Saturday, November 29, 2014

Accelerated Healing?

So... I had an "interesting" wound to heal this week... Minion 1 had a little incident at school with a pair of scissors (not her fault!), in which her finger had a small circular chunk of skin removed at the top, next to a decent cut.

Once I got her home, I removed the band aids applied at the school to get a better look at the wound (so I could sort out if this was going to need any stitching or professional help). Honestly, I could barely make out the wound for blood - even though this was an hour after the "incident", the gentle removal of the band aid resulted in immediate bleeding again. (I was told it bled a lot at the time and the band aids were an attempt to stop it.) I redressed it, and gave her about 25 minutes of Reiki that evening.

The next day I was finally able to take a look... removing the dressing did cause it to start bleeding yet again, but nowhere near as bad. It was redressed and given 30 minutes of Reiki.

It is now 2 days later, and I am REALLY pleased with how it has healed! Take a look...


Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Treating a Squirmy Kid!

My crazy youngest minion...
I primarily learned reiki to treat my older child. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't be using the techniques on my younger minion, but up to now (thankfully... touch wood) I haven't really had the need... and to be brutally honest neither her nor I have had the patience to even attempt it. You see, she is just 5 years old and quite a squirmy, energetic fidget!

This week, she caught a cold with a bit of an annoying cough - nothing major...just the usual kind of thing you see in the autumn - but it was causing her (and us!) some issues at night. We had already tried the usual remedies through 2 nights of disturbed sleep ... kid's cough syrup, vapo-rub, pillow drops, water, homeopathic drops... and weren't overly thrilled with the weak results.

Night 3 came, and the cough was ramping up for yet another evening of fun. It was almost bedtime and as I was finishing up one of her sister's regular little reiki sessions, I thought "what the heck... let's give the little one a go!". Using the TV for some distraction, I managed to keep her moderately still for 20 minutes, while I worked on her head and bronchi/lung areas. In fact, I only had to endure a few "are we done yet?" whinings around the 17/18 minute mark. Success!

That evening, she slept straight through the night with no cough interruptions... and that was with no other remedies to help. I call that a double success!

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Mosquito experiments

A few weeks ago, I experienced the feeling of being an "all-you-can-eat" buffet for a little cluster of mosquitoes. Well, I assume it was a cluster, since I found multiple bites over my legs, but I guess that it could've been just one greedy, indecisive one!

Well, as a little experiment, I decided to just treat one of these bites with Reiki, and let the others heal by themselves (I'm not a fan of that after-bite ammonia stuff). Next day, after just one short treatment, the treated bite had stopped itching, but I still felt itching or discomfort from the other bites.

Now, no good scientist relies on the results of one case study to form a definitive conclusion. So, when the buffet opened for business again, three days ago,  I had the chance to run another test! This time, I decided to heal the left leg and leave my right leg alone. Once again, Reiki seemed to ease the itching. The left leg eased for the rest of that evening and the following day. The right leg, meanwhile, drove me nuts! (In fact, it still does occasionally, three days later!!) The only sensation in the left leg came the following day, when the lowest bite on the left leg did seem to start itching again, but a little repeated treatment has helped.

As I sit here, still itching, I have decided that mosquito experiment #3 will be performed on EVERY bite... because these things are driving me crazy right now!!!!

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Feeling the burn!

OK... it's confession time. I am a klutz! Yup... a totally clumsy goof, and as the designated family cook, this comes with it's own perils and challenges. I honestly cannot count the number of burns and cuts I have received over the years, dating right back to my university years, when I first learned (badly) how to tackle an electric stove and its elements of torture! Well, it was only a matter of time before my kitchen minefield would find me yet another daily use for my new Reiki skills. In fact, it only took a few days...

I distinctly recall Jan teaching me a method for treating a fresh burn. (I even remember thinking at the time "Oh, this one is SO for me!") So, when I gave myself a nasty steam burn on a finger, that week, I figured it was time to give it a try. Honestly, I felt pretty silly at the time. As I sat there monotonously blowing away in the method we had been taught, I could not help thinking to myself "I don't think this is going to work... I should've put it under the tap straight away. I feel silly. I wonder if it is too late to try the cold water now??"

Doing this for 5 minutes felt, at the time, like an eternity. I had the dinner to finish cooking and this was taking FOR-EV-EEEERRRRR.... and then I crossed the 5 minute barrier... and the burning sensation stopped. "Hmmm... interesting... maybe it is actually working?" My patience and the awaiting dinner preparation could not wait any longer, so I stopped and continued with cooking.

Now, I don't know what your experience of burns are, but mine (and remember, I have extensive practical research in this field!) are that the initial cooling of the burn helps at first, but you will experience a little re-heating of the wound a few times over the coming hours. The next day, you will often meet Mr Blister (and maybe a few of his friends) who don't take kindly to any contact with warm or hot water. Well, the follow-up from THIS burn was very different. I had no residual sensation in the hours that followed, no blistering, and you could barely see any indication of the original burn the next day. Result!!

A photo taken the day after the steam burn - can you spot the injured finger??

Monday, July 28, 2014

My First Success - Fixing a Child's Sleep Routine

I was amazed at how fast after training I was able to put my new Reiki skills to use and see results... in fact, my first success was the very first day after my course!

