Clients can experience various physical and emotional reactions both during and after a Reiki healing session. For those of you who are Reiki practitioners, it is necessary to be aware of this and be able to reassure the client that it is all perfectly normal.
During
Treatment
During
treatment it is common to see twitches and jerks in the client’s body. These
are usually seen in the legs and feet and are caused by the healing energy
flowing through the body’s meridians/energy channels and seeking to clear
blockages as it goes. You can just be holding someone’s head and see the feet
twitch. More rarely you can see whole body jerks, shaking or the client almost
sitting up during treatment. This happens when the healing energy is impeded by
major blocks as it flows through the body. These blocks are caused by past
trauma or abuse. The energy is meeting resistance caused by deeply suppressed
pain/trauma which the subconscious mind does not want to release. The mind will
always try to protect itself and therefore may not be ready to address
underlying issues.
Other
physical reactions during a treatment include warmth, heat, coolness or coldness
in various parts of the body, as well as tingles in the fingers and toes.
Warmth/heat tends to be experienced in areas that require healing. Coolness usually
indicates emotional healing is taking place and chills down the spine result
from energy shifts having taken place. Many clients have a tingly, pins and
needles type feeling in the fingers and/or toes – this just means that any
blocked or stagnated energy is trying to flow out and be released as the client
receives higher frequency healing energy during treatment. Just advise the
client to flick their fingers and wiggle their toes to release it.
Sometimes
a client may experience a twinge of pain in an area of illness or injury. This
is only temporary and is the body’s way of condensing pain before it is
released.
Similarly
a client may experience an emotional release during treatment. This happens
when they have been bottling up painful emotions which the healing energy is
helping them to release. This happens particularly with people who have gone
through a bereavement, relationship break-up or some other form of loss. It can
be very disconcerting for the new healer to witness a client crying during
treatment and your first reaction is to wonder what’s gone wrong! However you
do need to let them release and process what is coming up from their
subconscious. Just be supportive with a box of tissues and reassure them that
it is all ok and will soon pass. Every time that has happened during my own
treatments, the client has always felt much better for having released their
hurt/pain. In fact it is necessary that they acknowledge and release it as part
of their healing. The negative energy imprint of emotional pain becomes stored
in the energy body, preventing a person’s personal energy from flowing at its
correct vibration, which can ultimately lead to dis-ease and physical ailments.
Clearing this pain and its associated energy imprint allows the person’s life
force energy to flow unhindered once more with the energy body vibrating at the
correct frequency.
After
Treatment
It
is normal for a client to feel tired, thirsty or hungry after a Reiki
treatment. Some people do not get enough sleep, do not drink enough water or
may not have been eating properly, so these reactions are simply the body’s way
of telling us what we need to do in order to restore balance. Feeling tired is the
most common after-effect and most people will have a good night’s sleep after their
treatment as the body does most of its healing while sleeping. Conversely some
clients will feel more energised, lighter and uplifted afterwards as if a
weight has been taken off them.
Not
all, but some, clients will experience a strong immune system reaction
following treatment. Healing reactions can include short-term cold and flu-like
symptoms, headaches, skin rashes and increased urination. This happens when
toxins are being cleared out of the body and, once the symptoms have passed,
the benefits are usually long-lasting. Not every client will experience a
strong reaction but, if this happens, just assure them that they will feel much
better afterwards. If the person is attuned to Reiki themselves, advise them to
give themselves more Reiki self-healing to speed the release of toxins.
Some
people may have emotional healing reactions in the few days following
treatment. Old negative thoughts, emotions and memories can resurface and play
on the mind. Again these are just old issues coming up from the subconscious to
the conscious mind to be released. This can create anxiety in some people but
the client now has the opportunity to let them go once and for all. If this
happens to you, take a deep breath and let the images and thoughts flow through
you and out of you, like watching a movie of someone else on a screen. Continue
for as long as it takes as it will be worthwhile in the end.
After
Thought
It
is also worth noting here as a footnote that most clients will not experience
any of the above reactions and will find the whole treatment very relaxing,
peaceful and pleasant. When healers are more experienced, they tend to channel
higher, finer energy vibrations which result in less processing on the part of
the client. It is best for the client to simply relax into the process and
trust that whatever happens is for their highest and greatest good.
Helen
Shortland is a Reiki Master Healer/Teacher, Meditation Teacher, Holistic
Therapist and Tarot Consultant based at 15 Wheeler Gate in Nottingham city
centre. Helen offers several healing treatments such as Reiki, Angelic Reiki,
Faery Reiki, Angel Therapy, Fairy Blessing Guided Journey and Crystal Chakra
Balancing; holistic therapies including Reflexology, Indian Head Massage, Hopi
Ear Candles & Facials; as well as Usui Reiki and Faery Reiki training
courses and tarot readings. She has been on the spiritual path for 18 years and
has extensive knowledge of healing and the healing journey. For further
information about her Reiki courses, therapies and workshops, please visit her
website http://helenshortland.com or visit and ‘like’ her Facebook page Helen Shortland
Holistics & Healing.
