How Reiki Heals - We are alive because life force energy is flowing through us. This energy flows within the physical body and it also flows around us in a field of energy. In addition to food, air and water this “life force energy” nourishes the organs and cells of the body and supports their vital functions. It is responsive to thoughts, feelings and experiences. When the natural flow of the “life force energy is blocked or distorted, the organs and tissues are unable to function effectively.

As a result, disease patterns arise and negatively affect the person’s emotional, mental, physical and spiritual well-being. Stress, trauma and unresolved issues are the main forms of negative energies which disrupt the natural flow of life force energy in the body.

Reiki heals by flowing through the affected parts of the body and the energy field and by charging them with positive energy. It raises the vibratory level of the energy field in and around the physical body where the negative thoughts, feelings, memories and impressions are attached. This causes the negative energies to break up and fall away. Reiki clears and heals the energy pathways, allowing the life force energy to flow healthily and naturally.

During a Reiki session, the person experiences an increase in the flow of life force energy. In this state, Reiki cleanses the body of built-up toxins, relieves pain, calms the mind and relaxes the muscles, releases pent-up emotions and accelerates the body’s natural ability to heal. Reiki is now widely practiced in the Western world, particularly in the United States and Europe.

Reiki practitioners in these countries can now be found working in hospitals where they assist patients during critical medical procedures.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, (of Oprah fame) who is one of the leading cardiovascular surgeons in the United States was one of the first to include a Reiki practitioner in his department at The Columbia Presbyterian Medical Centre in New York City where he runs the heart assist device program and the Complementary Care Centre. The New York Times Magazine reported that Dr. Oz has allowed the use of Reiki during open heart surgeries and heart transplant operations. Says Dr. Oz: “Reiki has become a sought-after healing art among patients and mainstream medical professionals.”

Since 1998, the Columbia/HCA Portsmouth Regional Hospital in Portsmouth, New Hampshire has been giving their surgical patients the option of 15-minute pre- and post-surgery Reiki treatments. As a result of this, there has been less use of pain medication, shorter length of stay in the hospital and an increase in patient satisfaction.

In the Reiki Clinic at Tucson Medical Center in Arizona, a team of Reiki practitioners give Reiki to patients. Reiki was first offered to patients in the Cancer Care Unit but has since expanded to other units in the hospital after it had been proven that pain, chronic conditions, and post-operative surgery conditions all responded well to Reiki.

One of the largest hospitals in northern California is the California Pacific Medical Center and here, Dr. Mike Cantwell, a pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases, provides one to three-hour-long Reiki sessions. When asked how Reiki helps his patients Cantwell said, “I have found Reiki to be useful in the treatment of acute illnesses such as musculoskeletal injury, pain, headache, acute infections and asthma. Reiki is also useful for patients with chronic illnesses especially those associated with chronic pain.”

Reiki practitioners are also becoming mainstays in delivery rooms in hospitals where Reiki is given to mothers and babies to help alleviate the trauma of the birthing process. Tests conducted at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut show that Reiki used during pregnancy reduced anxiety by 94 percent, nausea by 80 percent, pain by 78 percent and improved sleep by 86 percent.

More research and scientific studies are being conducted to further verify the efficacy of Reiki and through the years many hospitals in the West have incorporated Reiki in their programs.

Dr. Nancy Eos of the University of Michigan Medical School is one of the increasing number of doctors who incorporate Reiki in their medical practice. “I can’t imagine practicing medicine without Reiki,” Eos says. “With Reiki, all I have to do is touch a person. Things happen that don’t usually happen. Pain lessens in intensity. Rashes fade. Wheezing gives way to breathing clearly. Angry people begin to joke with me.”