Reiki at Mindful Pathways
What is Reiki?
Your Practitioner
Inke is a Reiki Master trained in and attuned to Reiki level III in the Usui tradition.
Inke is also a registered psychologist. She has a passion for providing a warm, empathetic and collaborative environment to support individuals on their healing journey.
While Inke is qualified and experienced in supporting clients through emotional releases or any issues that might surface during a Reiki healing session, a Reiki healing session is no substitute for psychological therapy.
Should you require psychological therapy we encourage you to book a separate session with either Inke, in her role as psychologist, another psychologist at our practice or an external psychologist of your choosing.
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A Reiki healing session will not provide you with a diagnosis and does not substitute consultation and treatment from medical professionals. It can however complement psychological as well as medical treatments.
Reiki is a Japanese word meaning universal life energy. As such, Reiki is a form of energy healing. The purpose of a Reiki healing treatment is to increase the body's energies and clear any blockages that might exist. When our body’s energies are unbalanced, when we experience illness or disease, this may be caused by a blockage of energy in our chakras. A chakra is an energy centre in the body, and each chakra is associated with certain emotions, thought patterns, organs and parts of the body. The Reiki practitioner opens the chakras and balances the energy system. With a balanced energy system, we are in tune with our higher selves (our intuition). When our energy is balanced, we can make good decisions for our well-being and we are better able to manage life’s challenges. Energy healing can help us move forward towards health and happiness.
History
Reiki is an ancient art of hands-on healing. It is a simple manual therapy underpinned by a philosophical approach to human function; it is not a religion. Reiki was rediscovered by Dr Mikao Usui, a scholar and mystic, in Japan a century ago. Reiki was introduced into Australia in 1983 by Beth Gray, the first Western Reiki Master who chose Barbara McGregor as her successor in Australia.
What can I expect from my Reiki healing session?
Your Reiki healing session will last approximately 60 minutes. This involves ‘talk time’ both before and after the hands-on healing. The actual ‘hands-on’ component lasts for 50 minutes.
Please arrive 10-15 minutes early for your first appointment to fill in our intake and consent forms.
Come in comfortable, loose clothing. A blanket will be provided for extra comfort if needed.
A Reiki healing session can help people in many ways, both physically and emotionally. During the session Reiki is transferred through the practitioner's hands resting gently on or above your fully clothed body in areas corresponding to the various energy centres (chakras).
Thus, Reiki only involves very light touch or if you prefer – or if a sensitive area is involved – a Reiki practitioner will hover their hands over an area rather than touch it. This is as effective as touching the area. Reiki healing energy is provided both to the back and the front of the body, as chakras are located on both the front and the back of the body.
Some common benefits of a Reiki healing session might include:
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A feeling of deep relaxation
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A sense of overall wellbeing
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A release of blocked emotions and supressed feelings
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An improvement in a physical condition or illness
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Feelings of empowerment and confidence
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Reduced feelings of depression
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A reduction in stress levels
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Insight and clarity into issues you are working on
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Increased harmony and balance in body and soul
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An increase in energy
While no result can be predicted with certainty, most people feel a very tangible ‘benefit’ after a session, even if it is not the one they originally anticipated or hoped for.
Reiki is also not limited by distance. As energy surrounds us everywhere, the Reiki practitioner is able to tap into a person’s energy field from a distance and complete a full healing while the recipient is in the comfort of their own home or even while they are on the go. This healing is just as effective as it is in person.
How long will I need to wait before seeing positive results?
Many people experience positive results right away. Others, however, feel the benefits more fully 1-3 days after a healing session. It is very rare for someone not to be aware of any benefit at all.
How many healing sessions will I need?
The number of healing sessions required will depend on several factors. Some people simply want to experiment with Reiki, relax or get an energetic boost. They don’t have anything in particular they wish to work on. In such cases, one session works fine.
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If you have a particular emotional or physical issue you want to work on, then good results will often be achieved with 1-4 healing sessions. The number of sessions will depend on the severity (or complexity) of the issue.
Remember that most acute issues (i.e. ones that have only been around for a short period of time) respond rapidly to Reiki, while chronic issues can take much longer.
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If you have a serious medical condition, for instance, then you will most likely need many healing sessions (often more than four) and no promises can ever be made regarding a final result.
