April 22 is Earth Day, and what better time to talk about how you can explore and deepen your connection with Earth Ki? The hara – abdomen or stomach – is the center of our body’s energetic system and where our Earth Ki originates.

In the Japanese cosmological system, Earth Ki represents our Original Energy. According to Reiki teachers Bronwen and Frans Stiene, our Original Energy is “the energy you are born with, the energy that is the essence of your life and gives you your life’s purpose. The Original Energy is not only the energy you receive from your parents when you are conceived but most importantly it is the energetic connection between you and the universal life force.”

It’s important to keep our Earth Ki in balance for physical vitality and grounding. If our Earth Ki is out of balance, we may feel fatigued, irritable, emotional, and have difficulty settling down or making decisions with clarity. Balanced Earth Ki provides us with a stable energetic core in order to function optimally and live with purpose.

Practicing Reiki and receiving Reiki treatments are two ways to reconnect and balance your Earth Ki. Reiki practitioners can also perform Joshin Kokyu Ho or Tanden Chiryo Ho.

Here are some other ways you can facilitate balance:

• walk and spend time regularly in nature (connect with the Earth and her Ki!)
• deep belly breathing while visualizing a ball of white or warm light expanding in your solar plexus space on each in breath
• stand with your feet firmly on the ground and imagine light entering through your crown and moving down your body, through the feet. Imagine the energy moving out through the soles of your feet and connecting with the earth, sending down energetic roots.

Happy Earth Day!

(photo credit: Aussiegall on Flickr)

The massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeastern coastline of Japan on March 11, 2011 is a powerful and sobering reminder that the Earth is in a constant, shifting state of change. As a practitioner and teacher of Komyo Reiki Kai (a style of traditional Japanese Reiki) as well as a long-abiding interest in Zen Buddhism, I am experiencing deep pain for the Japanese people and their plight. I am grateful and relieved that my teacher, Hyakuten Inamoto, reported he is safe.

The Japanese have a long history of enduring earthquakes and tsunami, because they sit on one of the most seismically active areas in the world. While Hokusai Katsushika’s iconic woodblock print from the 1830s, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” (Kanagawa Oki Nami Ura), is not specifically depicting a tsunami, it has often been associated with one, and it’s easy to see why.

An earthquake also figures prominently into the history of Usui Reiki Ryoho. The Reiho Choso Usui Sensei Kodoku No Hi (Memorial of the Merits of Usui Sensei) mentions the great Kanto earthquake of 1923 and how Mikao Usui used the healing art of Reiki to provide comfort and healing to survivors:

In September of (1923), there was a great earthquake and a conflagration broke out. Everywhere there were groans of pain from the wounded. Sensei (teacher), feeling pity for them, went out every morning to go around the town, and he cured and saved an innumerable number of people. This is just a broad outline of his relief activities during such an emergency.  (translated by Hyakuten Inamoto)

It’s easy to feel frustrated and helpless that most of us are not in position to provide direct assistance, as Usui did for his people. We can still do our part to help:

• Reflect on the Reiki Principles/Precepts. What does that tell us about the nature of change and how we should conduct ourselves in times of adversity?
• Dedicate prayers, healing intentions and Reiki (if you are Level II/Okuden or higher.) Positive spiritual energy can help facilitate change as a cumulative process.
• Contribute financially to disaster aid programs to assist with recovery efforts. See Charity Navigator for a thorough list of reputable charities and aid organizations.

 In a similar vein, I appreciated Tricyle: The Buddhist Review’s post, “Three Practices for Japan.”  The quote from Thanissaro Bhikkhu, originally written in response to the September 2011 tragedy, is especially appropriate:

So take heart. Do what you can to help the living, and dedicate the merit of your practice to the dead. We may be powerless to change the past, but we do have the power to shape the present and the future by what we do, moment to moment, right now.

This tragedy is far from over. Like previous quake and/or tsunami survivors in Indonesia, Chile, Haiti and New Zealand, they will experience years of healing, clean-up and recovery. One of the benefits of Reiki is that distance is no barrier. Love, compassion and Oneness are our natural state of being, and actualized through Reiki. We are not simply “sending to” the Japanese people. We are present and at one with them in their time of tragedy and loss.

In gassho.

As a Reiki teacher, I believe it is very important to accurately relay the facts we know about the history and development of the system of Reiki (Usui Reiki Ryoho.) The founder of Komyo Reiki Kai and my teacher, Hyakuten Inamoto, continually stressed in his training that we should only provide information we know to be true about Reiki history and practice.  That means saying, “I don’t know” when confronted with a question about the history that is, as of yet, unanswerable.

It is not necessary to know the history in order to technically perform hands-on healing or other spiritual practices associated with the system of Reiki. It is simply a matter of respect for its founder and to have proper historical and spiritual context where these practices originally derived. To do any less is a disservice to Mikao Usui and other influential teachers – Chujiro Hayashi, Hawayo Takata and Chiyoko Yamaguchi - responsible for furthering the system of Reiki and making it more widely available.

