Reiki for Relief

Reiki – commonly translated from the Japanese as universal life force energy – is inherent in all of us. It’s the essence of what makes us living beings instead of just the chemicals that make up our physical bodies.

It’s the electricity that powers the machine.

And it’s also a natural healing method. It’s non-invasive, very effective, and it can be done anywhere.

So let’s look at some of the things where the Art of Reiki can be applied in your life.

Stress Relief

Products and companies that offer relief from medical ailments and stress do a brisk business everywhere. Yet, the same clients and patients will return over and over again in the hopes of getting help. Why? Because they didn’t get the relief they were looking for in the first place.

Finally fed up with what isn’t working, many of these people turn to Reiki.

Reiki has been used for centuries in Japan. Those who’ve taken advantage of this energy therapy have seen healing results, both physical and emotional.

It’s a technique that’s also widely known to help with stress relief. It works because it takes a holistic view of healing… It happens on many levels.

Every person on the planet possesses the power within themselves to be healed. But the problem is knowing how to allow that healing to happen.

It’s the same thing with stress.

Reiki Therapists are available to help you with this (I highly recommend it). If you don’t know one personally, ask around. I’ll bet at least one of your friends does.

But this technique is also very simple to learn and to do. How great would it be to have something like this in your self-help toolkit?

Reiki information is not nearly so secret as it once was. It’s not too difficult to gather a lot of research to learn the how/what/where of Reiki on your own. Or you can get help from a program like Pure Reiki Healing Master.

Pretty much anything is easier when you get some form of guidance. This includes learning the self-healing technique of Reiki. Why waste time when someone has already gathered the most important points and put them into a straightforward teaching package?

So Why Concentrate on Stress?

Reiki can be used for lots of different issues that affect you physically. But there’s a good reason to focus specifically on stress. It’s part of the root cause of many health issues.

Too much stress isn’t good for anyone. Short-term stress can be OK, sometimes even helpful (like keeping your feet to the fire to get that report in on time). On the other hand, chronic stress is a killer. Literally. Studies show it can shorten your lifespan.

Sidebar: My own Reiki Master was in her late seventies and had almost no facial wrinkles. When I asked her about it, she said the longer she did Reiki, the younger she seemed to get.

Medical data has proven that many people suffer with stress and the day-to-day problems it can cause. This is why when you’re at the doctor’s office and you’re talking about an ache or something else, she almost always asks, “Are you stressed?”

Western Medicine understands the destructive power of stress and how it can relate to causing physical maladies. And it offers many options to choose from. But what if you don’t want to deal with the risks and side effects of pharmaceuticals?

The main reason I got into the field of natural healing in the first place is because my body doesn’t really tolerate drugs very well… not pharma, or the recreational ones either.

Reiki is one of the best stress relief techniques that you can learn to use. The reason that it’s one of the best is because it doesn’t rely on any pills or creams or any kind of therapy sessions that keep you coming back time after time.

Not that any of those are bad, but if they REALLY did the trick – worked from a very deep level – you wouldn’t still be stressed, would you? You’d know how to deal with it and get relief. Even better, over time with regular self-treatment, the stuff that caused your stress in the first place just sorta dissolves.

And another advantage of learning Reiki is that it doesn’t take months to master the technique. So you get relief from stress fast. There have been some people who learn it in as little as twenty-four hours.

Others learn it in a couple of days. If your life is fairly busy, you should still be able to pick up the steps in the technique within a few days at most.

So what can Reiki offer you that other methods can’t?

Reiki channels “extra” Universal Life Force into your own energetic system so it can be used for your benefit.

Your personal energy system, also known as Life Force, flows around and through your body, including your organs and tissues.

Ideally, the flow is smooth and unhampered… your mind-body balance is in perfect harmony, as it is designed to be. However, when something happens to throw this life energy out of its natural flow, your body in turn reacts with dis-stress, and results in dis-ease.

You might start to experience fatigue, headaches, nausea… maybe even depression. And you may not even realize the reason you feel so bad and so run down is because your life force energy isn’t flowing as well as it could.

Your body’s first reaction will be an increase in your stress hormones… usually long before you’re aware of physical problems.

This feeling of being stressed is an early warning signal, a wake-up call, that your mind-body balance needs to be addressed. In this overly stressed state, your body will react in unpleasant ways and you’ll be much more likely to experience negative thoughts and emotions.

Which leads to…?

Yep, you guessed it! More blockages in your energy flow. More stress.

Nasty cycle, huh?

It’s why treating only the symptoms of stress doesn’t remove it completely. The stress continues in a never-ending circle until you deal with it.

Take care of it effectively by getting to the root: the natural energetic balance your body craves. You can use the Reiki healing technique to restore balance in your energy flow. This will help restore your emotional balance, and lead to stress relief.

Because Reiki gives you back your proper life energy balance, you’ll start to experience a sense of well-being and peace after you use it. Restoration and healing is the key to stress relief and it’s what Reiki is known for.

Of course, you can’t just decide that you want to do Reiki one moment and then the next, you’ve mastered it (or at least, most people can’t 😉 ). There are some concepts it’s important to learn first.

For instance, when you’re performing Reiki on yourself, it’s helpful to know which hand positions to use and when. Of course, if you’re going to help someone else, you’ll need to know what’s involved with the hand positions to work with them as well.

