100% That Reiki Post

Author: Emilia Wheaton
Editor: Kristen Kennedy Smith

Reiki is a Japanese practice for energy healing. Etymologically, the word Reiki is broken into two parts: “Rei” which means “the higher power” and “Ki” which is “life force energy” You put those two incredibly powerful sentiments together and get Reiki: the spiritually guided life force energy. Sounds pretty mighty, doesn’t it? Speaking from personal experience, the energy transfer of Reiki holds many attributes at once: healing, balancing, soothing and empowering. Before my first Affirmations & Innovations session of Reiki, I had limited exposure to the practice and honestly wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into. But I trusted the practitioner, Kristen, a long-time friend, and honestly, was in a pretty tumultuous time in life where I most certainly did not feel balanced or at peace with myself. To me, the outcome seemed miraculous; to the practitioners, students and masters of Reiki, the outcome was wholly intentional. 

But how does Reiki work, you ask? In Kristen’s podcast episode focusing on Reiki, she describes the process of Reiki as an energetic balancing of the Chakras (you know, the seven energy centers that align along the body’s spine). The body can store trauma or pain in any of our Chakras, resulting in a range of symptoms of a sore, tight throat to severe menstrual cramping to a tweaky hip that just never feels right. Reiki can alleviate some of our symptoms by releasing this pain instead of allowing it to linger in our bodies. 

During a Reiki Attunement, the practitioner will sense the strength of each Chakra’s energy body by running their hands in the seemingly empty space above your physical body to perceive the strength, size and type of energy that each Chakra emits. An energy body may feel huge and strong and hot or it may feel dull and cool and small. By working in an area that is holding negative energy, the Reiki practitioner allows the participant’s body to release the energy that is causing pain or discomfort. Pheeewwww the body gives a sigh of relief.

Anecdotally, Reiki allowed me to release the tension I had been holding onto in my root Chakra; I left the session feeling more grounded and free to pursue possibilities of the future instead of fearing negative outcomes. Receiving Reiki from a skilled practitioner is one way of reducing stress, alleviating pain, and aligning our physical and spiritual selves with the higher powers that be. 
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If you are interested in booking a Reiki session with Kristen of Affirmations and Innovations, visit A&I’s website for detailed pricing and booking information. If Reiki is something you have never tried before, I urge you to open your mind and soul to an incredibly soothing, empowering experience that is sure to leave you feeling more settled and balanced upon leaving the session.