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Why Reiki helps with Trauma

What is Trauma?

The word trauma is used a lot these days. The past few years has been traumatizing for many of us in one way or another, and our culture more now readily embraces discussing topics like traumatic stress and PTSD more so than at any other time in history.  Trauma has become so familiar to most of us that it is sometimes misused.  Sometimes invoked as a reaction to any unpleasant experience or person or as a punchline for jokes that diminish the experience of others.  But whether we are openly discussing our past difficult experiences or making a light joke about a difficult day, trauma is a real phenomenon that has existed long before we had the language to examine it.

When I talk about trauma, I am referring to the American Psychological Association’s definition: “Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships, and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea.“

Trauma results in a response, and if we are unable, for any reason, to move through the natural progression of that response, we can get stuck. Without this movement, traumatic responses can play out over and over and become maladaptive, keeping us from feeling safe and empowered.

When we describe being traumatized, we commonly mean that a really terrible event has left us depleted of our natural resilience, unable to be flexible and responsive to our environment. Nothing feels safe and everything is a threat.

Treatments for Trauma

There are several evidence-based therapeutic treatments available to help manage traumatic stress or PTSD.  EMDR, CBT, DBT are only a few of the treatments now available.  Some people are helped by a combination of talk therapy, medication and a evidence-based intervention.  Others choose a stewardship model of managing traumatic symptoms through a combination of talk therapy, mindfulness, evidence based treatments and copious amounts of self-care.  There is no one size fits all treatment program for PTSD and recurring traumatic responses.  And, a recent review of trauma treatments finds that many struggle to complete a program of treatment, or even continue to experience symptoms after successful treatment.  This was definitely the case for me. I have tried multiple interventions over the years to help manage PTSD and for me personally, I have created a stewardship model based on regular counseling, evidence-based treatments when needed, vigorous exercise (including strength training) and a self-care and mindfulness practice that is rooted in Reiki.

If you think you are experiencing traumatic stress symptoms or even PTSD, it is best to start with the guidance and support of a qualified medical professional to help you understand your symptoms.

When treatment isn’t enough

So how can Reiki help us move through the traumatic response?  Alone, Reiki may not be enough to help you manage symptoms of PTSD like flashbacks, rapid mood shifts or nightmares.  But employed as one of many tools, Reiki can help you in three ways:

  1. Gently reset your boundaries
  2. Give you a sense of agency or power over your life
  3. Mindfulness

Reiki is a Japanese hands on healing art that “is a wonderful energy that seeks to guide us into an ever-higher place in our beautiful Universe” . When you receive a Reiki healing session or learn Reiki self-healing for yourself, you benefit from the relaxation and realignment that receiving this energy imparts. But how does this help with the process of healing from a traumatic response?

There are several ways that practicing or receiving Reiki helps metabolize a traumatic event:

1. Reiki gently resets boundaries with daily self healing

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If you have experienced a trauma that involves a violation of your boundaries, learning to practice Reiki or receiving it from a responsible practitioner helps you re-establish your physical boundaries.

Reiki is part meditation and part visualization. We calm ourselves in order to visualize the flow of “universal life force energy” and then notice how the flow of Reiki makes our body feel. No touch is necessary to experience this sensation. Reiki (especially self-Reiki) does not feel invasive because consent must always be given in order for Reiki to flow. If no consent is given, Reiki energy will not flow through you.

Through the act of consent and visualizing how the flow of Reiki energy feels in your body, you begin to re-experience how your body feels when it is respected. For nearly everyone, Reiki feels relaxing and pleasant.

2. Reiki helps you recover a sense of control over your life, or agency

Trauma arising from any reason often makes you feel as though your life is no longer in your control, and you have no ability to make change in your life or in your surrounding environment.  While there is an element of truth to not truly having control, trauma robs of us most feelings of self control and safety.

Reiki is a meditation practice with a single purpose: healing.  And once learned, Reiki always belongs to you.  By learning this practice, you build a connection to the greatest change maker: the universe.  Practitioners learn how to feel and direct the flow of universal life force energy.  The very act of receiving the energy and learning to channel its flow from the top of your head through your palms is empowering.  Daily self Reiki sessions can also impart a sense of control over how you feel.  Over time, we learn to relax our bodies simply by thinking of Reiki.  And as a practitioner, you can use Reiki to re-establish a sense of control over past present and future.  There are special techniques, such as sending Reiki energy into the past that help us reframe the past in a different way.  Taken together, a personal Reiki practice or even receiving sessions on a regular basis helps reestablish a healthy sense of control.

