What is it?
Reiki practitioners believe that we have a personal energy field that is bound up with a system of chakras. Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning "circle" or "wheel". Chakras are thought to be energy centres that are connected to different parts of the body and govern our physical and emotional wellbeing.
Practitioners believe that our chakras are also interconnected with a universal "energy" (ki is the Japanese word for energy: reiki means "universal energy"). If our chakras become blocked or unbalanced, because of emotional or physical problems, this can have a detrimental effect on our overall sense of balance and wellbeing.
Reiki is "transferred" (as opposed to taught) by a master to other practitioners. It's their task to channel "universal healing energy" through your body, reattuning your chakras and leaving you with a renewed sense of balance and calm.
Treatment is simple. The practitioner uses their hands to treat the 21 chakras about your body. Practitioners work by placing their hands on or off your body, you may experience a tingling sensation as they do so. You may also experience hot and cold flushes, you may even fall asleep.
Some people are more sensitive to treatment, but practitioners believe that even if you don't feel the effects immediately, "healing energy" can still be transferred.
Reiki master Lorraine Davis explains: "Some clients see colours and images and experience a surge of emotion but some people don't feel any change instantly. Don't worry, though, the healing energy of reiki is always sent to the place it's needed- it's been called 'smart energy' for that reason."
Is there any evidence?
Medical researchers at the University of Texas have conducted a number of studies to assess the effectiveness of reiki as a means of increasing relaxation and reducing stress. Preliminary results showed that anxiety and blood pressure levels were reduced, suggesting a heightened state of relaxation in patients treated with reiki.
Another study, conducted in 2004 at the Institute of Neurological Sciences, South Glasgow University hospital, divided 45 patients into three groups of patients: one group was given reiki, the control group were given rest, and the third were given a placebo treatment, which mimicked the movements of reiki. It found that heart rate and blood pressure decreased significantly in the reiki group compared to both the placebo and control groups.
Where does it come from?
Reiki came into being at the end of the 19th century when Mikao Usui, a Japanese priest, went on a quest to find a new method of healing. He consulted Buddhist scriptures over many years and, after a period of meditation, he is said to have experienced enlightenment. He simultaneously began to feel a healing force coursing through him and intuited the symbols and mantras needed to harness the healing force of reiki.
Usui passed on these "keys of healing" to various people including Hawayo Takata, a Hawaiian-American who is credited with introducing reiki to the west after the second world war.
Who can do it?
Contrary to popular misconception, reiki is not a form of faith healing; it is a totally non-denominational practice that is open to all.
What results can I expect?
Many people will feel a sense of release after reiki, but you are just as likely to experience a range of emotions, from exhaustion to elation. You may even experience a whirlwind of reveries in which powerful memories are triggered. Practitioners believe it will take about a week for the energy to settle.
Contra-indications
People with a history of mental health problems should consult their doctor before receiving this type of treatment.
Resources
Information on training, FAQs and over 150 articles on reiki healing.
How was it for you?
Sue George (jittery)
The London rush hour, especially on an airless tube, is pretty much guaranteed to raise the stress levels, especially for an already jittery me. But when I arrive for my reiki session, my therapist - Australian Danira Caleta - is a model of soothing calm, as we sit down and talk through what has brought me to see her.
Of course, there's the tightly wound-up feeling, caused by too many things to do and no time to do them. Then there are my own particular problems both physical (my dodgy knee) and psychological (don't go there).
I lie down, and we start off with some chi kung breathing - a stress-relieving technique that involves slowly breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth using the diaphragm - to calm me down. My breath (and thoughts) suitably slowing, Danira then talks me through a guided meditation and visualisation where I walk out into the countryside ... Funnily enough, I do feel like I'm there and my mind stays in a lovely green forest throughout the treatment, despite the faint hum of the traffic outside.
Then, the reiki treatment itself begins. I can sense Danira moving around my body despite having my eyes shut throughout, and the fact that her hands stay a few inches above me, rather than touching.
Later, she explains: "I start off with my hands round the head and then balance the seven chakras, or energy points. And then go to the feet and move the energy upwards. I'm tuning-in intuitively for any blockage of energy and while doing this the universal energy is being channelled through my hands on to the patient."
I don't realise any of that is going on, but I do feel hot in one part of my body, then another. I'm tuned-in to the sensations of the heat, occasional coldness and some really strange feelings like mild electric shock.
Afterwards, I am completely zonked, the ability to form words into sentences temporarily gone. Somehow I make it back to the office, but only to stare into space. The next day, though, I feel more relaxed, my knee seems somehow looser ... More please!
· Contact the Hale Clinic for details; haleclinic.com