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What you should find, however, is that even if the medical condition itself doesn’t noticeably improve, you will nevertheless still receive many observable benefits from the sessions (for instance, more energy, greater clarity & a brighter emotional state).
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For anyone who wishes to overcome a serious issue, a Reiki course in conjunction with healing sessions is often the best solution. Having learned Reiki, you will then be in a position to work on yourself every day. In such a manner, many people experience gradual but consistent progress.
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Reiki and the scientific evidence
There are limited scientific studies about the benefits of Reiki, however preliminary research suggests that further study of its ability to treat illness, both psychological and physical, is warranted.
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Summarised below are some important studies that indicate Reiki may assist with health-related issues (most of the original research papers can be found at Pubmed.gov).
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Improved Pain Management for Advanced Cancer Patients
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A trial conducted on 24 advanced cancer patients by Olson, Hanson and Michaud showed a 'highly significant improvement in pain control' following Reiki treatments (p 992, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, Vol, 26 No. 5, November 2003).
The trial consisted of two groups, one of which received traditional opioid management plus Reiki and the other opioid management plus rest (for the same length of time as the Reiki treatments).
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Participants who received opioid therapy plus Reiki reported 'a significant improvement in pain, and a significant drop in diastolic blood pressure and pulse, compared to participants who received standard opioid therapy plus rest.'
Even more interestingly, the trial had to be concluded because patients who received opioid treatment plus rest became increasingly unwilling to be stuck in their group. They all wanted be part of the reiki test group!
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Reduction in Pain after Abdominal Hysterectomies
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A study conducted by Vitale and O'Connor * to measure both pain and anxiety levels in women after abdominal hysterectomies indicated that the experimental group that received traditional nursing care plus three 30-minute Reiki sessions, reported 'less pain and requested fewer analgesics than the control group. Also, the experimental group reported less state anxiety than the control group on discharge at 72 hours post operation.'
* Vitale and O'Connor, The Effect of Reiki on Pain and Anxiety in Women With Abdominal Hysterectomies: A Quasi-experimental Pilot Study, Holistic Nursing Practice, Volume 20(6), November/December 2006, p 263-272)
Improved Immune System, Decreased Pain
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A study conducted by Barbara Brewitt, MDiv, PhD, on patients with multiple sclerosis, lupus, fibromyalgia and thyroid goiter demonstrated that 'Reiki has beneficial effects on lymphatics and lymph flow in the immune system.' All patients also reported 'increased relaxation, a sense of "centeredness", a reduction in pain and an increase in mobility after Reiki sessions.' (see http://www.asunam.com/efficacy_of_reiki_hands.htm for to view the full study.)
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Decreased Anxiety, Greater relaxation, Increased Immune Response
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A study conducted by Dr Wardell and Dr Engebretson (Biological correlates of Reiki Touch healing, [found in Journal of Advanced Nursing, 33(4), 439-445]) concluded that even just a single Reiki session 'has an effect on decreasing perceived anxiety, increasing signs of relaxation and increasing humoral immunological functioning through an increase in [secretory] IgA.'
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It was also found that systolic blood pressure mesurements decreased significantly after a Reiki treatment.
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Reiki and Cancer Related Fatigue
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It is well known that fatigue is a common side effect of cancer treatment and recovery. Tsang, Carlson and Olson conducted a test (published in Integrative Cancer Therapies, 2007; 6; 25) ) to measure whether Reiki treatments could help fight this fatigue.
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Patients were separated into two groups: one which received Reiki for five consecutive days, followed by a one-week washout monitoring period and then an additional two treatments (after which they had two weeks of no treatment). The other rested for 1 hour a day for five consecutive days and had a one-week washout monitoring period.
The result was that subjects in the Reiki group found pain to be decreased after each of the seven treatments and they also found 'significant improvements in the quality of life compared to those in the resting condition.'
These improvements were not found in the non-Reiki group. https://www.om-reiki.com.au/reiki-articles.html
Sources:
https://www.om-reiki.com.au/reiki-articles.html
Alesha De Thierry, Reiki Master/Trainer www.beginningscenter.com.au
Articles:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5871310/
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/04/reiki-cant-possibly-work-so-why-does-it/606808/