3. Mindfulness with purpose

Reiki traces some of its roots to Zen Buddhism which emphasizes zazen meditation and that among other things, the body and mind are interconnected.  Zen is a mindfulness practice.  The health and mental health benefits include improvements in blood pressure/resting heart rate, reduced inflammation and decreased pain perception.  Reiki also claims such benefits, and one might even argue that a practitioner who combines the mindfulness of regular practice with the visualization directed toward healing might experience even greater benefit.

 

 

The bottom line is that when you learn to practice Reiki or regularly receive Reiki, you are also giving yourself valuable tools to manage traumatic stress or PTSD.  Through a combination of boundary setting, increasing your sense of agency and partaking in a mindfulness practice, you can amplify and increase the benefits of a concerted effort to manage or address PTSD/traumatic stress.

What do you think?  Leave a comment below

 

Note: this article is intended for educational purposes and is not intended to be medical or psychological advice. If you are experiencing symptoms please consult a qualified professional for support.

What is a Self Care Plan?

Self Care plans. I talk a lot about self care and self care plans, its true.  But why? I am a Reiki teacher.  This is exactly why believe it or not.  When I teach Reiki, I am showing my students how to embody a healing presence.  How do you do that exactly? Regular self care, meditation and seeking balance are all great ways to reveal your inner healer.

Self care is also a important part of everyone’s life.  It helps us stay grounded and centered as we encounter stress and uncertainty. If you have experienced a traumatic event or manage PTSD, self care is a valuable tool you can use to manage your symptoms.

So, what is self care anyway? Self care are the actions we take to nurture our body, mind and spirit.  Its that simple.  Those actions can range from simple, like brushing your teeth or hair to grand like moving or taking a vacation.  Self care can be free and it is ideal to engage in some form of self care every day.  There are several different categories of self care: physical, emotional, social, psychological and spiritual.

A self care plan is a pre-determined selection of self care activities that helps you manage and recover from stress.  The actions you choose can be tailored to your specific needs and the particular type of stressor you are trying to address.  You can have a daily self care plan that is your go-to and a special plan for when you anticipate or experience a stressful event.

Here is a sample daily self care plan:

  • meditate for 15+ minutes (spiritual)
  • spend time with my partner (social)
  • do at least 20 minutes of exercise (physical)
  • journal for 15+ minutes (emotional)

And if you know I’ll be encountering a stressful time (such as starting a new job, moving etc) this is a sample plan:

  • prepare meals or gather snacks ahead of time
  • identify a friend to talk or text with
  • create a safe space in your living quarters to retreat
  • place an encouraging quote, affirmation or iffirmation in my pocket or wallet

A self care plan adapts to you and your needs and can change whenever you need it to.  And you can use it to encourage and validate yourself.  Have you ever stopped to consider that the little things you do every day like brushing teeth, tidying a space or wearing your favorite socks is self care?  If you haven’t, this is a great time to give yourself credit for that.  This abridged list of self care activities can help you create your own self care plans.

 

New Book Release! Put the Power Here: Your 21-Day Journey of Reiki

A New Multidisciplinary Approach to Practicing Reiki

A 21-day curated workbook to transform your life

 Are you ready to create a different approach to your daily life? Are you ready take concrete steps to build a grounded, mindful, and healing lifestyle? Put the Power Here: Your 21 Day Journey of Reiki is a colorful, engaging journal that builds on Usui Reiki and a variety of mindfulness and intuitive techniques to transform your life from the mundane and stressful to a full, vibrant Reiki-based framework for living.

Usui Reiki, a non-religious healing practice created over 100 years ago in Japan by Mikao Usui offers those who practice the opportunity to live a more mindful, curious, and grounded life. Those who decide to learn to channel Reiki soon discover that it is ideally a practice and not a casual activity.  The Put the Power Here workbook shows you how to build a Reiki practice and guides you with thoughtful activities and space to record what you discover. Each day has a theme that combines regular activities to help you build your own practice along with a curated adventure of self-discovery.  Activities range from creating art to writing poetry to manifesting and so much more.  “The purpose of this (21 day) journey…is to experience how transforming and nourishing a positive daily healing-oriented mindfulness practice can be.” 

Anyone can use this workbook and experience benefits, but it is especially helpful to those who practice any type of Reiki or are thinking of learning Reiki.  There are several schools of Reiki around the world, and although this volume is centered around Usui Reiki, the activities are broad enough to be helpful to any practitioner no matter the training. 

