woman deeply relaxed in a reiki treatment

First there was an intense heaviness and darkness around my head, then a warm glow and swirling clockwise flow, and all of a sudden I saw a flood of intense pinky-purple. At last my body sank into the couch and I relaxed for the first time that week… The brain churning over.

I had arrived for my first reiki appointment angry. Angry, angry, corrosively, self-destructively angry. The kind you cannot turn off, that takes over and makes you uncomfortable company and an unpleasant partner. I was hurt but anger had been my default because I felt manipulated and powerless and alone. In one hour I went from apoplectic rage to contentment and perspective on just how ridiculous I was being.

I could feel exactly where the Reiki Master was working. It was an uncanny experience. Lying comfortable on my front, fully clothed, at times my body felt as if it was being swept along a stream. There was a weird tugging sensation, my torso feeling as if it was being sucked gently to one side – I was resisting, resisting, then at last I capitulated. Often I felt warmth where the reiki energy was being applied, nothing hands on, merely a glow of heat from the practitioner’s hands.

Tears sprouted out of the blue. My head ached and was heavy, with a deep sadness weighing down on my forehead for a while. My brain seemed to rattle in my scull at one point. I experienced a kaleidoscope of colours sporadically through the session. Whirls of sparkles played around me as, child in freefall joy, I did tumbleweed in mid-air partway through. I drifted into a deep state of rest, my breathing long and slow, taking in waves of goodness, blowing out the toxity of all my anger and discontent.

I went home and slept flat out for three hours. I was weak as a kitten all that evening. But I was back to myself, capable of enjoying the stars and my dogs, and noticing the new shoots in my veggie patch, able to let go, be content and enjoy.

The word reiki means ‘spiritually guided life force energy’. My understanding of it is that it’s about rebalancing the flow of the energy through our meridians, chakras and aura, the pathways in our body that get blocked or out of kilter in illness or when we disrupt the healthy flow with negative thoughts and beliefs. Simplistically, a reiki practitioner sends nourishing energy to the parts of us that need nourishment – a mind, body spiritual energy beyond the realms of mundane Western comprehension.

What is it good for? Emotional upset, stress, anxiety, gloom, pain, longterm illness… just about anything really. Everyone experiences reiki differently. Everyone has their own take on it. Every reiki session is different. It is impossible to articulate how it works but it is a spooky clever healing process that is profound. You’re allowed to be sceptical, but pooh-pooh it at your peril.

Sue Leach, owner, The Natural Health Hub

Rebecca Marr is our reiki practitioner. To book an appointment with her click here