Reiki
What is Reiki used for?
Reiki has been increasingly offered as part of workplace wellness programs to address burnout and improve skills in healthcare and other industries, as well as in university wellness centers.
I would agree and find it particularly useful for patients suffering from anxiety and/or depression. Where a patient's nervous system seems 'stuck' in sympathetic dominant mode (flight or fight) I find Reiki invaluable.
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Reiki is a fantastic skill to practise on yourself and your family. I am trained to Master Reiki Level and can provide attunements to the general public. Email me to enquire.
What is Reiki?
Reiki is probably the most difficult of the therapies I practise to substantiate. This is, I guess, because it is a hands-off healing modality (the hands are held slightly away from the patient's body - about three inches in my case) and the prevailing theory is that we are channelling universal energy (yes, the same Qi that is manipulated in acupuncture).
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To our 21st-century minds, it might seem unlikely that if no needle being inserted, no massage being applied that there can be any impact on the patient. However, there is increasing research being conducted to try and assess the effectiveness of this therapy and already results show that patients do benefit.
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Is it effective?
Some published studies have looked at the effect of Reiki on measures of stress hormones, blood pressure, heart rate, and immune responsivity, and on subjective reports of anxiety, pain and depression. The studies to date are typically small, and not every study is well designed. However, overlapping data from some of the stronger studies support the ability of Reiki to reduce anxiety and pain, and suggest its usefulness to induce relaxation, improve fatigue and depressive symptoms, and strengthen overall wellbeing.
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews contains a review on the use of touch therapies (including Reiki) for pain and a protocol for use of Reiki for psychological symptoms.
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