What is Reiki?

Reiki is a Japanese technique for relaxation that also promotes healing.  It's done through touch.  A warm and soothing energy flows from the hands of the practitioner into the client, promoting relaxation and releasing tension.

Reiki energy allows muscles to relax and increases blood flow to treated areas, which in turn quickens the healing process.  Practitioners and clients report help with stress, headaches, insomnia, upset stomach, sprains, and other minor conditions.  Occasionally, miraculous results are reported.  Reiki also promotes psychological healing, including release of anger, fear, worry, sadness, and other unhealthy feelings, and replaces them with self-worth, confidence, and tranquility.  

Reiki is a technique that increases a person's supply of life energy.  The awareness that an unseen energy flows through all living things and directly affects the quality of a person's health has been a part of the wisdom of many cultures since ancient times.  This life energy goes by many names: qi in China, ki in Japan, and prana in India.  The ancient Hawaiians called it ti or ki.  It has also been called orgone energy and élan vital, and science refers to it as biofield energy.  

When your life energy is low, it is more difficult to deal with stress; you may not sleep well, and you're more susceptible to illness.  When your life energy is strong, you feel strong, can more easily deal with stress, and are less likely to get sick.  Reiki treatment assists in increasing the supply of life energy in the recipient.

Reiki is becoming increasingly popular with the medical community, with over 800 hospitals across the U.S. offering Reiki as a standard part of hospital care.  A research study at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut indicates that Reiki improved patient sleep by 86%, reduced pain by 78%, reduced nausea by 80%, and reduced anxiety during pregnancy by 94%.  In addition, nurses report that Reiki helps patients heal faster with less pain, reduces stress and improves mental attitude, improves appetite, and reduces the negative side effects of chemotherapy, radiation, and other medical procedures.