GOT STRESS? TRY REIKI!
Sandy Horowitz, LMT
Wouldn’t it be great to know a simple routine that would help you to manage your stress? Reiki is an easy-to-learn, effective way to do just that.
Reiki is a Japanese modality that promotes relaxation and relief from stress, and enhances the body’s self-healing mechanisms. As it gains popularity in this country, Reiki is used on its own and as an adjunct to other forms of healing, in hospitals and pain management facilities, private practice offices and wellness centers. You can learn to use it in the privacy of your home or wherever you go.
How does Reiki work? As Westerners, it can be a challenge for us to understand an Eastern approach to health and healing. But these concepts are not as strange as they may seem.
As with acupuncture and the martial arts, Reiki uses the concept of “Ki”, or “Chi”– a life force or energy that exists in and around all living beings. We’re healthy when our chi flows freely and strongly; blocked or sluggish chi indicates an area of imbalance or illness. Reiki is used to transmit healing energy in order to address areas of blocked chi, and restore balance within the recipient.
Our need for touch is as fundamental as our need for food and safety, and the touch of Reiki is most gentle. Compassionate touch naturally has a calming effect, as when holding a baby or holding the hand of someone who is ill or unhappy. Being touched helps us to relax, to breathe more easily, to feel reassured, and even to help reduce pain.
As humans, our survival as a species depends on our natural capacity for self-healing. Without our having to think about it, our body is continually seeking to maintain its own health. Homeostasis refers to the body’s ability to self-regulate on a cellular level, in order to maintain stability when adjusting to changing external conditions. This is what enables us to keep our body temperature stable when going from an over-heated apartment into the cold outdoors; it is how a cut heals itself; how white blood cells rush to fend off infection; how our breathing returns to normal after a long run in the park.
Sometimes however, our natural self-healing abilities are compromised. Evidence shows the extent to which stress is implicated in many illnesses, and how it can weaken our immune system. Reiki strengthens our self-healing abilities by addressing the physical, mental, spiritual and emotional aspects of stress.
As a Reiki practitioner, you can give Reiki not only to others but also to yourself, and many people learn Reiki simply for their own use. You may then also choose to give Reiki treatments to family members and friends, or to start your own professional practice.
If you have questions about Reiki, would like to experience a Reiki session, or wish to learn how to give Reiki to yourself or others – you can contact me by sending an email to sandy@questforwellness.net .
Sandy Horowitz, LMT
With over 15 years experience, Sandy’s private practice is devoted to helping clients manage symptoms of stress and chronic pain. If you want to function better and feel better, think more clearly and be more relaxed, come for massage or Reiki.
Phone: 212-712-6438
Email: shorwell01 [-AT-] aol.com
Website: www.QuestForWellness.net