Just recently, I opened up a copy of a local wellness magazine and saw a featured promotion for a Reiki class being taught by a colleague. It contained the following description: “Reiki is an ancient Japanese science, documented in 2,500-year-old Sanskrit sutras.”  With all due respect to my colleague, this is not correct. Reiki is a modern practice. Usui Reiki Ryoho was developed roughly a century ago by Mikao Usui. He synthesized a number of different spiritual practices derived from Japanese Buddhist, Shinto and related folk/esoteric traditions well-known in his day, combined with his own mystical experience on Kurama-yama (Mt. Kurama) in 1922.

There is no evidence to support that Usui “re-discovered” the system of Reiki from other ancient spiritual traditions. There is also no evidence to support if Usui was intimately familiar with other spiritual practices outside of Japan. To be specific, the modality of hands-on healing is an ancient practice present within many cultures and religious traditions. However, Usui Reiki Ryoho is a relatively new practice, and one inspired by a profound spiritual event.

In the Reiki Ryoho Hikkei (workbook given by Usui to his students), there is a Q&A section with statements made by Usui regarding how his practice works. He emphasizes:

I have not been taught this art of healing by anyone under the heavens, not have I studied in order to obtain this mysterious ability to heal. I accidentally realized that I was given this mysterious healing ability when I felt the great power and was inspired by the mystery during a period of fasting. Therefore, even as the founder, I find it difficult to give a sure explanation.

It should also be noted that chakras, meridians, crystals, angels or other practices, including the addition of symbols/mantras are also not traditionally associated with the practice of Usui Reiki Ryoho. They were added in during the past few decades by practitioners from the West who were familiar with other “New Age” spiritual/energetic practices. Use of any of these additional practices is a personal choice, but reputable Reiki teachers should be sure to let their students know that they are not part of the original system taught by Mikao Usui, Chujiro Hayashi or Hawayo Takata.  

 There are still many things we do not know about the history of Reiki. Scant written evidence exists, aside from the Reiki Ryoho Hikkei and the Reiho Choso Usui Sensei Kudoko No Hi (Memorial of the merits of Usui Sensei.) A number of Reiki teachers, including Frank Arjava Petter, William Lee Rand, and particularly Bronwen and Frans Stiene, have done an incredible job of unearthing and verifying facts and information from a few remaining students and practitioners taught by Usui and Hyashi in Japan. Their efforts have helped us bridge the gap between what Usui originally taught and how the system evolved with Hayashi’s and Takata’s teachings.

We may never know everything with regard to Usui’s spiritual practices and motivation, and we have to be able to sit with not knowing by maintaining a degree of equanimity and acceptance. Adding in unverifiable “facts” does not help us understand the practice. It only occludes what we do know and makes it harder for new practitioners to synthesize basic concepts. A practice does not have to be “ancient” to be valuable. It just has to be of benefit to others and able to adapt to changing times. Usui Reiki Ryoho has done both.  

For more information on Reiki history and practice, see the International House of Reiki’s article, “What is (and isn’t) Reiki?“

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Whether you are looking to achieve greater emotional and physical balance or embark on a deeper spiritual connection, Reiki can help. Reiki is more than just hands-on healing; it is a system of practice that brings about greater mind-body wellness, energetic balance, emotional clarity and a deepened connection to spiritual life-force energy. It only takes a day to learn the basics, but with regular practice the benefits stay with you for a lifetime.

I am a Reiki Teacher (Shihan) trained in both traditional Japanese Reiki (Komyo Reiki) and ”Western” Usui Reiki (Takata style, or Usui Shiki Ryoho.) I incorporate practices and techniques from both traditions in my classes, so that students have a thorough understanding and context for their Reiki practice.

My Reiki classes and workshops provide plenty of opportunity to practice working with Reiki energy healing on yourself and others. Along with the necessary energetic attunements, students will receive all the information, tools and ongoing guidance to practice Reiki with confidence. I love teaching and providing support for students as they develop their practice. I have seen a number of students make amazing transformation in their lives as a result of their commitment to Reiki. The potential for miracles is literally in your hands!

Upcoming Reiki classes:

• Reiki I: Sat. March 19, 2011 (10 AM – 5:00 PM)
• ART/Master Training (Part I): Sun. March 20, 2011 (11 AM– 5 PM)
• Reiki I: Sat. April 30, 2011 (10 AM – 5 PM)

 For more information on what is covered in each class, pricing and registration, please visit my Reiki Classes page. All classes are taught at Candler Park Chiropractic in Atlanta, GA unless otherwise indicated.