Leitumalo Jessica Irvine is a Reiki teacher, practitioner and writer based in Portland Oregon.  This is her first published volume.  She has been exploring self-development techniques for the past 25 years. She has taught Reiki for the past 7 years and is passionate about sharing what she has learned.

Follow @sana_reiki on Instagram

Reiki at a distance – an in depth look

Every Reiki practitioner is different.  Not every Reiki practitioner does distance healing, some have not received the right attunement for it, others just don’t resonate with it.  This primer will help you understand how different Reiki practitioners might approach their sessions. This is useful not only for you if you are receiving Reiki at a distance; if you are a practitioner interested in adding Reiki at a distance, you should learn about the different ways it can be shared, and see what fits and what you can adapt to work for you.

It is really important to understand that no matter what method a Reiki Therapist uses, if this method resonates for them, you will feel Reiki energy during your session. They vary in terms of how they work, how much intake they do, how long they work and how the after-session transition is handled.

 

HOW DOES YOUR PRACTITIONER WORK

  1. The “chalk outline” method: The most space efficient way to practice Reiki at a distance is by using a sheet of paper with the outline of a human body printed on it. This allows the practitioner to sit at a desk, take notes and do Reiki at a distance.

2. Use your own body: Another method to share distance Reiki is for the practitioner to use their thighs, arms, abdomen as “stand ins” for your physical body. It can be a great method if you are a tactile healer or you get a lot of information from touch. When I describe this method to my students, I usually caution them to first be very clear in intention that the Reiki is not for themself, and to check in throughout the work to keep that channel clear.

 

3. Guided Imagery and Directing The Receiver: This is an interesting and interactive method where the practitioner speaks on a phone or video link to the receiver and guides them with meditation to place their own hands on different areas of their own physical body. At the same time, the Reiki practitioner is visualizing and tuning in to the receiver’s energy, sharing Reiki as they guide the receiver. This is a wonderful practice because you receive the benefit of meditation and Reiki in the same session. In addiiton, it is also a good somatic exercise to help you get more comfortable feeling your own body, you body’s energy and the more subtle flow of life and sensation in your body, and be empowered by using your own “healing hands”

4. Stuffed animals: Yes, this is a thing, and yes, it works. Using a teddy bear or any other stuffed toy or doll that has a head, arms legs and a torso can be used in place of your receiver. It gives the practitioner a 3 dimensional experience, allowing for placement of hands under the receiver, for example.

5. Laying Out Clothing: This is the method that I use. That said, it involves laying out clothing, say a pair of pants, socks and a long sleeve shirt and perhaps a small pillow to approximate the shape of a person. It can be done on a massage table, couch, bed or the floor. The advantage is that the practitioner is working to scale, and although it is a fairly 2 dimensional experience, there is the ability to hold fabric between the hands and to feel very specific areas of the body. As I have a massage table and the room to set up, and I work best when I can feel and see a shape, I have found this to resonate most with me as a practitioner.

Session Length

Remote sessions can last anywhere from 20 minutes to 90 minutes. In my experience, 20 minutes is sufficient but the ideal length is about 45 minutes. Most people “pop out” of the meditative space at that point, unless something unusual happens in a session, that is about the length of time needed to share Reiki effectively. Sometimes, a session can go longer than this, but it is usually when there is an unusual situation, or if your practitioner uses multiple methods like channeling, journeying or shamanic healing.

Degree of Interaction

This varies greatly, and there are advantages to each way:

