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Healing Hands
Reiki Directs Therapeutic
Energy
By Monique Cole
There
are stories of magic healers who could cure disease with the
touch of their hands in almost every ancient mythology. But contemporary
Reiki practitioners believe that it doesn't take a miracle to
convey the therapeutic power of touch.
Reiki (pronounced "ray-key")
translates roughly from Japanese to "spiritually guided
life-force energy." The energy healing technique utilizes
gentle touch to direct a client's personal healing powers. "The
whole idea is that you're working with a person's own energy
field, redirecting their chi or personal energy," says Michael
Kreitsek, a Reiki practitioner since 1995. "It's not the
practitioner's energy that heals you, it's like plugging a cord
into an electrical outlet."
During a session, the client lies on
a massage table while the practitioner gently touches his body
from head to foot. Unlike massage therapy, Reiki is performed
on clients fully clothed. Costing about $60 to $65, a session
will last anywhere from one to two hours. Clients often report
they don't notice the time pass. Experiences vary from warmth
under the practitioner's hands to a slight tingling sensation.
"Mainly people come for relaxation,"
says Gaetano Vivo, owner of the Reiki Wellness Center on Riverside
Ave. "But I have also treated manic depression, migraines,
and back pain. From my understanding the people who come with
physical pain often have an unbalance in the subconscious mind."
While Kreitsek says that Reiki can have
profound mental, physical, and even spiritual effects, he adds
that it is complementary to other modalities such as acupuncture,
homeopathy, chiropractic, aroma therapy, and Chinese herbs.
Kreitsek has an undergraduate degree
in psychology and is in the masters program in transpersonal
counseling at the Naropa Institute. He often finds himself applying
his counseling background during his sessions, which last a full
two hours. "People always want to process a bit, talk about
their experience."
He strives to teach people to listen
to their inner wisdom and heal themselves and he does not mind
if he works himself right out of a job. "Just like in counseling,
I hope people feel good enough to never come back."
The exact roots of Reiki are somewhat
obscure, but it was reportedly "rediscovered" in the
mid-19th century by Mikao Usui, a Japanese medical doctor. According
to Vivo, Usui was searching for the method Jesus Christ used
to heal the sick. His quest led him to ancient Tibetan scrolls
that described the symbols and rituals used in Reiki.
Usui started a lineage of Reiki "masters,"
who teach the technique. In the 1930s a Japanese woman named
Hawayo Takata, who studied under a student of Usui, imported
Reiki to the United States. There are three levels of study;
both the first and second require about 2 to 3 days. In the third
level a student apprentices under a master for about a year,
then becomes a master himself.
In the first level, students learn how
to self-treat and in the second level they discover how to heal
people who are in a remote location. To practice Reiki professionally,
Level II training is traditionally required and only a master
can teach Reiki to others. Study is not limited to the spiritually
gifted. "Anyone can learn to do Reiki," Kreitsek says.
"There are many books talking about
the symbols, but only a master can perform the attunements,"
Vivo, who is a Reiki master, explains. "Attunements are
rituals and procedures for a master to open the channels of a
Reiki student so the student can receive the energy himself."
It's not a problem if the concepts of
healing hands and channeling energy may make some people skeptical,
according to Kreitsek. "My experience is that even when
people are closed, Reiki can have an effect on some level,"
he says. "And it can't do any harm."
To find a Reiki practitioner, your best
bet is a personal reference from someone you trust. "It's
really important to have a good feeling about the person, and
they should know their lineage," Kreitsek adds. For example,
he studied in California under Tery Apodaca who learned Reiki
directly from Takata.
You can find a handful of listings under
"Reiki" in the yellow pages; more advertisements are
found in the journal Nexus, available at local natural food stores.
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