The Reiki Experience

Reiki helps restore balance and being balanced helps maintain normal functioning. It provides deep relaxation and offers the body the life force energy where it is needed and assists the body in breaking up energy blockages. A treatment can be done in conjunction with other healing modalities, conventional or holistic.

A Reiki session is an individualized experience that is relaxing, gentle, and safe for everyone.  It involves healing in a way that will empower you while respecting your feelings and choices. Although, I can not speak for all practitioners, because there are many different styles. Today I would like to share what a Reiki session with myself, typically consists of for those who want a better understanding or may be curious if this is for them.

 There is no one reason clients come in for a session.

In the beginning of your first appointment we will take some time to discuss how you are feeling on a physical and emotional level and to establish your intentions for the session. This is a vital part of the session, as it provides the focus and intention for the work. It is also an important opportunity to connect with each other and to establish a trusting and cooperative working relationship. I then give a brief rundown of what Reiki is, and how it can help the client in their particular situation, explain how the session will be conducted, what to expect to feel during the treatment, and what they may expect to feel after it.

Your Reiki session will be conducted in a peaceful, relaxing and private space. Relaxing music will be played. Dim lighting is set and essential oils may be used to help improve the relaxation response. During a Reiki session all you need to do is close your eyes and try to relax, there is no effort required for the Reiki to work. I begin with the client lying on their back (fully clothed) on a massage table. It is also possible for clients to receive Reiki sitting in a chair if this is more comfortable. It is important to wear comfortable, warm clothing. Since I am working on the client’s energy system I do not talk during a Reiki session unless initiated.

Before starting, I set say a prayer and invite in any guides (the client’s and my own) to assist in the healing and draw my symbols in the air above and around the client. I begin with a guided meditation helping the client to deeply relax and accept in the energy as it flows through me to them. Prior to the treatment, I will feel the client’s energy field and scan the aura by placing my hands over your body.  This will often enable me to tell where there are areas in their energy field that may need healing before I begin the session. Crystals are then placed on each of the seven major chakras.  Then I go through each on of the client’s chakras to see how open or closed they are, and if they are healthy. By the end of the treatment your chakras will be open and functioning the way they are supposed to be. Although,  daily routines and resuming life as before, the chakras are likely to become imbalanced again until the root cause is addressed.

Then, I begin the Reiki, placing hands on or above the client, starting from the top of their head and working down to their feet. There are general hand positions that the majority of practitioners follow, at least to some degree. These hand positions attempt to cover all the seven main chakras and all the major organs. Each hand position is held for anywhere from 2 – 5 minutes or longer. During this time, I simply allow the energy to channel from my hands and into the client. There is no physical manipulation whatsoever. Everything is done on a purely energetic level. 

When there is energy we no longer need, or is no longer in service to us, we need to release it. During a Reiki session, energy is released through the body, usually through the hands or the feet, so there may be twitching in these areas as the energy releases. Another form of release, is through tears or emotion. If the emotions are ready to come out, they surface to be healed. After all the positions on the back are completed, it is now time to “ground” the client. This is done by moving to the feet and channeling the energy into the soles of the feet. This works to open the chakras on the bottoms of the feet which connect us to the planet.  Then I brush of and compact the energy field around my client and invoke a protection bubble around them. At the end of your session I will bring the client gently back into the room, intending that the session manifest itself in their life for the highest good.

Due to the nature of Reiki, it is quite difficult to say exactly what will be experienced during a session. This will depend on any number of things including, but not limited to, the practitioner, each individual client, the level to which that client is able to open up to the energies, and what areas the energy itself is addressing. Often people describe their experience by saying they felt as if they are floating during the session, or they were being enveloped by or wrapped in a warm, loving, nurturing light that flowed throughout their being. Often, if there is a physical problem, the client will feel that area of the body becoming quite hot as the energy targets that area. People usually become very “astral” or disassociated from their bodies, during a session and, for people who are able to let go, it is very common for them to sleep through the entire session.

Every Reiki experience is unique to the individual receiver. There are no rules about how it should feel. Some people will feel Reiki energy as heat, others as coolness or a light breeze over the body. Some people experience tingling or rippling sensations. Sometimes people can feel the energy flowing to a completely different area of the body to where my hands are or have a sense of extra hands being on the body. Sometimes people experience very little but most people will feel a sense of relaxation and peace.

Reiki can often reawaken emotions that have been retained in the body for a while and that need to be released. Sometimes people experience this need to release emotions during or sometimes after their Reiki session.  These releases can come in the form of tears or strong emotions. Not to worry though as this is a positive healing reaction. You should feel able to release such emotions without judgement. We are working together in a safe and confidential way and you will be supported fully if an emotional reaction occurs.

After the session is finished, the client may feel sleepy or energized.  As they slowly come back to a normal state of consciousness we then discuss any concerns and any guidance received during the Reiki session. This is an opportunity to ask any questions for clarity or assistance.
The feeling of rest and relaxation will stay with the client for hours or even days following the session. I recommended that the client drinks plenty of pure water for a couple of days following the session.

As a follow up, I send all of my clients an email containing suggestions regarding chakras I found imbalances in and sometimes suggestions or exercises I feel would be of benefit to them.

Sessions are available by appointment. Contact me today to schedule.

With a Grateful Heart,