Reiki is one of the more challenging alternative healing modalities to explain. After a session, you know something has changed, you feel better, but it can be tough to pinpoint exactly why. Reiki focuses on energy, specifically unblocking our energy, so that we can heal both physically and emotionally. To find out more about how exactly it works, we chatted with Giulia Halkier, Reiki healer and founder of Brazen Soul Rebellion.
For those who haven’t experienced Reiki, what is it and how does it work?
Reiki truly feels like magic. It’s a is Japanese healing technique that was developed in 1922 as a method of healing PTSD in war veterans, and was primarily founded in the roots of healing stress & anxiety. It is inspired by similar techniques that have been practiced for thousands of years. Rei means “universal”, and “Ki” means life energy. When your “Ki” is flowing freely, you live in a higher frequency and experience a more abundant life; one that is rich in emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. When our “Ki” is low, we are more vulnerable to illness, and it is as if something is blocked within us which disrupts the flow of “Ki”. Reiki is a special kind of Ki that is guided by spiritual consciousness, and is defined as, “spiritually guided life energy”.
While every individual has their own unique experience in response to Reiki, the practical elements are all very similar. Every practitioner will likely have their own unique way of interacting with clients and authentically preparing them for their Reiki experience, but we all follow the practical elements that have been passed down through the ascendant masters Usui, Takata and more recently, William Lee Rand.
Each session is designed at identifying blocks within the individual’s Ki that prevent them from experiencing a free flowing, abundant Ki. We do this through channeling the spiritually guided life energy in the areas that we are guided to heal.
What a client will experience and feel is generally very unique; some may have profound journeys that feel like they are traveling to another dimension, some may feel deeply relaxed and fall asleep, others may experience strong emotional reactions, and others might have completely different experiences. Because we are all so unique and are going through our own healing journeys, our experiences will all be different to reflect what is most needed for us in that moment.
Reiki practitioners are not using their own energy to heal, they are channeling spiritually guided life which is why it is so powerful. We are incredibly powerful and intuitive healing beings, and when given the right love, and conditions we can create miracles. Reiki is a method of healing that can truly support individuals in experiencing miracles.
Above all, I remind clients to trust that whatever they are experiencing in that moment, as it is exactly what they are meant to experience.
Who and when might someone benefit the most from Reiki?
There are countless reasons and circumstances for which a person can benefit from Reiki. I find that society often teaches us that we need to have something dramatically “wrong” with us before we seek healing or support, but Reiki is an incredibly powerful tool to continue to maintain your energy levels, increase your vibration, decrease stress & anxiety and promote overall well-being. When we are living at a higher vibration and our Ki is healthy and flowing abundantly, we can more powerfully manifest anything we desire into our life.
Additionally, Reiki has incredible positive impacts on our nervous system, endocrine system and body as a whole; not simply on a physical level, but also on an emotional and spiritual level.
Reiki provides a deep and powerful opportunity to connect to yourself, and enter into a state of relaxation that many of us truly experience once in a blue moon, as it’s so difficult to achieve on our own. This deep state of relaxation is profound for cellular regeneration, clearing out old and limiting beliefs, and working powerfully with the subconscious.
How do treatments differ in terms of Reiki being an immediate solution to an acute problem (e.g. pain, injury, emotional trauma) vs. as a more long-term solution (e.g. anxiety, digestion, general immunity)?
While Reiki certainly works to support in the healing of more acute problems such as pain and emotional trauma, it is also an integrated form of therapy in a long-term healing journey.
Reiki is magical in the sense that it activates the body’s own internal healing system through bringing us into the parasympathetic nervous system and therefore, no matter what state of healing you are in or require – your body becomes intuitively guided to it’s own path of healing.
By tapping into our parasympathetic nervous system and deep relaxation, we tell our body to release stress, anxiety, worry and we support blood and nutrients to flow to the areas that often get cut off from our constant state of stress.
Treatment plans will be unique for every individual based on what they are currently experiencing, but every session and plan will be designed to support them in reaching their balanced state of Ki.
Why is Reiki such an important alternative healing therapy?
Reiki is such an incredible form of therapy because it is so gentle yet so powerful. There is nothing that the client needs to specifically “do” in order to receive this powerful form of healing, they simply need to be open and ready to receive. There are countless benefits that Reiki offers that I could write out in each part of our lives, which is why I truly call it magic. Reiki is a powerful awakening that can be experienced whenever you are ready for it.
