What is Reiki?
Reiki (pronounced ray-key) is a safe, gentle and extremely powerful form of complementary healing. It is not a religion and requires no particular beliefs from the client - just an open mind and a willingness to be helped. Reiki therapy can be used to help with any symptoms of the body or mind. It can assist in the treatment of any physical or emotional disease, and is commonly effective for…
• Reducing chronic stress
• Reducing the physical pain of illness or long-term injury
• Resolving inner emotional conflicts
• Increasing physical vitality and well-being and aids healing and recovery
• Promoting a balanced and positive state of mind, even during difficult times
• Supporting and enhancing emotional equilibrium
• Assisting coming to terms with physical and emotional traumas
• Reiki therapy also produces a very profound state of relaxation, and many people without a particular condition have Reiki purely for its relaxation properties
How Does Reiki Work?
Reiki works on a different level from massage. It effects the body’s bio-energy field which in turn has a positive effect on our thebody, mind and emotions.
Reiki practitioners channel a gentle but extremely powerful healing energy that is used to balance and ground your own energies, clearing the blockages that cause emotional stress, ill-health and disease.
Reiki energy is not directed by the practitioner, but travels naturally to where it is most appropriate for your individual needs, so treatments do not guarantee a particular outcome, but will give you whatever healing is most appropriate for you at that moment. What is achieved is an inner balance that allows your body and mind the very best chance of recovery and reaching health.
For example, Reiki might not cure cancer- but it can produce greater vitality, emotional buoyancy, and reduce chemotherapy side-effects, making the illness easier to deal with. Many studies have shown that a positive state of mind will assist recovery from illness and reduce pain.
What’s Involved in a Treatment?
A Reiki session takes about an hour. The treatment begins with a consultation, exploring what you wish to gain from the session and an opportunity to ask questions. During the session you remain fully clothed and lie under a blanket so you can fully relax.
As the practitioner channels the Reiki energy, they move slowly around you sending healing energy with their hands to where you need it. The hands will often be held some distance above the body to allow the healing vibrations to work on your larger energy fields, and sometimes light contact will be made with specific chakra points on the body, for example shoulders, crown or feet.
As the Reiki energy starts to flow you may feel significant levels of heat from the therapist’s hands where healing is taking place, also tingling and occasionally cool sensations are felt. Most people fall into a deep state of relaxation, similar to sleep, to allow healing to take place at the deepest levels of their physical body and emotions. This is actually a state of meditation in which you are still fully aware, and able to experience any colours, thoughts, emotions, sensations or dreams that may occur.
The treatment finishes with feedback and reflection on the experience.
My Approach
As a Sports Massage Therapist I was always quite sceptical about Reiki and other forms of “energy healing” as my background was in treating people on a purely physical level. Like many people who have never experienced Reiki first-hand I thought it was all a bit “airy-fairy”.
That changed in a heartbeat after my very first Reiki treatment. One of my Sports Massage clients was a Reiki master and she offered me a session. As soon as the treatment began I felt the warm energy flow from her hands as they hovered over me without her even touching me. As the session continued I felt that energy gently clearing away deep layers of stress that I didn’t even know were there until I felt the enormous relief of those blockages being lifted away.
Afterwards I felt a clarity and calmness that I not experienced before. For the first time in my life I understood what it was to feel truly balanced and grounded. I felt a sense of lightness, like a weight had been lifted, and I felt more clear headed than I had done in a long time. That feeling stayed with me and never really left, but I knew I needed more healing.
I continued to have regular Reiki treatments, and layer after layer of stress and anxiety was cleared from my mind and body. As my journey of inner healing progressed I began to feel more whole, more relaxed in my core, more connected to my inner world, more balanced in my feelings and more clarity in my thoughts and intuitions.
After this "healing journey" I began training to become a practitioner of Reiki so that I could offer others the same quality of healing that I had received. This second journey was even more profound for me than the previous Reiki treatments I had received. As my training progressed, I felt my connection to the healing energy of Reiki strengthen and deepen even further, bringing a higher quality of healing to all of my therapies, including my Sports Therapy and Deep Tissue massages.
Through Reiki I can treat people truly holistically, helping to heal them on an emotional level rather than just physically. So I can combine it with Sports and Remedial Massage to release any underlying emotional blockages that are causing muscular tension, such as chronic stress being held in the neck, shoulders and upper back.
Reiki also works very well as a stand-alone treatment.
My Qualifications
Usui Reiki Master Teacher
Level 3 Reiki Master Practitioner
Level 2 Usui Reiki
Level 1 Usui Reiki
Level II SEVA Acupressure
Level I SEVA Acupressure
Testimonials
"When I was diagnosed with a chronic illness I searched online to find a therapist who could help me with my pain.
"Not only has Chris done this through sports massage, he has also applied Reiki, which I was surprised to find, alleviated my pain and lifted my spirits.
"Chris has become a positive influence in my life and I look forward to our weekly appointments.
"He is professional, knowledgeable and genuine, showing great interest in my health concerns and taking the time to talk them through.
"I would not hesitate to recommend him."
