The first thing Sarah told me when I sat down for my first session with her was that Reiki essentially meant God’s energy. Reiki is made from two Japanese words. “Rei,” meaning God’s wisdom or higher power, and “Ki,” meaning life force energy. She explained that it meant she was simply a channel through which the energy healing flows, through her hands specifically, and for some reason, that made me feel so much better.
Despite the fact that I’m incredibly open to energy, alternative healing, and even things like inner dance, there’s always apprehension when you’re trying out something new related to your inner life. Who knows what will happen and what it can bring up?
There are many resources out there that can tell you all about what Reiki is and what it isn’t, and what to expect when you try it out for yourself. For this blog, I’m going to talk about it from the standpoint of the one being treated – and perhaps it’ll give you an insight into what it can possibly open up for you if you choose to try it. Other than that, it’s also something I need to process and writing has always done that for me.
As these things go, it starts out extremely simple. You lie down on a flat surface and you’re guided towards sinking into relaxation. After that, it feels like wading in and out of consciousness. In yoga, you balance simultaneously between alertness to what’s happening in the body and relaxing into your practice. In reiki, you flow from mindfulness to an almost sleep-like state like you’re riding an ocean wave.
I could feel that Sarah was placing her hands on the crown of my head, near my forehead – I’d describe it as a soft awareness of what was happening. My mind was still running crazy with all kinds of thoughts but I remembered meditation cues of visualizing white light coming through the crown of the head. I imagined my body as it was, lying down in a room in White Space, but I imagined it to be glowing white. The visualization really helped me to stay in the experience – which I guess shows that in some ways, reiki is a two-way healing process. Then she moved her hands towards my throat and my chest – the vishuddha and anahata chakra.
As a yoga teacher I can say that I’m an “experienced breather” 😉 But when she placed her hands there, I had to make an effort to maintain a breath that was slow and deep. The temptation to panic and feel like I was being suffocated was there but my mind was still awake, telling me it would pass. It was the moment when I was most awake the whole session and later, Sarah told me it’s because my blocks were to be found there. Relief came when she touched my shoulders.
Once she touched my shoulders, the whole experience changed. For some reason, I felt incredible peace and calm. Something was telling me that it wasn’t Sarah anymore. It was something higher, something greater, and whatever it was – it was from something or someone who knew me deeply and had been with me for a long time.
After that she moved on to other parts of my body, other chakras but it was really just a blur to me. Instead, I jumped from vision to vision, it was like my mind was unleashed. One I remember quite clearly was seeing a pinpoint of white light. Once I looked at the white light, it zoomed in to reveal that it was coming fro a room – a room I was in and I was dancing. I know this all sounds strange to you but, it was a beautiful experience.
My last visions were of people – men I had met, my father, and eventually my brother. And it stayed with him. My brother has been gone for a little more than 11 years and this was the first time in ages that I could see his face so clear in my mind’s eye. We were looking at each other, he was wearing all white, and all I could feel was this great joy and gratitude at the fact that I could see him again. I asked him if he was my angel. I asked him why only now? The vision I had of him stayed the same, him looking at me, me looking at him.
After that everything else was a blur. Seeing my brother was the clear, high point of my experience and just for that, it was worth it. Sarah returned to touching my throat and my chest – my previous problem areas, but this time instead of feeling pushed down on, I felt powerful. I felt my breath rising up to meet the touch, even as if I was pushing Sarah’s hands upwards. Towards the end I felt restful yet energized.
It was a great experience that still amazes me until now and leaves me with many, many questions.
Everyone’s experience will be different. I can definitely say that while you do feel balanced aftewards, whether you want to face it or not, you also realize what caused the imbalances in your life. For me, it felt like ripping off a band-aid in my mind. The ghost of the shock and pain of the sudden change its still lingering with me.
Wherever you are in life, you’ll realize that whatever you do to meet yourself is part of a lifelong healing process. Reiki just brings the process to the forefront and like anything that seeks to heal, it’s a progression towards balance, balance, balance.
There are different Reiki practitioners out there you can try Reiki with. The Reiki at White Space is easily available too, just call the front desk for an appointment or for any other questions.
Sarah also does workshops if you want to do Reiki yourself. I’m excited to try Reiki I this coming September and hopefully it pushes through 🙂
