Heal yourself holistically

V. N. Mittal

Rising costs of conventional medical treatment and increasing stress levels every where, have pushed the demand for alternative healing modalities such as yoga, meditation, tai chi and qigong. Reiki, shiatsu, quantum touch, acupressure, and reflexology, are some of the other alternative energy healing options that are being explored to alleviate various ailments.

Rei-Ki (pronounced as Ray-Key) is a Japanese word which means universal life force energy; Rei signifies universal and Ki the life force energy also known as Chi in Chinese, or Prana in India. It can be defined "as an art of tapping into unlimited supply of life force energy from the cosmos and dispensing it through our hands [palms] to provide necessary healing to ourselves or to others". It not only helps heal yourself but also others. This property of Reiki sets it apart from other therapies. It can also provide distant healing in an equally effective manner even to people not in direct contact with the therapist. It works and heals by harmonizing and balancing the body energy in more ways than one. As Reiki is transmitted by placing hands near or above the body in specific positions or patterns, it reactivates and realigns our chakras [energy centres].

Chakras correspond to the endocrine glands and are the energy vortices that keep on spinning all the time to enable the glands to secrete hormones. They serve as a vehicle of Reiki and facilitate it to clear the energy pathways [the Naris, or meridians] of the negative energy. This restores unobstructed and free flow of life force energy [chi] through the energy centres and activates the self-healing process.

As Reiki connects the body energy to the universal life force energy having very high vibration frequency, the vibration frequency of the cells is raised to healthy levels through the process of entrainment. Also, Reiki is known to balance the Yin and Yang forces believed to be the cause of diseased state in a body.

The ability to source Reiki has to be acquired through a process known as initiation or attunement carried by a Reiki Master. The healing ability of the practitioner is raised manifold through the process. The process reactivates and realigns the energy centres [chakras] and enables the practitioner to acquire healing ability and acquire a perpetual connection to Reiki. It has three levels, can be learnt by anybody and no educational qualifications are required. The first level introduces you to the principles, development, body and hand positions for dispensing Reiki, etc. In the second degree, symbols and distant Reiki techniques are taught. The third level, which is more advanced, has two parts --the first part attunes you to the Master symbol and trains you to be a Master practitioner and the second part makes you the Reiki Master Teacher. In second part you are taught the technique of how to attune other people. Our body possesses an inbuilt mechanism to heal itself. The hands especially have immense healing capability. The innate healing power of the hands has also been highlighted in Atharva Veda.

Once you are attuned, you can source Reiki at will. The healing energy starts flowing through your hands as and when desired. Just by intent and affirmation, you can instantly connect to Reiki and give treatment to yourself or to the client by placing your hands on the body at the specific positions, with clothes on. The Reiki treatment feels warm to some people and cold or even tingling to others. The overall effect is relaxing. Its benefits are not confined to people in direct contact with the therapist but also it can be projected to provide healing to those in distant places. Reiki makes a bridge between the sender and the receiver. The receiver may be a person, animal, plant, object, place, event, situation, or a happening. Reiki complements and blends well with all healing modalities. It is now being used as a complementary therapy for treatment of common, acute and even chronic ailments in many hospitals all over the world. It is highly effective in combating stress and depression and works like a prophylactic in warding off future ailments. Simply by focusing and dispensing Reiki to a person or an object, place, event or a situation, the blockages get cleared and flow of energy balanced. People have used Reiki for programming their job interviews, successful presentations and goal manifesting.

Try it for fun, pleasure and confidence building in the following situations:

Quitting bad habits e.g. smoking / over-eating / obesity; purifying water/liquids, enriching food, cleansing and charging rooms in your house/hotel with positive energy; self-protection from negative energies in crowded locations e.g. train compartments, cinema halls; improving relationships with spouse/ bosses/ juniors in the office; augmenting the effect of medicine capsules/ tablets; sealing the house from negative energies/ burglaries; And in lots of many other situations; possibilities are tremendous.

However, always remember that Reiki is best used as a complementary therapy and the advice of your doctor should be adhered to before making any life style changes.