My Experience with Reiki as Self-Care

I have always been intrigued by nontraditional methods of physical and mental healing. I had tried acupuncture and tarot readings previously.

And it was after one of these tarot readings that I decided to send my energy into the hands of a reiki practitioner.

Reiki

I reached out to Krissy, a local Reiki practitioner. In layman’s terms, she explained it as using her energy to move and/or remove any negative energy or “blocks” I may have.

Reiki healing is a common practice for symptoms of diagnoses such as cancer, heart disease, chronic pain, infertility, and Crohn’s Disease.

My Reiki sessions focused on any negative energy or “blocks” relating to my personal and professional healing.

Being open to non-traditional healing, I thought, “This will be fun! I am just going to give it a try!”

But honestly, engaging in the Reiki session made perfect sense. For six months I had been having an increase in stress, anxiety, and weight gain as a side effect of hormonal changes.

I had daily frustration and decreased body image at times. I also felt like the stress and anxiety from this was holding me back from personal and professional growth.

It’s Not a Traditional Massage

It’s different from a traditional massage in that Reiki is light touch that focuses on moving energy through your body.

You can choose if you prefer light touch on your body or healing hands just above your body. The Reiki master focuses on the energy going through your body and/or the energy that may not be moving through your body.

My Experience with Reiki

Being an optimistic person, I went into my first session with an open mind.

Prior to starting the session, I was told that my stomach would more than likely engage in gurgling noises, as hers will too.

My Reiki practitioner explained that is how the energy is passed through her body and that would most likely be the case with me. Also, she explained I might see colors or even images during the session.

The first thing that happened was I saw the color purple upon her light touch on my legs.  Thinking this was just me “seeing” the colors, my stomach began gurgling. This continued for 50 minutes.

I had never experienced that in my life.

Then in the second Reiki session there was less gurgling (but it was still present) and I felt a calming presence over me.

That session continued with light touch on all of my extremities, stomach, upper chest, head, and neck.

And the most intriguing part of Reiki was not the relaxed massage-like euphoria, but statements or questions that the practitioner presented during and after the session.

She talked about feeling blockage in my lower extremities, possibly relating to fear of moving into the future. How she saw and felt growth as well.

Then she explained the differences between the right and left side of my body, how they represent masculine and feminine, and which side displayed more energy.

She also presented me with oracle cards at the end of the session, to help me connect and reflect.

What I Learned

During my first session, she brought up an image she saw that (although unknown to her) was a current health concern of a family member.

This was new, and she did not have any knowledge of this within my family. Some of the visuals she saw or felt via energy, I have not connected with anything relating to my life as of yet.

Krissy explained that she only verbalizes what she sees, and only I can interpret that information. She added that I may not be able to interpret those things for days, months, or even years.

Overall, I felt I benefited from my Reiki session.

My Top Three Takeaways

• It validated feelings relating to my personal and professional development.
• I was able to reflect, but not obsess, on visions and energy that I hadn’t been able to connect to.
• I started to journal again. And I also discovered that my entries are much more positive, focusing on development in my personal and professional life.

Have you tried Reiki or another form of nontraditional healing? If so, what was your experience like? Let us know in the comments below!