A few days after my thirtieth birthday, I woke up with intense back pain. Had I gone rock climbing and suffered a great fall? Spent the night at a dance marathon? No. All I did was turn 30, and my back decided to send me a painful warning signal.
After a few weeks of moving back and forth from my bed to my couch, buying new pillows, sleeping across my bed, and turning my mattress 180 degrees, a friend finally mentioned Reiki. A great skeptic, she couldn’t deny the sensation of heat she felt during the treatment or that she did have an improvement.
For the uninitiated, Reiki is a Japanese technique of healing and stress release. A practitioner learns how to move energy from the universe through the points of stress or injury. Many patients comment on the amount of heat that comes from the hands of the Reiki master.
A few days later, I headed to the suburbs of Evanston, Illinois for my first session with a Reiki master.
I arrived at center and removed my shoes at the front door. I filled a standard waiver, and then my practitioner, Patricia, explained the treatment. In addition to Reiki, Patricia is an empathic healer and expert in reflexology. Instead of a standard hands-off Reiki practice, mine would include massage, reflexology and energy movement.
For 90 minutes, Patricia worked to open my chakras and move energy through my back. I had moments of clarity during the session.
Like a marquee in Times Square, I understood that my back wasn’t related to my aging mattress but my career. I understood that my arm problems were more about too much time blogging and not enough time living.
When the session was over, she told me that she had opened my chakras and worked to removed stagnant energy from my stress points. She invited me to return so she could work on my wrists and my back some more. I heeded her warning to drink a lot of water for the next 36 hours and left feeling refreshed.
I have been recommending this eastern form of healing to anyone who will listen to me. I think Reiki healing is important to add to my healing and wellness routine. In addition to nutrition, movement, prayer, and community, I’m now going to include a bit of energy work.
For more information about Reiki, check out www.reiki.org.
Originally published in June 2007, Shebrew.com
Comments