Reiki is a gentle yet powerful healing practice that works with the body’s natural energy system to restore balance and promote wellness.
Originating in Japan, Reiki is now gaining global recognition and is increasingly used in integrative medicine alongside conventional treatments. As interest in energy healing grows, scientific studies are beginning to support what ancient traditions have long believed, that a universal life force energy connects all living things and can be harnessed to support physical, emotional, and spiritual health. In this article, we explore what Reiki is, how it works, and why it’s becoming a valuable tool in holistic healthcare worldwide.
‘During the past few decades, science has begun to prove what ancient myth and religion has always espoused. That there may be such a thing as a life force. Frontier scientists all over the globe have produced extraordinary evidence to show that an energy field connects everything in the universe, and we ourselves are part of this…’ Lynne McTaggart, The Field.
Reiki practices are flourishing internationally and today this practice is being combined with integrative medicine on a global platform. A fact that emphasises the integrity of Reiki, as one of the guiding principles within integrative medicine is to use therapies that have some high quality evidence to support them.
WHAT IS REIKI?
Reiki, which originated in Japan, is the ancient art of ‘laying on of hands’ in order to heal. The word Reiki consists of two parts: Rei and Ki.
Rei is translated as ‘Universal Life Force Energy’ and Ki as ‘Life Force Energy’. Reiki teaches that our life force energy is connected to a universal life force energy.
HOW DOES THE LIFE FORCE ENERGY RELATE TO US?
There has been an interest in the life force energy since ancient times and with the latest advances in technology scientists and quantum theorists have made some amazing discoveries.
Scientists at The HeartMath Institute in California have clearly demonstrated, through hundreds of peer-reviewed studies, that we are electromagnetic and that our life force energy is connected to the earth's magnetic field through our hearts.
Between 1964 and 1989, German scientist, Dr Rütger Wever of the Max Planck Institute near Andechs, studied the Circadian Rhythms of man – the day and night cycle that is ingrained in all life. After several studies he reached the conclusion that the frequency of earth is the frequency of all life on earth.
HOW DOES REIKI WORK?
The Reiki philosophy states that we are whole beings who have a body, mind and spirit. When there is a disturbance on any of these levels, the flow of life force becomes disrupted and an imbalance or block is created in the life force energy. This happens because the life force is responsive to thoughts and feelings: our thoughts release biphoton light emissions, are absorbed into the life force energy and may become embedded. If not treated, these blocks manifest in the physical body as disease – either chronically or temporarily.
When a Reiki practitioner lays their hands on a client, the practitioner connects with earth's electromagnetic field and draws the energy up through his/her body into the hands, transmitting the universal life force energy into the client’s life force energy. Reiki heals by flowing through the affected parts, charging them with electromagnetic energy.
Studies have confirmed that Reiki practitioners do emit life force energy from their hands. Two scientists at the Biofield Centre at the University of Arizona found fluctuations in the pulsations of the magnetic field around Reiki healers’ hands. They also asked healers to use intention and mentally channel energy through their hands – they were astonished at the breathtakingly clear stream of light flowing from the healers’ fingers.
STUDIES AND REIKI
The benefits of Reiki in the medical profession in the USA have gained much recognition. Over 75 hospitals in the USA include Reiki in their integrative treatment programmes. Nurses are even sent for training to become Reiki practitioners. In Australia it is common for patients to bring their Reiki practitioners along to the hospitals.
A study in the USA on hysterectomies found that Reiki reduced patient recovery time and that doctors spent between 10 to 20 minutes less time in the operating rooms. This is because Reiki is very effective in reducing stress and tension in the body.
The Brownes Cancer Support Centre in Australia undertook a study to test the effects of Reiki on cancer patients and ‘concluded that there was an overall improvement in both quality of life and symptom distress scores for patients who received Reiki.’
An Australian heart surgeon worked with a Reiki practitioner on his heart transplant patients. None of them had the usual post-operative depression and his bypass patients had no post-operative pain or leg weakness. The transplant patients experienced no sign of tissue rejection.
One clinical study tested the effects of Reiki on human blood levels and concluded that Reiki had a measurable physiological effect: ‘Some individuals found that their blood levels went up while others went down, supporting the idea that Reiki restores individual balance based on the body's unique needs.’
Another clinical study tested Reiki's effect on pain, anxiety and depression on chronically ill patients. The conclusion was that Reiki had significant effects in reducing these three conditions.
CONCLUSION
Reiki is a natural, holistic, complementary healing therapy that gently balances your life energies. It addresses physical, emotional and spiritual ills, restoring and maintaining peace, health and general well-being.
Editor's note: I can recommend this article Kinesiology – the science of motion and also How Did Energy Medicine Come About?
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