(Photo credit: www.istockphoto.com)

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Over the past few years, I’ve had a number of people contact me, wanting to know if Reiki will cure them of their ailment or issue. I am careful never to make any claims about Reiki other than that it is indicated for relaxation, stress relief and energy balancing. This is for ethical and professional reasons. However, I do understand the very real desire to be free of an illness or condition that is adversely influencing someone’s quality of life. I’ve certainly been in that place before (and even now) and know what it feels like to be in pain, to have to take medications and supplements, undergo surgery or go to the doctor over and over looking for relief and answers.

The goal of Reiki treatment is to help the body restore its natural energetic balance. Reiki practitioners believe that when the body’s energy is in balance, it promotes healing and a state of wellness. “Healing” and “wellness” are rather subjective terms, and I’ve often seen “healing” and “curing” used interchangeably (or there is an assumption that when someone says they want to be “healed”, they really mean “cured.”) They are not the same thing, and it’s important to understand the distinction.

Healing is the process by which the body repairs itself. Curing is when someone is freed completely from illness or injury. When we are in a state of healing, that process may take a long time and there may or may not be an end state where the body is completely cured. It depends on a number of factors: the duration and nature of the illness or injury, age, environmental conditions and emotional state. Even medical doctors have to be mindful about stating whether or not a course of treatment will cure someone, but they can make some determinations based on what has been observed in clinical practice.

Healing is not the same as curing, and there are many people out there who are not “cured” who do feel they are living a full, meaningful life within the boundaries of their illness or condition.  The journey to wellness is both a process and a mindset. To facilitate healing, we have to find and commit to the practices, treatments and supportive measures needed to create favorable conditions for improvement. We also need to maintain an open, engaged and positive approach. A negative mindset can actually impair the healing process, because the mind ultimately controls what we experience physically, emotionally and mentally.

This isn’t to say that curing a disease or condition can’t happen over time, or even spontaneously, through therapeutic treatment. It sometimes does happen (and I am witness to this) but why that happens isn’t so easily understood. It could be due to a combination of approaches that finally kick healing into high gear, or that the body was already on the healing path and whatever new thing was added in completed the process. However, expecting to be cured can become a painful and frustrating process when options are being exhausted without experiencing the desired outcome. I advocate for reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life, because both of those give people the energy and motivation to maintain a positive mindset, which will also influence the healing process and may lead to experiencing a curative effect.

In my own life since practicing Reiki, I have experienced both curing and healing. The curing didn’t happen spontaneously; I was already healing and the combination of Reiki and very mindful life changes brought about a result consistent with being cured (complete cessation of symptoms for an extended period of time.) Yet, I still live with a couple of chronic conditions that, while improved in many ways, are not cured. Some of that is functional and some of it is due to the fact that as our bodies age, they change physically and chemically. Approaches that were effective a few years ago may need to be refined or changed and I have to figure out what works now so that I can have an improved state of wellness.

I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that there is no magic pill I can take or treatment I receive that will make these conditions vanish forever. (Although I will never give up hope of being cured altogether. You never know – it could happen!) I take responsibility for things I can do in order to reduce the frequency of or alleviate symptoms. I’m grateful that Reiki has and continues to provide me with a way to maintain balance, remain positive and continue down the path of wellness. Reiki – in treatment and in practice –  helps us reconnect to our natural state of wholeness, regardless of symptoms or circumstances.

(Photo credit: Piano Piano! on Flickr)

Are you looking to achieve greater emotional and physical balance or embark on a deeper spiritual connection? If so, consider learning Reiki. Reiki is more than just hands-on healing; it is a system of practice that brings about greater mind-body wellness, energetic balance, emotional clarity and a deepened connection to spiritual life-force energy. It only takes a day to learn the basics, but with regular practice the benefits stay with you for a lifetime.

I am a Reiki Master Teacher trained in both traditional Japanese Reiki (Komyo Reiki) and ”Western” Usui Reiki (Takata style, or Usui Shiki Ryoho.) I incorporate practices and techniques from both traditions in my classes, so that students have a thorough understanding and context for their Reiki practice.

My Reiki classes and workshops provide plenty of opportunity to practice working with Reiki energy healing on yourself and others. Along with the energetic attunements (reiju), students will receive all the information, tools and ongoing guidance to practice Reiki with confidence. I love teaching and providing support for students as they develop their practice. I have seen a number of students make amazing transformation in their lives as a result of their commitment to Reiki. The potential for miracles is literally in your hands!

Upcoming Reiki classes:

• Reiki II: Sat. February 19, 2011 (12 PM – 6 PM)
• Reiki I: Sun. February 27, 2011 (10 AM – 5:00 PM)
• Reiki Refresher: Sun. March 13, 2011 (12 PM – 4 PM)* this workshop is for existing Reiki practitioners
• Komyo Reiki Level I (Shoden): Sat. March 19, 2011 (10 AM – 5 PM)

For more information on what is covered in each class, pricing and registration, please visit my Reiki Classes page. All classes are taught at Candler Park Chiropractic in Atlanta, GA unless otherwise indicated.

(Photo credit: www.istockphoto.com)

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)