I’ve been practicing meditation for well over a decade, yoga for nearly as long, and Reiki for about 5 years now. It didn’t take long for me to see some very natural interrelationships between these practices. For example, all three practices incorporate the practice of being present, observing the movement of energy and working with the breath.

One of the things I love about Reiki is how easily the basics of the practice can be incorporated into other physical, spiritual and energetically based work. This morning, I attended yoga class at my favorite studio, Jai Shanti Yoga, for a gentle yoga class that emphasises restorative and yin asanas. This was perfect for me, particularly since I wanted to balance the effects of the fitness bootcamp class I attended the night before.

Our teacher, Rutu Chaudhari, led us through a beautiful energetic heart-centering movement, where we placed each hand on the sides of our head near the ears, gathering the energy (thoughts and sensations that arise in the mind) together and bringing them first to our third eye area and then down to the heart. This allows us to bring the energy into our heart and allow us to live from its center, rather than simply from the thinking/conceptualizing/dualistic energy of mind. Holding our hands together at the heart is also a practice shared in Reiki, when we meditate with our hands in gassho. The word gassho means “two hands coming together” and represents the union of our ordinary self with our enlightened self.

Being a Reiki practitioner, it felt very natural for me to work with my hands in this manner and sense the energy flow. It’s like a switch that turns on, and I never quite know what might happen, but trust that it will be beneficial. During this meditative movement, I could feel the energy entering my heart (in yoga, we call it the heart chakra, but in traditional Japanese Reiki, it’s our heart ki) and saw a small flame being lit. I also received a message: send your light out into the world. It was a lovely, transformative moment. I tend to be “in my head” a lot, but know that I need to integrate Heaven and Heart ki more intentionally. This was a perfect bridge between the two practices to allow for that process to happen.

During the class, I quickly saw opportunities for both breath and Reiki hands to do their magic. My upper back/shoulders and hips were very tight, which made holding some of the asanas rather challenging. Just as we can channel Reiki with our hands, we can also send Reiki with the out-breath. In yoga, breath (pranayama) is also a vital component of practice, linking movement, energy and awareness together. The breath also gives ys the space to go deeper into asanas. If we hold our breath, we are not oxygenating our tissues and muscles, and are holding tension in the body. The yogic breath and Reiki breathing allow energy to penetrate and release blocked movement. I found this very helpful in trying to get my trapezius and hamstring muscles to stretch further without potentially injuring myself. (Always, always listen to what your body is telling you!) I also was able at times to place my hand on certain areas of my body, such as my hips, when supporting certain asanas, which allowed me to send Reiki to those areas to balance and stimulate energetic movement.

I love these opportunities for discovery because they demonstrate for me so clearly that Reiki (or yoga, or other spiritually-based practices) are not something we “do” – it’s something we are. We become these practices and live them the more we find ways to explore and integrate them more fully into our everyday life. Reiki is not simply something we do when we place our hands on our body or on another’s to channel energy, just as yoga is not merely a series of moves performed on a mat. They comprise an approach to living for centering and interlinking the mind, body and spirit so they function optimally as one.

In gassho and namaste to you.

(Photo credit: El Nomadiq on Flickr)

The benefits of CAM therapies (which includes modalities like energy healing, chiropractic, massage, and acupuncture) that were reported in a study on back pain conducted by researchers at the Center for Community Health and Evaluation, Group Health Research Institute, in Seattle, Washington include:

• increased ability to relax
• positive changes in emotional states
• increased sense of well-being, and
• improvement in physical conditions unrelated to back pain.

I also witness my clients experience these benefits in my practice, and am pleased to see them confirmed by reasearch.  When people are in pain, so many aspects of their quality of life are diminished.  Chronic pain robs people of their energy and vitality.  CAM therapies help relieve stress, discomfort, correct structural and energetic imbalances and facilitate a natural state of wellness.  They are a great adjunct therapy in addition to more traditional allopathic treatments.  CAM therapies may reduce healing time, limit the amount of powerful medications needed for pain relief, and potentially reduce the need for surgical interventions. 

I would like to share my personal story.  

As someone who has lived with intermittent bouts of neck and upper back pain for nearly 20 years, I have experienced first-hand the benefits of Reiki (and other CAM therapies I receive regularly) for reducing nerve-related neck and back pain and improving the emotional and physical quality of my life.  In fact, my first experience with energy healing while in India completely relieved my travel-induced neck and shoulder pain, which is what inspired me to learn Reiki!

In 1993, I was diagnosed with a congenital cervical spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal in the neck.)  I was told by a neurologist and various spine specialists to “learn to live with it” and to expect surgery at some point if it got worse.  Several members of my family suffer from cervical pain issues and have already undergone cervical spine fusion surgery.  I have vowed to avoid surgery if at all possible. 

So far, a steady regimen of Reiki, chiropractic, massage and regular exercise has led to very few flare-ups and a quicker recovery time if I do aggravate my neck or upper back.  No one in my family has had this degree of success with traditional medical treatment.  I don’t take prescription pain medications or muscle relaxers – not that they were ever that effective anyway!  I can’t cure a congenital condition, but I’ve learned how to proactively manage it with CAM therapies so that I’m not living with chronic pain.

If you’re living with back pain and would like to learn how Reiki may help you experience less discomfort, improve your well-being and promote balance, please contact me for more information.

Are you looking for increased well-being and balance this year? Were you considering making some changes to improve and transform the quality of your life?  The New Year is the perfect time to begin taking the steps to manifest your most vibrant self.  The changes you initiate now will create the momentum to carry you through the rest of the year and make good on the resolutions you’ve set for yourself. 

I’m here to help you achieve and realize those goals.  I have the personal experience, tools and training to assist you in creating the mindset and goals for improved vitality and well-being. 

In order to get you started, I’m offering the following pricing specials for Reiki and life coaching sessions.  These specials are good through February 15, 2011:

• 3 session 60 minute Reiki package: $150 ($30 off regular pricing; sessions must be completed within 60 days of purchase)
• 3 session 30 minute Reiki package for $75 ($15 off regular pricing; sessions must be completed within 60 days of purchase)
• 2 session life coaching package: $125 ($25 off regular pricing; sessions must be completed within 60 days of purchase)

Please contact me for more information and to set up your Reiki or life coaching sessions today!

(Photo credit: Uggboy_Ugggirl on Twitter)