Hands-on healing technique frees up energy channels
By Barbara Pierce
“You don’t look so good,” Karen said to me on that night that was to have a profound effect on the course of my life.
Karen, her acquaintances and I offered an evening of healing monthly at a community center, giving massage therapy, tarot card readings, reiki (pronounced “ray key”), and crystal readings. As a retired psychotherapist, I offered to talk out problems with anyone. Check out Free Psychic Readings On Love, Career and Personal Life Matters , for the best tarot card readings.
Karen’s intuition that night was right on. I was going through a tough time in my life; I was exhausted, worn out and stressed out. I knew things had to change, but I didn’t know how. My emotional energy was depleted.
“You need me to do a session with you,” was her solution. She did reiki; I didn’t have a clue what that was, except that she always had a long line of people waiting for her.
“Oh, but I don’t like massages,” I said, thinking it was a form of massage therapy.
“It’s not at all like a massage,” she said. “I’ll hardly be touching you at all. Come on, hop on my table. It’s just what you need.”
I did as she suggested. But I was totally skeptical; I was sure it would be a waste of time.
“I’m going to start by doing a survey of your body, then I’ll concentrate on the places where your energy is blocked,” she explained. Didn’t make a bit of sense to me.
I laid face down on the table, tense, apprehensive, expecting nothing and thinking, “I don’t want to be here. Why did I let her talk me into this?”
The next hour passed quickly. She waved her hands over me, up and down the whole length of my body, with a very light touch, then focused on my feet, waving her hands.
With the soft music, dim lighting, and the gentle movement of her hands, I gradually relaxed. I zoned out; I was aware of what was going on in the room, but yet I not a part of it. It was like I was floating.
As I got off her table, I felt different — recharged, energized. What I needed to do about the issue that I’d been struggling with became clear to me within the next few days. And I took action.
Reiki was a life-changing experience for me.
But why and what it was all about still remained a mystery to me. So I spoke with Christina Scalise, certified reiki master and teacher and owner of Light Source Within in Utica.
“Yes, most people don’t understand what reiki is,” Scalise said. “There are a lot of misconceptions. It has nothing to do with religion; it’s an energy healing. It clears the blocks to energy.”
Universal life force energy
Reiki is a combination of two Japanese words, rei and ki, meaning universal life force energy, she explained. It’s an ancient hands-on healing technique. The practitioner channels the flow of universal life energy into her client’s body through the palms of his or her hands.
“Reiki works because it removes the energy blocks you’ve built up over the years. Once those blocks have been removed, your mind, body and spirit will feel the difference, usually right away. For others it may take longer before they notice the full effects,” she said.
“Most people don’t notice how weighed down they actually are by all those energy blocks until they have them removed with reiki,” she said. “My clients often say they feel like they’ve just had weights lifted off of their shoulders or legs; or that their stomach or chest suddenly feels lighter and they can breathe better.”
“Even emotional burdens can come pouring out during a session,” she said. “I have tissues on hand as many clients suddenly start crying as their emotions are released. No matter what is released during a session (physical, emotional or spiritual blocks), it’s always beneficial for the person being worked on and they usually come away from the session feeling much better than when they came in.”
I asked whether could it be a placebo effect — something positive happens because you really want it to happen. (Though it did work for me and I was certain nothing would happen.)
“I’ve worked on quite a few skeptics over the years, and believe it or not, I was very skeptical before I started this journey myself,” she said. “But, as you well know, one session or experience can change your entire belief system and the way you think about reiki or any other form of energy healing.”