Why Reiki?
As I approach a year anniversary creating energy healing products and sharing them with the world, I have to talk about how it all started. I have struggled with anxiety for most of my life. As a highly sensitive empath, I had all the classic symptoms; excessive worrying, agitation, restlessness, fatigue, irritability, tense muscles, night terrors, and a host of other debilitating ordeals. Sometimes, these feelings of worry and stress would cripple me physically, causing me to withdraw or even worse, lash out.
After years of struggle and traditional (Western) medicine treatments, I began to search for an alternative therapy for anxiety symptoms. I knew there was a deeper need for healing beyond what talk therapy and medication could ever offer me. I began with yoga and mediation, then added herbal remedies and Reiki. Reiki brought on an "aha moment", as it provided a deeper understanding of how our body processes energy and why balance and flow are so crucial to our wellness.
Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.
The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy." Chakra balancing is one of the greatest benefits of reiki, since it clears, straightens and heals the energy pathways, thus allowing the life force to flow in a healthy and natural way.
Through my certification training, self treatments, and performing treatments for others, I have become more aware of my anxiety triggers and how to prevent my body from responding in unhealthy ways. I've regained a sense of control. Nevertheless, I still struggle. For all those who suffer from anxiety know, you're never fully "cured" from it, but you take it one day at a time, trying to get better at managing your responses to stressful situations each day.
There are five simple principles of Reiki that I use as daily affirmations to strengthen my faith and endurance to get through the day:
Just for today...
I will not worry
I will not be angry
I will work honestly
I will be grateful
I will be kind to others
Mental and emotional health are the pathways to physical health. In these stressful times, it is my hope that everyone find a natural, holistic, non-harmful treatment, practice, or activity that puts them on the path to wellness.
With love and gratitude,
Maureen