualism, but it does not discriminate between belief systems, religious practices, churches or faiths. All sessions are completely confidential and asking questions is very appropriate.
You can be any colour you want to be, preferably the same skin you were born in, but if it's the authentic you... that's all you need. Size shape and hair colour also fit into this category. Just be you! You only get out of the session what you are open to receiving no matter what you bring along with you; be that healing, relaxation or an amazingly rested nap.
(Snoring IS allowed.)
You can be fully clothed, the more comfortable you are, the more you will feel from the session. Energy is not blocked because of the amount of cloth, jewelry or barriers between the practitioner and the patient.
If you are seeing other health care professionals, taking medication or going through specific procedures... Reiki is used in addition to these other forms of medical practices, it is not to replace them. Your body is an intricate organism that, similar to a car, needs proper care and maintenance. Not just one form of medicine or therapeutic practice will solve or cure all of your aches and pains.
You do not have to lie on the Reiki Table. Any position you are comfortable in is perfect. Although lying flat does help with session, it is not imperative that you lie flat.
Sessions can be done easily in your own home, office or hospital room... anywhere you are, we can be there. The space we have created here is charged with positive energy already so the sessions begin, really, when you enter the door.
Through the session, if you need to go to the bathroom or scratch an itch, it is perfectly fine to move or talk or ask questions, or just lie quite and still and "go with the flow". Moving around does not break the cycle of energy going through your body.
There may be incense burning during the session so you may want to inform the Practitioner if you are sensitive to scents and smells so they can avoid any discomfort through the session.
The more you are relaxed and open for whatever to happen, you will feel what you need to feel. Any way that we as Practitioners can start you off in a comfortable relaxed state, the better the whole session will be.
It is recommended to begin Reiki treatments with 3 body balancing sessions. Each can be up to 1.5 hours in length. After that, or at any time, shorter sessions of 20, 30 or 60 minutes are perfect for maintaining your health and well-being. It never hurts to do the full treatments as it is so beneficial to be in a relaxed state. The more your mind and body can be calm, the better it will be at healing itself.
The Chakras
Energy centers of the body
In Reiki Chakras are like the "corner-stones" of the body. They link the physical to the non-physical. They bind everything together and help energy flow freely from one part to the next. By pinpointing each chakra, you can actually re-tune and balance your physical with the non-physical.
Sort of like cleaning the spark-plug in an engine. If the spark-plug is dirty, the engine doesn't run smoothly. Similarly here, if your chakra points are not tuned, or cleaned now and again, your body engine does not run smoothly either. Reiki is like the "scrub-brush" that cleans off the gunk on the spark-plugs and allows the energy to flow more freely.
Oh yes, you can fully function with "mis-aligned" chakras, BUT you could tend to find yourself running into things, getting sick more times than not or even injuring yourself even when you're focused and diligent. You may even find that your "luck" is also altered and things don't seem to go the way you intend for them to go.
Each chakra has a meaning, imagine your body like a tree or a plant...
The Root Chakra is like the seed, the beginning of the plant. This is where it all begins. You can even go further and see your limbs (legs) as the ground to which your Root takes hold. This is why in meditation practices it is sometimes a very good posture to sit in a chair, or if you are standing, to have your feet flat and planted firmly on the ground.
The Hara (Sacral) Chakra is similar to the growth that comes out of the seed like a bean sprout protruding from the husk of the seed. This the beginning of growth and the way we are presented to the world.
The Solar plexus Chakra is then the plant coming into what it's purpose is. Am I a bean, a pea, a flower, an oak tree? Your life revolves around this centre point... your life purpose.
The Heart Chakra is the energy house and connection to the rest of the world and Universe. And the most powerful energy known to the Universe is love. That is why even in your hectic everyday life, one thing that can raise your energy vibration higher than anything else is the act or feeling of love. This would be the sap that runs through the veins of the tree giving it life.
The Throat Chakra becomes your voice, your outward expression to the world around you. This would be how you would show your intentions to everyone else. With this you are noticed and heard and seen. Sort of like the flowers and leaves of the tree... ever pronouncing to the world the plant's intention.
The Third Eye Chakra. This becomes your intuition, your decision making. With practice you can even foresee circumstances... foresight and insight can be very powerful when interacting with others. This becomes the fruit that the tree grows. These hold the promise of spreading life.
The Crown Chakra now becomes your connection to higher powers. When all of your chakras are tuned up and turned on you can then bring forth a very powerful connection to the Universe and, in turn receive energy, intention, insight, through to your physical senses as well. And here are the seeds that the tree has created. They contain the extension of the tree's life into other lives beyond itself.
Our bodies are power houses of energy. We consume food and drink to power ourselves. And though we think that our energy is contained and managed just within our bodies, we also transmit this energy outside of our bodies as well. It may be hard to imagine this, but if you can, for a moment, think of the magnetic North and South poles of the planet we live on. We cannot see the magnetic lines that continuously circumnavigated the land, the sea, the ground and everything in between each object on the planet's surface... but they are there. And so like our bodies, we too have magnetic, or streams of energy, that surround our bodies.