Exploring Integrative Medicine - Reiki And Meditation

A few weeks ago I had the privilege to attend a session on integrative medicine specifically looking at Reiki and meditation and I just thought I could share the information with everyone. Diane Hecht has been a Reiki master for fourteen years. Currently she teaches at both Tompkins County Community College and Cornell University. Diane started by informing us of the importance of realizing the fundamental connection between the mind and body. Wholistic wellbeing deals with being aware of our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness. During the session we discussed the benefits of Reiki and Meditation as a form of healing. Reiki is also known as ‘chi’ in Chinese, ‘Ti’ in Hawaiian and ‘Ki’ in Japanese. According to Hecht, Reiki is “an ancient holistic energy method of deeply relaxing and restoring the body, mind and spirit to its natural state of wellbeing.” Reiki can also be understood as “universal energy, light force or light energy, spiritual wisdom or universal light. One of the basic concepts of Reiki as a healing modality is the understanding of how much energy we have and how free flowing this energy is. She also informed us of the three levels of Reiki:

·         (Level 1) Use Reiki energy for helping to heal yourself and others, including pets.

·         (Level 2 Learn the Reiki symbols and offer long distance healing

·         (Level 3) Reiki Master/teacher attunement where you learn to teach and attune others reiki.

Over the past few years Reiki as a healing modality has grown tremendously with over three thousand practitioners worldwide. A typical Reiki session lasts for approximately one hour. During this period, the practitioner may use touch or not and this is done while you are fully clothed. If the practitioner does not use touch then the patient tends to feel the warmth of the energy being transferred from practitioner. 

There are three basic principles of Reiki:

·         Reiki can never do harm

·         Always ASK PERMISSION – by asking permission the practitioner makes sure that the patient understands that “We are our own healers.”

·         Adjust a channel for this energy.

Hecht defines meditation as being “simply calming the body and quieting the mind for a few minutes.” It is easy and can be done at any time and any place you find comfortable. Some of the benefits of meditation are as follows:

·         Lower blood pressure

·         Lower blood cholesterol levels

·         Improve immune system

·         Relieves anxiety

·         Helps you focus

There are two types of meditation, one pointed and mindfulness. In one pointed meditation we focus only on one thing while in mindfulness meditation you are aware of your surroundings and basically you are not thinking of just one thing. I really appreciate how Diane Hecht made us experience different kinds of meditation. I was able to relax and even feel the energy building up inside of me. I also loved that she kept the class actual throughout the presentation. This was very informative and I now have a better understanding of how energy is used as a means of healing and the importance of meditation in our daily lives.