What do you know about Reiki? This is the first in what will be an intermittent series of posts in the ‘What Do You Know About…?†category. In early May I had my first Reiki session. A colleague from my previous job is a Reiki Practitioner and gave me a free session as a Christmas present. Coming off the stress of that job and leaving it with some drama, I wanted to try something new to unwind my mind and body.
So, What do I know about Reiki? Very little. My first exposure to Reiki was from an Israeli nurse who was caring for my husband while he was in an induced coma in 1999. She felt that her no-touch Reiki could do him no harm and could possibly help him. I took that snippet of knowledge and gently held my hands over his body willing him to get well. He recovered, and then he recovered some more! And now, 13 years later, he is so far beyond what anyone expected as to be called ‘a miracle’ by all who know what he’s been through.
The second time I thought about Reiki was when I started working at a new Montessori school four years ago — the beginning of the job that caused me so much stress. I have written about that experience in numerous other posts! I now fully realise that the facility was constantly in turmoil and as a result so were the babies in our care. Due to the large number of babies and staff I could never quite put my finger precisely on the problem so I just had to do my best with each child when they were in my care. Have I mentioned that the place was oversubscribed as a Family Daycare?
One day I was told by the owner’s mother – our ‘Montessori advisor and expert’ – “Helen, put Peter to sleep todayâ€. Peter was her own grandson for whose care this facility had ostensibly been opened. Peter had so many problems. His screaming for whatever he wanted was the biggest challenge; his mother (the school’s untrained director with no knowledge of Montessori or early childhood care) regularly came angrily racing through the facility from her office to rescue him from what she perceived to be his ‘mistreatment by staff’.
I recall the day ‘I put Peter to sleep’ so very vividly. Unlike the other babies this was also Peter’s home – his bedroom was also everyone else’s nap room. Peter wasn’t a child you could hold or rock to sleep instead, unlike the other Montessori babies who laid on mats on the floor, he was placed in his cot (on his back to avoid SIDS) and there he lay, mesmerized and tuning out. What skills could I use to soothe him to sleep? I chose my very minimal Reiki knowledge, tuning in to being calm and gently passing my hands over his body from head to toe, trying to will the stresses from his body so that he could calmly go to sleep. It took me 45 minutes! I can’t tell you how long he slept for.
So back to my own first Reiki session. Mary was very calm in her treatment; she uses the hands-on method. I initially felt my mind was racing hither and yon yet I knew I had to calm my own thoughts to reap any benefits. Once I found my focal point and had a peaceful picture in my mind I relaxed more.
It was interesting to note in Mary’s feed back after the session that she picked up on two places on my body that felt ‘warm’. They were the sites of my two most recent injuries! I found Mary to be very intuitive. We discussed one or two children who had been in my class and who were now in her care and I was so glad to know that she instinctively knew how to calm them when they were stressed.
With time to reflect on what I got out of my Reiki session, I feel more positive about my work with babies and young children mostly because Mary likewise has good instincts about babies and toddlers…birds and animals too. I don’t meet many people who know what I’m talking about and even fewer who work in the same way.
In researching Reiki the following morning I understood the places where I have parallel beliefs and the places where I need to improve my own life and behaviour. I already know what I need to improve to give myself a better quality of life, I just need to find the right avenue for feeling more successful and purposeful.
I’m sure there are many versions of Reiki and many different practitioners but I would recommend that you at least try it. I truly feel that it could be beneficial to your life.