The prime reason I begin to learn Reiki was to help my eldest daughter with a few medical issues, and since these issues are chronic ones, I hadn't expected to see any change in her straight away. This is normal. You see, Reiki is not a quick "Band-Aid solution" - it is something that helps the root of an issue, rather than being a quick fix to mask the symptoms. Our society is constantly in a rush, and we typically take any solution that will work the fastest. However, in our rush to return to normal as fast as possible, we rarely address the actual cause. Knowing this, I expected a couple of treatments before my first problem was fixed... this was actually not the case...

My daughter was suffering from a dreadful break in her sleep patterns that was affecting her behaviour as a whole. Normally, both of my kids are in bed by 7.30pm, and usually asleep by 8.30 at the latest (especially during the school week). However, for no apparent reason, my eldest could not get to sleep before at least 11pm (some nights much later), and would repeatedly wake throughout the night. This had been the case for a good couple of weeks, and we had tried everything.

So, fresh from my course (and armed with "the spot" to work on, thanks to a chat with my Shihan, Jan) I gave Minion #1 her first treatment. That night she was asleep by 9.30pm and stayed asleep all night! I continued to treat her every day that week and the erratic sleep pattern did not return. I was impressed (and relieved to finally get some sleep back myself!!). I officially call that success number 1!


Sunday, July 20, 2014

How it started...

My journey to becoming a Reiki Practitioner is not exactly a quick one... in fact, it has taken me 15 years to get where I am now! (What can I say? I was young... and ignorant... and pre-occupied with "cool stuff"!) Well, I'll try to keep this as brief as I can (not a fan of War and Peace myself), so flashback to 15 years ago... 

Having fun with
that radio station "cool stuff"
in my early 20's...
I was in my early 20's and working for a cool radio station, doing cool "stuff". I was surrounded by cool, but often cynical people, who told it like it was. At this time, my Big Sis (who is 12 years my senior) was looking at alternative medicines and healing, and first came across Reiki. I distinctly recall her telling me all about this new thing she was learning and how freaky it was when her hands got hot healing another student's head. I chalked it up to another one of her hippy obsessions (she was also starting Tai Chi, at the time) and forgot all about it.

A few years later, I moved to Canada. I wasn't able to keep so up-to-date with the family (no Facebook back then!), but did hear of my one niece training to be an Occupational Therapist and learning Reiki as one of her therapies. Hmm... that Reiki thing again, hey?

A few years later, my beloved father passed on - the stress of which caused my mother to develop a severe case of arthritis - both Osteo and Rheumatoid versions. She has tried many treatments, ranging from various standard prescribed drugs and joint replacement surgeries, to acupuncture and eventually... yes... you've guessed it...Reiki. I'm not sure when exactly she first started receiving Reiki, but it is the one treatment that she still uses today and loves.

The "Minions"
Well, I grew up... and grew a teensy bit wiser. I got married and had 2 gorgeous kids (aka "the Minions"). Both Minions are smart and fabulous, but at the age of 3, Minion 1 was diagnosed with Asthma. A short while after, our teeny Minion 2 developed horrendous eczema. It was at this time that I met Mari. I was selling Epicure products at our local "Party in the Park" street market, and she was promoting her Jikiden Reiki practice next to me. We chatted, and I learned all about how she had started - to help her family with their ailments, and specifically for her 1 child's severe eczema. It struck a chord, but then life just "got in the way" again.

Fast forward a couple of years, and we were told that Minion 1 had a rare form of Juvenile Idiopathic Scoliosis. The only treatment was to wear a rigid piece of plastic for 22 hours a day to help stop it get worse!! It was then that I thought I should look at alternative medicines myself. It was also then that I met Jan - a pupil of Mari's and the lovely lady (also of English origin) who would become my Shihan (Teacher). We only met briefly at a networking lunch, but she rekindled my curiosity for Reiki again.

So we jump to March of this year, and I booked a booth at the Fraser Valley Women's Show for my Photography business. Surprise, surprise... Jan was in the booth next to me! Was this a sign?? It was day 1 of the show and I was stressed... REALLY stressed... the result being extreme neck pain which was creeping maliciously into my head. Jan came to my rescue - there and then I received my first Reiki treatment. Only 10 minutes and my pain was gone! I was intrigued...

I signed up for Jan's April class. I will be honest... I still wasn't 100% convinced of how this Reiki thing worked, but figured I couldn't knock what I hadn't tried. The weekend was an eye-opener, and the rest...as they say... is history...

Welcome to my new blog!

So... I have decided to start another blog. I know, I know... my life is busy enough with my Photography business, my Epicure business and running around after (and with) my lovely, but oh-so-busy family. Crazy? Maybe! But this is one that is dedicated to a new portion of my life, that I would like to share.

It is a new journey that has come close to starting for MANY years, but was stalled by my busy life, pre-occupied mind and heavy scepticism. It is my journey into natural healing and, more specifically, my lessons and experiences of Jikiden Reiki...

Although I only qualified as a Practitioner in April of this year, my head is already filling up with experiences that I am itching to share (and release from this dithering brain before I forget them!). My back story is also a pretty interesting one (well, it is to me, anyway!)... so I aim to share it all in this blog, in bite-size chunks.