As we all know, stress can be the biggest threat to your health, and both Eastern and Western cultures alike are seeking natural, alternative ways to reduce it. One Eastern solution to stress is an ancient practice called reiki healing.
Reiki is a Japanese art of healing based on the belief that we all carry a “life force energy.” Like many East Asian practices, reiki takes a holistic approach to healing. So instead of taking a prescribed pill twice a day, the practice of reiki encompasses the whole person, working to treat the mind, body, emotions and spirit at once. By promoting feelings of peace, security, wellbeing, and relaxation, reiki practices can abate stress in incredibly real, effective ways.
There are many different elements and styles of reiki healing. Reiki works by laying your hands on different parts of the body, in different combinations. Remember that reiki requires the practitioner to keep the fingers together in order to correctly guide the life force energy. Each position is held for three to five minutes each, but it is also important to rely on your intuition. Many practiced healers will suggest that you keep your hands in a position as long or as briefly as you feel is right.
Not ready to spend the money on a professional reiki healing session? Test the waters at home on a simple back healing exercise – just find a partner! Have the recipient lay face-down, and begin with the healer placing his or her hands behind the neck to treat the neck and shoulders, removing whatever burdens or headaches have been placed there by stress. Continue by moving the hands to the shoulder blades to treat the heart and lung areas and allay feelings of depression. After a few minutes, or however long feels right, move the hands again to the middle of the back, just above the kidneys. Placing the hands here to activate the “life force energy” is said to treat stress or allergies. Using reiki to heal this area can help not only the kidneys, but also the adrenal glands, lymph nodes, and diaphragm. Following this, move hands to the lower back below the waist to treat the reproductive and digestive systems. Optionally, try placing hands on the tailbone. Finally, end with a position known as the “back fixer” – place one hand at the neck and the other at the tailbone in order to balance and ease.
At its most fundamental, reiki promotes spiritual healing and self-improvement, but it is no obscure Japanese religion or art. Reiki requires not just the effort of the healer, but the participation of the one hoping to be healed as well. A desire and effort to balance your own “life force energy” is necessary to effectively heal yourself. You must be responsible for your mental and emotional health, and take an active part in your own healing process. The principles of reiki state that you must make a firm commitment to improving yourself. By emphasizing mental and emotional health as well as encouraging behavior that keeps your “life force energy” in balance and harmony with others, reiki promotes universal ideals of peace, kindness and selflessness that bring us true contentment and happiness. So, this is no extinct Eastern religious idea – modern medical doctors and psychologists will tell their patients the same tips for living a happy life!
For more guides, videos and tips:
Youtube – Reiki Hand Positions
The Essence of Reiki 1 – Usui Reiki Level 1 Practitioner Manual (The Essence or Reiki)
