Before your treatment, I’ll welcome you to the apartment, ask you to take off your shoes and ask if you need to use the bathroom before we start. I’ll welcome you to the reiki room, invite you to sit down and ask if you would like a sip of tea.
Then I’ll ask you why you came for a treatment and how you’re feeling in your mind and body. If you’re new to reiki or have questions, I’ll chat for a while about how I understand reiki working and what you might expect during and after a treatment. If you describe a complex problem, I might ask you what other things you are trying to do in the situation. I’ll encourage you to set aside expectations and to try to clear your mind during the treatment.
Then I’ll invite you to lie on the treatment table, in your clothes (taking off anything that might feel uncomfortable like a heavy or constrictive coat), with your head on the pillow, looking up. Most people like an under-knee pillow to keep them straightened out. If it’s cold weather, I’ll ask if you want a blanket, or if it’s hot, I’ll ask if the fan is on a fast-enough setting.
I’ve learned to ask women if their hair is arranged in a way that they can lie on their back, with the head on the pillow. If a ponytail is tied right at the back of the head, it will dig into your head when you lie down! I have also learned to ask clients if they want to use a weighted eye pillow. Most clients like using this, as it completely blocks out all light (and can feel comforting) and during the summer and earlier in the day, almost everyone uses it. But in the winter and late in the day, sometimes it’s dark enough without it, and some people don’t like things on their eyes or face.
During the treatment, I’ll have my hands either on or lightly over different parts of your body, being careful to not touch any private parts of the body. Over the 50 minutes, I try to make sure I cover all of your body. Who can say for each person where they might store emotions or need extra energy?
I see my role as facilitating a healing space for your body’s energies to tune into – and for you to tune into your higher self, your quiet self. The ‘ki’ in Reiki is the same ‘chi’ or ‘qi’ that is found in the practices of ‘tai chi‘ and ‘qi gong‘. It refers to energy. The whole universe is made up of molecules but all vibrating at different frequencies, so to us, some appear solid, some liquid, and some air. We are all made of this energy too. When the energy is vibrating at healing frequencies, similar to what we aim for in meditation, yoga or other healing practices, healing happens, sometimes in the mind and emotions, just from being calm and still, but sometimes with effects on the physical body as well. I see it as your body’s natural intelligence doing what it needs to do.
During a treatment, you might feel the energy in different places in your body, or beneath my hands. It may feel warm or cold, like the energy is moving, or the energy is vibrating, pulsing, buzzing, moving in waves, or even pushing or pulling. Some people feel as if energy is coming into the body and others like it is being released.
Others don’t feel energy in their body, but simply have a relaxed and meditative experience, falling asleep or almost asleep, and going into a relaxed and calm place. Some clients see interesting images, colours or patterns, or have interesting memories or thoughts. Not only is everyone different from each other but clients tell me that one treatment can be completely different from the next.
At the end of the treatment, you will gently get up and off the table. I’ll offer you more tea and ask how you are feeling. Some clients like to talk about what they felt, and others not at all. For some, the most important part is during the treatment, feeling relaxed or healed; for others, the effects of a treatment can last for days or a week or longer. Some clients have a dip in energy the same day or the day after, feeling tired or emotional or out of sorts, but then feel better than before afterwards.
Want to know more? Here is some more information about:
The reasons that people have reiki treatments
The most frequently asked questions that I get from my clients (or potential clients)
I find that a lot of my clients come from reading my reviews. It’s not only because they are so positive, but I think people know from the way they are written that they are authentic, and they can give you an idea of the range of experiences that people have from a treatment. Read some of my reviews here (the page has links to even more reviews):