Can Reiki Ease My Pain?
By Dr James Briscoe
Q I SUFFER with arthritis and apart from constant physical pain I also feel very despondent. Someone has suggested I undergo Reiki as a form of treatment. How does it work?
PAULA, Stafford
A REIKI is a form of spiritual practice developed for the treatment of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual diseases.
Mikao Usui developed Reiki in early 20th century Japan, having, he said, received the ability of ‘healing without energy depletion’ after three weeks of fasting and meditating on Mount Kurama.
The name Reiki derives from the Japanese pronunciation of two Chinese characters that are said to describe the energy itself: rei, meaning soul, spirit, substance; and ki meaning breath or life force energy.
Practitioner use a technique similar to the laying on of hands as well as gestures in the air. This technique channels ki energy from a disembodied spirit of spirits.
The energy then flows through the practitioner’s palms to bring about healing.
Some schools teach that Reiki energy enters the practitioner and flows through their hands into the body of the recipient.
Reiki energy is an ‘intelligent energy’ which ‘knows what to do’ or ‘where it is needed the most’. The theory is that Reiki energy will go where it needs to for healing. If the intended recipient does not accept the energy on some level, the energy will not be absorbed so it is important for the recipient to believe that they will benefit.
Some schools teach that Reiki spirit guides keep watch over Reiki energy and assist the practitioner.
It is said by them that any intention to do harm will block the flow of Reiki energy.
In a Reiki session, the practitioner asks the recipient to lie down and relax. The practitioner then acts as a channel for Reiki energy.
Usually the practitioner moves their hands close to or on various parts of the recipient’s body.
There is no need for the recipient to remove any clothes. A full treatment lasts from sixty to ninety minutes.
There have been claims of positive effects of Reiki treatment in papers published in some medical journals promoting alternative medicine.
Proposed benefits include relaxation and increased immunity, reduced heart rate, improved blood pressure and reduced symptoms of pain, anxiety and depression.
Indeed the NHS, as part of its complementary and alternative medicine program, uses Reiki together with other similar therapies as part of day care patient programmes. Generally, however, the majority of the scientific community considers Reiki to be a non- scientific practice and concerns have been expressed by specialists and others when patients choose Reiki as an alternative to more conventional treatments for serious diseases such as cancer.
However, there is no reason why Reiki cannot be used as a complement to conventional medicine.
Thus, I suggest you have nothing to lose from trying Reiki.
If YOU have a question about health and wellbeing, write to: Ask the Doc, Sunday Mercury, Weaman Street, Birmingham B4 6AY, or e- mail SundayMercury@mrn.co.uk
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