  1. How much intake does your practitioner do and what does it mean.
    • Little or no intake or contact before the session: some practitioners do not require much in the way of intake or personal contact with a receiver. Their reasons vary but from what I have personally experienced, it can be that the practitioner actually connects better when they have less information to fill in gaps, as the human mind tends to do. As a receiver, you may also wish to have some degree of anonymity for your distance session. You may only wish to experience Reiki and do not wish to form a therapeutic relationship at this point. Working with a practitioner that does sessions with little contact might be a good fit in this case.
    • Intake, informed consent and perhaps even a pre-meeting: many practitioners are committed to working with their clients to support them for more than a single session, and for this purpose, completing and intake form is appropriate. In addition, responsible practitioners carry insurance and participate in professional associations, and therefore have an obligation to share their code of conduct and seek informed consent before working with a receiver. Although Reiki can never do harm, any time you work with any wellness professional from personal trainer to massage therapist to psychologist, you are interacting with another human and there should be boundaries. If you are seeking the support of a Reiki therapist on a more ongoing basis to support you as you go through transition, be sure to keep an eye out for this level of engagement.
  2. How long do sessions last
    • A distance Reiki session can last anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour. If you include conversation before and after, the session could last as long as 90 minutes.
    • Expect shorter sessions to have little interaction before or after.
    • “Standard” length Reiki sessions are usually 45 minutes. Most of the time, this is sufficient time for the practitioner to share Reiki thoroughly and address any additional energetic blocks or attachments they may notice. It is not unusual for a Reiki practitioner to offer to share impressions with their client, and to elicit any feedback the reciever wishes to share afterward. The purpose of this is to help the receiver understand the dynamics of the session and to anchor that into their memory
    • Some practitioners also offer a channeled reading, an oracle card reading or some other add on to the session which could extend the length of the session beyond an hour. If time is ever an issue, let your practitioner know at the beginning so you can decide together what to do.
  3. What do you do during the session?
    • Some practitioners tell you that you can do anything you like. While Reiki at a distance would work in any circumstance, I see this as a missed opportunity, and possibly counterproductive. In person Reiki sessions afford the receiver the opportunity to stop the usual pace, spend some time engaged in nourishing self-care and receive the benefit of human empathy and touch in addition to Reiki. Reiki at a distance can offer nearly all these benefits. If your practitioner doesn’t encourage or require you to lay down and receive, that could be counterproductive. Can you ever imagine receiving a massage while at the grocery store or driving to the post office? The same can be said of Reiki in any form.
    • I recommend laying down, getting comfortable and warm, use the restroom before the session and take the opportunity to relax your body mind and spirit. I also work with my clients by video link so they can see me before hand and can “check” any time during the session to see what I am doing. I also spend about 10 minutes at the beginning of the session leading my clients in a guided imagery meditation to help them get relaxed and grounded. The more relaxed you are in your Reiki session, the more you benefit.
  4. After your session: So afterwards, there is a also some variation in what your practitioner will offer. Some offer very little follow up. The true value in Reiki happens during the session, in your own body and experience. Discussing what happened may not be enlightening or helpful for some. In addition, any feedback your practitioner shares must be delivered mindfully – anything we notice or feel during a session is an impression not an absolute truth. It is filtered through your practitioner’s nervous system and subconscious mind and will carry their own meaning-making. If a practitioner is unaware of this inherent bias, there is the risk of unintentionally misleading or misinforming a receiver about the experience they just had. When dealing with trauma, it’s important to learn to articulate and understand your experience. A trauma informed Reiki practitioner can help you understand the experience without injecting their own “story” or bias. Oracle cards or some other form of divination can be a useful tool. These cards are subjective images that you can interpret for yourself.

Reiki at a distance can be a fulfilling, nourishing and balancing self-care option. Whenever you work with a practitioner of any kind, you are engaging in a relationship on some level. Understanding broadly how different practitioners work will help you choose the right one for you and your goals.

15 Ways that Reiki Helps You

Reiki is the gentle Japanese healing art of healing with universal life force energy. Laying on hands lightly, or even working remotely, a Reiki practitioner facilitates the flow of Reiki energy to and through your physical and non-physical body. Practitioners have undertaken study, practice and a special ceremony called attunement . Reiki practitioners are encouraged to mantain a robust self-healing and meditation practice to enhance their ability to encourage Reiki flow, but we are facilitators, and this is not a “special power” that we have. We do not direct energy because your body has an innate knowledge of how to work with Reiki energy, and it knows where to go, we simply help it flow. It is because of this inherent equality between the practitioner and receiver that our clients feel empowered and seen.

Receiving Reiki sessions has many benefits:

Physical Benefits

  • Creates deep relaxation and aids in relieving stress and tension.
  • Gives you a high level of energy
  • Helps you sleep better and more deeply
  • Reduces blood pressure
  • Relieves pain from acute injuries (does not heal them!)
  • Brings the body in to correct balance and harmony

Emotional Benefits

  • Minimizes emotional stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia
  • Raises self-esteem and improves confidence levels
  • Improves memory
  • Enhances creativity and intuition
  • Helps in the grieving process
  • Spiritual Benefits
  • Connects you with a higher consciousness
  • Raises your vibrational level
  • Conducts and enhances spiritual awakening
  • Inspires guidance in questionable situations

Whether you are embarking on a journey of healing from trauma, or you are investing in a self care routine for long term benefit, Reiki can play a central and important role. What’s more, you can learn Reiki for Self Care and receive the benefits of Reiki every day.