Are their any side effect of Reiki treatments?

The aim of Reiki is to restore harmony within the client and instil a sense of peace.  During the process of restoring harmony you may notice subtle changes in your mood, appetite or sleeping pattern.  All of these reactions are very short lived and subtle as Reiki is one of the gentlest treatments available.

Related Posts

  • What can I expect from a Reiki treatment?

    A Reiki treatment session lasts one hour and the fully clothed client lies on a massage table. The Reiki practitioner then holds her hands above the clients body or gently lays her hands on the clients body.  The Reiki energy is automatically absorbed into the clients body which has a greatly beneficial effect.  There is no standard experience of a Reiki treatment, but most of my clients find it deeply relaxing and they feel more peaceful afterwards. When a client feels tired at the onset of a treatment they often feel more invigorated afterwards.  During a treatment clients routinely report sensations of heat, coldness or tingling in their bodies.  Some clients see flashes of colour, others are reminded of previous experiences as these are gently released, yet others feel nothing.   This does not mean Reiki was not working, it means that it was working in a gentle manner.

  • Is Reiki a Placebo? – Part 1

    By nature Reiki is very intangible.   So in a series of blog articles I will try to explore how Reiki works and what the scientific research says. For me Reiki is merely a modern name for an ancient healing practice.  Which is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, we are run down and then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy. The benefits of Reiki

    • Help some people to feel deeply relaxed
    • Help people cope with difficult situations
    • Relieve emotional stress and tension
    • Help to improve overall wellbeing
    • Help alleviate pain & anxiety
    My personal belief about how Reiki works, is that I act as a channel for Reiki energy and the client must be open to receiving it as the Reiki energy cannot “force” itself on to anyone.  As humans have free-will this means a client can block it if they consciously choose too.  The Reiki energy is then a resource that the human body can use to heal itself. So is Reiki just Placebo? A placebo is anything that seems to be a "real" medical treatment -- but isn't i.e. it is fake. The judgement is based on the availability of scientific evidence.  Dame Carol Black (– a former President of the Royal College of Physicians and of the Academy of Royal Colleges) and a group of distinguished doctors and scientists at the Kings Fund has concluded that current assumptions about what constitutes good scientific evidence for complementary therapies are too narrow. Professor Stephen Holgate who is also a member of the Kings Fund said: "As scientists, we have often sneered at the placebo effect. But as doctors, we know it can have a real impact on the outcomes of treatment for our patients. What is it, after all, but a trigger to the body's natural ability to heal itself?  That is something worth encouraging." I am a firm believer in the body's ability to heal itself.  As the aim of all complementary therapies is to stimulate the body to heal itself, they could all be considered placebo.  This is probably especially true of Reiki due to the fact that it has not been well studied scientifically.   The limited studies have not gathered enough evidence to “prove” Reiki energy exists, but this is not the same as proving it doesn’t exist. For me, it makes more sense to assess the impact of Reiki and Reiki energy.  After all if you can assess the impact of the energy then it must exist.  And as to, is it a placebo?  If the Reiki energy has an impact, it must exist, and it can’t be a placebo because its having an impact. So in my next blog I will at the scientific evidence on the impact of Reiki.

  • How was Reiki discovered?

    Dr Mikao Usui is the father of Reiki. Born in Japan on 15th August 1864, he grew up hearing stories about the Buddha and was impressed with the Buddha’s quest for enlightenment.  Dr Usui was fascinated by Buddha’s desire to help others and by the healing abilities he received after enlightenment.  Looking at the people around him he saw that there were many people who were unable to lead happy, productive lives because they were sick or had physical disabilities.  Out of a deep sense of compassion for these people, Dr Usui set off on a mission to acquire the healing powers that Buddha and his followers demonstrated, in order to help alleiviate sickness and suffering in others. Dr Usui travelled widely in Japan studying at Buddhist temples and trying to learn all he could about healing.  His travelling eventually led him to a Zen monastery where he met Budhist monks and scholars who also interested in healing.  After learning Sanskrit, while studying Indian sutras he discovered a formula for contacting a higher power that could bestow healing.  By following the practices in the formula he was initiated into the use of the Reiki healing power.  Dr Usui practiced and taught Reiki through attunements for the rest of his life.