What Is A Treatment Like?

A Reiki treatment is unlike any other massage treatment you may have had.  You will be asked to fill out some brief paperwork, and the Reiki practitioner will ask what part of the body, mind or spirit you want to heal.  You will then be asked to lie down on a massage table, but you may remain fully clothed, removing only your shoes and your glasses.  However, you may also be asked to remove any electronic devices, including watches, pagers and cellphones, as well as any large metal jewelry you may be wearing which may interfere with the treatment. 

Depending on the particular training the Reiki practitioner has had, he or she will then try to locate any energy blockages in your body by various methods of scanning with the hands, or testing with a pendulum.  The Reiki practitioner will then place his or her hands on your body in a series of hand positions to send, channel, or balance your energy.  The Reiki practitioner will be careful not to touch any sensitive areas of the body or any areas which may cause pain to the client. 

You will usually begin the treatment lying on your back so that the Reiki practitioner can work on healing the front of your body, and then you will be asked to lie on your side or your stomach so that you can receive healing treatments on your back.  The entire treatment usually lasts about one hour.  After the treatment, you will be asked to lie quietly for a few minutes, while the Reiki practitioner rinses his or her hands with cold water to break the energy connection to the client.  The Reiki practitioner will then ask a series of questions and give you a chance to discuss how the treatment felt for you.  The Reiki practitioner may take notes on your symptoms and your healing experience to better understand how to perform the next treatment.  Of course, all information given during a Reiki treatment will be kept confidential. You will be asked to drink some cool water and rest for a few minutes until you are ready to go home. 

Many people are afraid that they will fall asleep during the treatment.  However, falling asleep is not a problem.  For one thing, your body will receive the energy whether you are awake or asleep.  In fact, a deeper state of relaxation will actually facilitate the energy flow.  However, in my own experience and research, we do not actually fall asleep during a Reiki treatment.  Rather, we enter a different state of consciousness somewhere between being awake and being asleep.  Our brains operate on four different wavelengths:  alpha, beta, theta and delta.  Beta is the wavelength we use in daily activities which is measured at anything more than 14 cps (cycles per second).  Delta is the wavelength only occurring in very deep sleep or meditation (0-4 cps).  Most healing occurs when the brain is operating with theta  (4-7 cps) or alpha (7-14 cps) wavelengths (Sherwood, 1992).  Reiki treatments with proper energy flow help put the body of the client into meditative states of theta or alpha brain waves.  Depending on the wavelength of the brain waves, you may feel groggy coming out of the treatment and getting your brain back to beta wavelength.  Be sure not to rush sitting up after a treatment. Let your body readjust and come back to wakefulness at its own speed. 

Depending on your health needs at the time, the Reiki practitioner may ask you to return for two or more visits.  We have found that having three treatments in a period of a week to ten days, greatly increases the chances of healing to occur.  I realize many people are skeptical of alternative health care providers asking clients to come back for return visits, as if they were trying to stretch out the treatments and earn more money from each client.  This is certainly not true for most alternative health care providers.  True healing is a slow process and must occur in small steps.

I like to think of it this way:  Imagine you are hiking up in the mountains and you come across a stream clogged with logs and debris.  The water has backed up behind the log jam and the water can no longer flow downstream.  Then imagine that you have the strength to move the logs and debris.  Certainly the water will start flowing again but the force of the water will also churn up a lot of mud at the bottom of the stream and it may be days before the water will run clear.  Moreover, if you continue hiking downstream, you may discover that there are more log jams, and for each one that is cleared you may have to wait for the water to run clear. 

This is what happens with the flow of energy in our bodies.  A Reiki treatment may be able to clear one or two blockages per session, but there may be more that need to be cleared later.  Also, the cleared energy will certainly require your body to readjust.  Further Reiki treatments will help balance the rest of the energy flow.  For certain mild ailments, one Reiki treatment may be enough to bring about healing.  However, more serious illnesses may require a series of three treatments, or even weekly or monthly treatments until your body regains its energy balance.