Life force is flowing through us and all things living. Life force flows in the physical body through pathways called Chakras, Meridians, and Nadis. Life force nourishes the organs and cells in the body, supporting them in their vital functions. When this flow is disrupted, it can diminish functions in these vital organs. Because life force is responsive to thoughts and feelings, it is disrupted when we experience negative emotions or events. Reiki heals by flowing through the affected areas in the body and charges them with positive energy. By raising the vibration of the energy field in and around the body, it causes the negative energy to break apart and give space for the positive energy (Reiki) to clear, straighten, and heal energy pathways.

Reiki is a simple Japanese method of light touch based on the concept of Life Energy or Life Force. The experience is soothing, and stress relieving. The main thing that reduces Life Energy is stress. By reducing stress, Reiki will promote healing and help with things like insomnia, aches and pains, confidence, creativity, and end-of-life acceptance.

Once you go over any particular issues that you’d like to address, you will lie fully clothed on a massage table or sit in a chair. You will follow a few instructions in order to reach a relaxed state, such as breathing exercises or short mediation practices. Your practitioner will place their hands on or slightly above your body as they methodically travel from head to toes with the intention of moving energy.

During the session you may notice a warming sensation in some areas and in other areas nothing at all. Feeling a sense of relaxation, or even falling asleep, is common and encouraged. A sleep state is still giving your body a chance to rest and restore even if you aren’t awake. Many people feel a sense of clarity and calmness during and after a session.

Reiki is known to help relieve stress and aid in the practice of mindfulness, which has been shown to reduce side effects of physical ailments caused by such things as injury, stress, and side effects caused by medical drug treatments.

This answer to this is completely unique to the person receiving Reiki sessions. At least a week in between sessions allows time to move through feelings, allowing the flow of energy to aid in both conscious and subconscious processing.

When someone is working through a particular issue brought on by a traumatic event, physical or emotional, receiving Reiki treatments one to two weeks apart is optimal. Positive results are typically achieved within three to six treatments. This keeps a constant flow and focus on the positive energy that is aiding in the healing process. Once improvement is recognized, Reiki sessions four to eight weeks apart helps maintain a holistic balance and is a great form of self care and mindfulness practice.

Meditation provides a sense of calm, peace, and balance that can benefit both emotional well-being and overall health. The practice of meditation leads to mindfulness, which for most is a desirable goal.

Meditation is used for relaxation and coping through any degree of emotional/physical stress or trauma. Some benefits of meditation are: reduction of anxiety and stress, improvement of self-awareness, increasing empathy and kindness, increasing concentration and attention span, improvement of sleep, reduction of memory loss, decreased pain, decreased blood pressure, and enhancement of mental health.

Research shows that meditation inhibits the release of cytokines (inflammatory chemicals) which are known to contribute to various issues or problems in the body. Evidence shows that regular meditation practices can re-work nerve pathways, resulting in the ability to decrease pain.

Having a guide during a meditation session can aid in working through specific intentions, mental imagery, and/or breathing exercises. This helps with the meditation practice itself, and the physical/mental/emotional benefits of meditation.

Working on specific intentions with a guide allows the person meditating to simply relax and follow the steps given. This enhances the ability to have visualizations, emotional releases, muscle relaxation, breath awareness and focused attention on gratitude, mantras, and awareness.

It’s best to wear loose, comfortable clothing. Avoid anything restricting to be able to take deep breaths in and out.

The meditation facilitator will instruct a body scan to relax muscles and become comfortable, practice breath work, and will then lead the person meditating through mental images and visualizations, usually with a goal of healing. The meditation session can be anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours. For many, this leads to the ability to regulate emotions and overcome trauma or stressful situations.

With guided meditation, you have a better chance of staying in a state of concentration for longer.

There is no exact plan for a specific amount of guided meditations that suits everyone. What the intention is, the goals are, or trauma to work through, will determine the type of guided meditation given and/or the sessions recommended.

The ultimate goal is to work toward a strong mindfulness practice. Ideally, one would meditate on their own from 20-45 minutes per day. This will maintain the regularity in feeling peace and acceptance throughout situations in our lives.

Having a guided meditation session every 4-8 weeks to stay focused on a specific order of intentions or work on new goals can be helpful. When working through a traumatic life event, often times a counselor will recommend pairing therapy sessions with guided meditations.

Strong emotions are normal and welcomed during sessions. Crying shows the ability to get in touch with emotions and becoming self-aware. Tears can be full of joy, sadness, gratitude, anger, love, and much more… letting it flow is healthy and supported.

Lacrimation (crying) is a physiological response from our parasympathetic (rest and digest) system. When we allow our body to rest, our mind can release stored stress/energy which often leads to physical releases. The more stored negative emotions we can mentally and physically release, the healthier we can be. Releasing hidden thoughts in the subconscious mind can allow us to reconnect with ourselves, evaluate our situations, feel our feelings, and let them go.

Try to understand the feeling that is prompting the emotional release. Often times right when we feel a negative emotion we try to shut it out and move on as though nothing happened. This becomes stored negative energy which can lead to physical and mental ailments. When you are in a meditation or Reiki session try to analyze feelings from a place of compassion instead of pushing them away - this can aid in releasing stored trauma, which can avoid further issues. Cry it out, Talk it out, Journal it out - we are here for it!