Content by Grace Tatar via NextAvenue
Living with a newly diagnosed chronic illness at 16, I struggled to navigate how best to manage the debilitating symptoms I was experiencing. I endured significant stress, unknowingly manifesting as physical dis-ease (lacking in ease or comfort) and worsening my symptoms of digestive distress, body weakness, joint pain, migraines, fatigue, brain fog and insomnia.
In addition, I was living in a prevalent disconnection of mind, body, and spirit, wondering why the numerous antibiotics and supplements I had been prescribed did more harm than good. And then, I discovered reiki.
Reiki has assisted me in embracing my health struggles and viewing them as a positive opportunity for growth, such as finding alignment and healing physically, mentally and emotionally.
I hope my personal experience with this practice encourages you to recognize the value it offers and how it can potentially benefit you on your well-being journey and beyond.
Supporting the Flow of Life Energy
Reiki — rei meaning universal or spiritual and ki, vital life energy in Japanese — is a therapy that supports the body’s natural ability to heal and find balance. From clearing stuck, blocked, or congested energy to spiritually guiding the abundant flow of ‘vital’ life energy, reiki works all around the mind, body and spirit in a holistic, whole-being way.
Further, reiki is a non-invasive approach rooted in the belief that our entire body can optimally function and restore when energetically harmonized to vibrate at a higher, more elevated frequency.
Reiki practitioners guide this vital energy by lightly touching or hovering their hands over one’s major energy centers (also known as chakras) while helping to boost the vibrational power in the mind, body, and spirit.
Reiki works all around the mind, body and spirit in a holistic, whole-being way.
This practice can be incredibly advantageous, from reducing stress and physical pain to relieving insomnia and increasing blood flow. However, it is no surprise that many might misunderstand and consider reiki eccentric.
Unlike massage therapy, where areas of tension in the body can be targeted and released through physical touch, reiki handles energetic pathways the client cannot physically sense or discern. Hence, it can be challenging for some individuals to fathom how or why this approach can alleviate various mental and physical ailments tangibly.
I, too, was skeptical before trying and introducing reiki into my wellness routine, but since experiencing significant improvements in my health, I can now acknowledge why reiki has been around for over 3,000 years!