Since seeing clients for Reiki and Healing Touch, energy modalities, I’ve been introduced to diseases and disorders entirely new to me. “Say again,” I ask while taking notes on the intake form. Having a diagnosis implies a collection of symptoms, a pattern for which a patient and doctor can determine a possible path toward health. With energy work, my method includes moving my hands through a client’s field and lowering my hands gently on the surface of their body. These actions connect our energy, our chi. The strength of my chi is reinforced by regular meditation and movement practices performed before anyone lies down on my massage table. That someone chooses to see me suggests a client is pursuing a path of healing. Their condition, whether mild or acute, shows up as a disruption in chi.
A free flow of this vital energy is essential for the body to maintain physical, emotional and spiritual health. I think of disrupted chi as a kink in the body’s energy flow, and my job is to free the flow in support of healing.
For some, two or three treatments is all that is needed. Deeply relaxed, these people get off the massage table smiling and drive away. For others, it takes longer. They get off the table relaxed and smiling too, but their body, resistant or weak, needs further treatments to assimilate the full potential of the energy.
Healing is a complex process and relies on the body, mind, and spirit working together. Healing depends on a number of factors including welcoming an energetic flow. Below are a few practices to support healing.
- Breathe Notice how your lungs expand and contract with each inhale and exhale. Note this vital process with fascination. Witness your breath while by sitting alone or while taking a walk.
- Accept Get out of the way. Quiet the judgmental and fearful mind. Look with neutrality or compassion.
- Vision Cultivate the tomorrow you wish for today. See as many of those details as possible. Feel yourself already achieving the vision.
- Take Action Any small but well-intentioned step feeds the healing process. Completing a small step is manageable and is its own reward.
- Connect Reach out to what nurtures you: family, friends, creative expression. Ask for help. Pursue what lifts your spirit.
- Sit Back Let go. Root your awareness in the present moment. Practice gratitude for all that is.
As I further my learning of Reiki and Healing Touch, I recognize the efficacy of a deep, meditative calm combined with creative expression. Meditation, writing, and dance, among other practices, support my being. Staring at the evening sky or journaling details of your vision may be better for you. We each determine what works best.
Ongoing flow reinforces balance and engages the totality of who we are. Healing starts with a simple conscious breath and recognizing the wonder of this moment.
