Reiki is a Japanese energy healing technique that aims to balance the body’s natural energy fields to promote emotional and physical healing by provoking your parasympathetic nervous system through a ‘hands off’ approach.

Science tells us that everything is energy. Air, light, heat, water, our bodies, and solid objects. Energy is always in constant vibration (yes, even the solid objects too). Once we understand this, the concept of free energy exchange is easier to grasp and reiki is less of a mystery.

Basically, the a reiki practitioner will place their hands in various locations above a client’s body, in the body’s energy field. Then, the practitioner will act as an energy conduit for the person receiving the reiki energy.

Like any other profession, certified reiki practitioners have years of practice. They become proficient in harnessing ‘life force’ energy (more or less through the power of thought, because yes, thoughts are energy too), and act as an energy conduit for the client in a timely manner.

This concept can feel a little ‘out there’ if your new to this. However, we encourage you to read “What is your nervous system?” next, it may give a little more clarity.

Reiki promos rest and relaxation of the parasympathetic nervous system. This is your ‘rest & digest’ phase. The average person is typically in ‘fight or flight’ throughout the day and will sometimes remain in it even while trying to sleep.

When you’re in a constant state of stress, your body isn’t able to physically repair it’s self or it can be really slow to repair it’s self.

Stress from work, family, physical issues or illness, or just from living all adds up. Your nervous system will feel the stress and store it in your body, because your body views it as useful information to keep you alive. However, just because you and Uncle Mike got into an argument at the cook out doesn’t mean you need to store that information in your body and allow it to take a toll on your nervous system.

The nervous system is the bodies command center and communication network that uses electrical signals to transmit information from you brain to the rest of your body. It is a basic survival function, just like breathing or a heart beat.

Communication can look as simple as touching a hot stove and the nerves in your fingers telling your brain to tell your hand to move off of the heat. This would be an example of involuntary communication, just like breathing.

An example of voluntary communication with your body may look like this: Perhaps you decide to walk from one location to another. Creating that thought in your brain sent an electrical signal to the rest of your body allowing for the mechanical movement it needed to accomplish the task.

We frequently forget that our nervous system is a real thing. We know our blood is real, because when we get a paper cut we can see the blood. Our bones are real because we can feel them. Our nervous system literally helps to keep us alive. It’s just as important as your heart needing to pump the blood through your veins.

Although we easily forget this. We frequently tell ourselves “I’m just going to power through” whatever the issue is. Then before we know it, we catch a cold, or start having panic attacks, or start having stress induced health problems.