Life seems to continually test us. I don’t know about you, I but I feel like us humans, particularly women, need a treasure trove of self care tools we can whip out and lean in to for daily support. On the daily we may bump up against psychosocial stress such as the routine stresses and strains of life like anxiety, depression, financial pressures, chronic pain, other people’s issues, challenges that are out of one’s control, not to mention residual trauma from events in our past.
The more time I spend sharing and teaching Reiki, the more I am bloody convinced that everybody is working through ‘stuff’.
My own ‘stuff’ stills creeps up on me, like events that trigger old developmental trauma. Now and again anxiety still rears its not so friendly head. Over time we can learn to meet our stuff with a big dollop of compassion, or maybe just a small one at first ( I was not super in to self care when I began my healing journey!) if we take time to learn to attune to our needs and attend to them with care.
Reiki translates from Japanese to English as spiritually guided life force energy. Reiki teaches us that all life is connected; from plants and fungi along the mycelial path, to the tides and the moon, to our connection to universal source energy which may be called anything from God, love, universe or spirit. Being reminded of our connection to nature and the whole universe is a comforting thing when we are confronted by the very human challenges of loss, grief, isolation and the stressful minutiae that may be filling our days. We need time off from the daily grind and the good news is that Reiki provides this be it in the form of a self healing treatment, a meditation on the Reiki symbols or belting out sound with the Reiki chants.
The meditative aspect of Reiki evokes relaxation in the body in a number of ways:
Spending time being quiet and receiving Reiki gives our overly stimulated brains a break.
A Reiki treatment restores the flow of energy around the body and helps to ease tension and take the edge off pain.
Reiki is a biofield treatment which means Reiki soothes not just the physical body but the unseen energy field around the body.
The deeper levels of Reiki practice (the symbols, chants and breath work) allow us to experience connection to ourselves and the subtleties of universal energy.
I reassure students that starting with just 5 or 10 minutes of Reiki each day is enough to build a relationship with Reiki, allowing us to feel the flow of life force and calm the racing mind. I am a big fan of spiritual practices which can be explored with a “little and often” approach.
As life’s strangeness continues to unfold we needs lots of little ports we can turn to in the storms. Reiki makes for a safe haven for us all.
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship”- Louisa May Alcott
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