If you’ve been for a reiki treatment with me, you’ll have heard this before… What I say to clients when they come for a treatment and before it starts. If you come for a treatment, this is what you’ll hear:
- I’ll welcome you to the apartment, ask you to take off your shoes and if you need to use the bathroom before we start.
- I’ll invite you to sit down and ask if you want water or tea.
- Then I’ll ask you why you came for a treatment or if you’ve had reiki before.
- I’ll respond to the explanation of why you’ve come with whether it’s common for other people to come for the same reasons, or I might ask you if there are other actions that you are taking to address the situation, particularly if a situation is complex or a problem longstanding.
- I’ll ask if you have any other questions, and then invite you to lie on the table, with your head on the pillow, looking up, and that most people like the under-knee pillow to keep them straightened out.
- If it’s cold weather, I’ll ask if you want a cover, and if it’s hot, I’ll ask if the fan is on a fast enough setting!
- Then, this is what I say to start things off:
- ‘I invite you to close your eyes and relax into this space that you’ve given to yourself.’ Not everyone closes their eyes automatically, so it’s good to say so. I have had some clients open their eyes at times, but I think it’s best to be relaxed to close one’s eyes instead of looking at the fan or ceiling, or trying to see what I’m doing. Then I like to acknowledge that clients have made done a positive act already by either wanting to address a problem, try out reiki, or just feel better. Even if the treatment was a gift, a client still needs to make time for themselves to come to the treatment. And it’s all part of the idea that the treatment is a partnership. I’m not doing reiki on you. You are joining me in a healing treatment.
- ‘Take in a few long and slow breaths, and if that feels comfortable, continue to do for the treatment’. It’s amazing how little breath some people take. But it’s so important to relaxing and being still. You can feel it the moment that you take in a big, deep breath of air. Rarely, if I see someone having troubles with breathing, I might suggest taking in a breath of air to the count of four or five, and exhale at the same pace. Try it. It feels good, doesn’t it?
- ‘You can allow your mind to wander, think of nothing, meditate or follow your breath, whatever feels most comfortable.’ So many clients early on asked ‘What should I do during a treatment?’ that I thought I should try to set the scene right away. I also want to counter the idea that to meditate, or receive reiki, or to be still, that your mind automatically clears and you stop thinking. Our minds are always in motion; that’s what they do. If you want to meditate, it’s not about clearing the mind completely for an hour. It’s noticing when the mind wanders away, and then bringing it back to the centre (or your breath). And do it again. And again. Many clients report that they had trouble stopping thinking about their problems or otherwise, or that the reiki treatment did help them to still their minds. I think what’s important is not to fight the thoughts too much, to either let the mind wander or think of nothing, in a gentle way and see what comes up. I used to say ‘You can think about the issues you’re facing’ because I do think that in a relaxed state, you can sometimes solve your problems or see new solutions; but I worry if clients get caught up thinking about their problems the whole treatment in a way that interferes with them relaxing. So I’ve stopped saying it!
- ‘Finally, I invite to take part in healing yourself and to take from this treatment what it is that you need at this time. I’ll ring a bell at the end of the treatment.’ I’ve followed my teacher, Frans Stiene, with this line and I think it’s so important. Again, it’s about not just ‘receiving’ a treatment, but being active: asking your subconscious to heal yourself, and that you are taking an active role in taking what you need, not just hoping that someone else will do the work to heal you. I used to ask that you ‘set the intention to heal yourself’, but I found a fair number of clients got this mixed up with setting intentions, and then, instead of having an open and quiet mind, it seemed they were concentrating very hard on repeating intentions or affirmations. It’s better to just to be open to what the treatment might bring you.
And then the treatment starts…
Discover the gifts and benefits of a session of Japanese reiki therapy, healing energy from an experienced practitioner. Visit my website or Facebook page for more information and SMS, email, call me or book online if you’d like to make an appointment. Since 2011, I’ve given over 900 reiki treatments.
Clients come to relieve stress, anxiety and for many other issues, or to just give reiki a try to see what it does for them. Folks come from all over Sydney and elsewhere to see me. While it’s easiest to get to me from the CBD, Darlinghurst, Paddington, Kings Cross, Redfern and Potts Point, I’m pretty easy to get to from anywhere in Sydney.