There’s also a technique called “Remote Reiki” that can be used as part of the healing process (also known as “distance healing”). These methods are learned much more easily with some training. You want to make sure that you master these since they’re an integral part of how Reiki is used to give relief to yourself or anyone else you want to help.

Though Reiki isn’t a religion, some people choose to start their self-treatment off with a prayer. Others will instead start with an affirmation. Beginning your hands-on self-treatment this way helps to open a channel for healing within you.

This spiritual conduit allows healing to flow throughout your body, and “auto-magically” goes to the areas where it’s needed. I believe using the Reiki hand positions helps to focus your intention for healing.

Reiki Hand Positions

Each of the Reiki positions that you’ll use relate to a need in a specific area of your body. For example, when you use your hands at the throat position, it “aims” the flow of energy to your mouth, jaw and throat. This will directly affect the thyroid and the Throat Chakra.

Other hand positions will focus energy in other parts of your body.

One thing I’ve always found interesting is that Reiki training says you need to keep your fingers together (as in, not spread apart) during your healing session. This is supposed to better channel the direction of the energy.

How to Do a Reiki Self-Treatment

Start by getting into a comfortable position. You may want to lie down, but many prefer to sit in a chair with legs balanced and feet on the floor.

Place your right hand diagonally across your upper body. Your elbow should be pointing toward your feet, while your hand rests across your chest over the heart area, palm flat and fingers together and relaxed, fingertips lightly touching your left upper arm.

Gently wrap your left hand around your throat to direct the healing energy toward your lungs, thyroid, heart and other organs. Remember that when you’re stressed out, your organs are feeling the fallout due to the rise in your hormones. So let’s give ’em lots of Reiki Love.

In the next healing position, you put your hands behind your head, elbows out.

In another hand position, you’ll sit in a chair, shoes off, feet resting comfortably on the floor. It’s one more way to ensure that you avoid blocking the flow of energy. With your eyes closed, place your hands gently on your knees.

Remember to keep your fingers together. You want them relaxed, but not curved. This is because you’re using your hands to act as a conduit to direct the Reiki.

When your fingers are open and spread out, the Reiki isn’t focused. For quicker relief, you’ll want that Reiki energy to flow into your body without scattering it.

There are many hand positions, too many to go over in this brief article. you can find what you need for your specific situation in the Pure Reiki program.

You Can Use Reiki for Stress Relief in the Workplace

Studies have shown that every year, nearly half a million people experience mild to moderate work-related stress due to their jobs. This work-related stress, like all chronic stress, leads to health problems.

Those who experience it report feeling anxious or depressed. Often when blood pressure is checked, it’s staying higher than ideal. And unlike the kind of stress that you might experience at home or in a relationship, this type of stress can bite you financially.

Stress is one of the biggest reasons people call in sick. Not showing up for work can result in lost wages. Showing up even though stressed out can make it hard to concentrate and do your job well. Over time, these two things can also mean getting passed up for promotions. Ouch!

If you have knots in your stomach at the thought of going to your job, that’s a good sign you’re experiencing work related stress.

When it comes to work related stress, employers lose money through reduced productivity and the costs they incur by paying their employees for sick days. It might be a good idea for businesses to offer Reiki training for their employees. Simple to do – even at work – to find relief and combat the effects for work related stress.

Normally a Reiki session will take about 45 minutes, but even a mini-treatment on your coffee break can work wonders to get a deep sense of calmness.

You’ll learn ways that you can bring the relief you experience with Reiki home treatments to your workplace, once you learn the steps as outlined in Reiki training.

More Benefits of Using Reiki

When you use Reiki for stress relief, you’ll also notice other advantages.

Your immune system will improve. When your energy is flowing the way that it should, your body is better able to respond to illnesses the way that it’s supposed to. Research shows that stress itself impacts your immune system, and you’re removing it from the equation.

Inner growth. Not only will you feel calmer and less stressed, but you’ll discover that you’re able to look at things from a different perspective. Many times, this inner growth will allow you to free yourself of the hurt caused by past situations. If you continue to hold on to these hurts, it’s difficult to move forward and enjoy the life you were meant to live.

Improved memory and concentration. This is another reason your boss will appreciate you practicing this healing technique. 😉

Pain relief. Whether your pain is directly related to the stress or to something else, improving energy flow is bound to help.

You’ll sleep better. Again, proper energy flow is key.

Healing physical and emotional wounds. Regular Reiki sessions can help you recover from both physical and emotional injuries. Either of these can fester into something much more sinister if not addressed.

BONUS: If you’ve been trying to learn how to meditate without much success, a brief Reiki treatment can get you to the mental place you need to be to go into a deep meditation.

Things to Remember

Positive affirmations can be added to your Reiki session but they’re not crucial.

Energy flow can sometimes be blocked if you cross your legs or if you fold your arms across your chest.

Better Reiki focus with fingers relaxed and held together.

And I’ll leave you with the 5 Reiki Precepts from Mikao Usui, founder of Usui’s Spiritual Energy Therapy Method Society, and the Practice of Reiki:

At least for today:

• Do not be angry,
• Do not worry,
• Be grateful,
• Work with diligence,
• Be kind to people.

Click here to check out Pure Reiki Healing Master.

Have you had any experience with Reiki Energy Healing?
Please share in the comment section below. Thanks!