Well, I've now been using Reiki treatments for family & friends for a whole year, racking up around 60 hours of treatment time (not including personal, shorter than 20 min sessions or first aid treatments). In that time I've managed to help in the recovery or relief from a variety of ailments. Problems have included eczema, asthma, tinnitus, arthritis-related joint pain, burns, scoliosis, digestive issues, headaches, sleeping problems, muscle aches & stiffness, sports injuries and the occasional skin wound!
So, how have things been going for this former skeptic after a year of experience? Pretty darn good! The feedback from my "patients" has been positive. Symptoms don't always seem to disappear straight away... which is to be expected when you consider that this form of healing is meant to work on the cause of the symptoms, rather than just provide the quick symptom-masking "band-aid" solutions that people have learnt to expect from pharmaceutical options. But, they have definitely been found to reduce or disappear faster than previous experience has shown.
I know what some may be thinking... surely this is just the placebo effect at work? You know, I have considered that myself... I'm not going to lie. However, the big wake-up call for me was during our last trip to BC Children's Hospital for my daughter's scoliosis update. 18 months prior, she was diagnosed with a 30 degree curve and prescribed a plastic body brace, with the warning that the brace was just to stop her getting worse in the hopes of avoiding surgery in her teens. That's all they could offer for now. However, during the 6 months between our last 2 appointments (coincidentally the length of time I had begun to treat her with Reiki), her curve had almost halved! It may be difficult to accurately measure pain levels or frame of mind, but x-rays are clear, physical, measuring tools and (in the words of our Orthopedic Specialist ) x-rays don't lie!
There are plenty of skeptics still out there, and the multitude of misinformation and poorly-researched articles citing limited or skewed research studies, can get a little overwhelming. I get it. I really do. The initial global spread of Reiki without a form of universal regulation or licensing, meant that much has changed since its origin in Japan... and these modified Western forms make up 90% of the world's practice. Elements have been added. Elements have been lost. Achieving certain levels of practice with some methods are easier and cheaper than for others and, in some methods, practitioners have even been able to achieve a level of "Master" without ever treating a person! So, I get it... I understand why, when these are your only frames of reference, and there have been so few decent research studies made, you would be a skeptic. But I digress - this is fodder for another post, another time...
Thankfully, I have found a great teacher, and a wonderful form of Reiki in the Jikiden method - a Japanese form of Usui Reiki in its original simplicity, and strongly regulated to maintain its practices from practitioner to practitioner. After a good year of practice and experience, I am looking forward to taking my next course and expanding my Reiki skills further. :-)
