“I have heard about Reiki for years and decided to give it a try”, said L.
In 2012 I became a Certified Reiki Therapist from an attunement given by my aunt, Carmen, to aid in the healing of others. For two years I had been sharing stories about unique experiences I had been having with people and was trying to understand what it all meant. Carmen finally told me, “I think you are ready to walk the path I have always known you were meant to walk.” I knew she was a Reiki Master and had been studying what it was about. I was ready to learn and receive my Reiki training and scheduled my first attunement.
What is an attunement? The initiation or energetic process that opens up the energy field to be a channel for the Reiki healing energy.
I had received 5 attunements from Carmen achieving the first and second degrees that began my energy healing practice.
In 2015, I brought my Reiki therapy sessions into our clinic full-time. Reiki is the foundation for my personalized healing sessions. In 2016, during a trip to Costa Rica to visit friends and mentors, I received my final attunement to become a Reiki Master.
What is Reiki?
* Pronounced “ray-key”
* A spiritual, noninvasive, complementary, therapy or method of natural healing practice that is both a form of bodywork and energy medicine designed to help return us to balanced functioning on every level – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, even social – regardless of our age, or state of health.
* A practice used throughout the world in hospitals, private practice, self-care and in conjunction with many other therapies
* A practice that transmits spiritual guided healing energy through the palms of a practitioner to a recipient.
* A practice that can aid in the strengthening of a patient’s sense of well-being that is deeper than the disease which can help turn a life challenge into a healing passage.
* More than just a word. Reiki is made up of 2 pictograms or symbols. REI: Universal/Spiritual/Whole of creation and KI: Life Energy.
* The simplest way to explain Reiki is that it is an all-knowing form of energy and flows where it is needed.
What Reiki is not?
* The same as Massage Therapy. Reiki is quite different and safe due to the non-manipulation of muscles and/or joints
* Affiliated with any one religion or religious practice.
* Based on belief, faith, or suggestion
What is Reiki’s origin?
Reiki practice began with the teachings of Mikao Usui in Japan in the early 1920s. One of his close students, Chujiro Hayashi, a retired naval officer, and surgeon, simplified the healing practices and opened the first commercial healing center in 1933. Hayashi then helped his student, Mrs. Hawayo Takata, a Japanese-American who learned about Reiki from Usui’s students in Japan after World War II, bring Reiki to the US in 1938, then began Reiki training that is now practiced throughout the world.
Are there multiple types?
Yes, there are many different types of Reiki practices, all of which are an adaptation of the original Usui Reiki method. The types we know today are Usui, Jikiden, Karuna, Rainbow, Kundalini, Angelic, Celtic and many more. Different methods and symbols have been developed and used for each type, but the principle behind them remains the same. In our clinic we use a combination of them all to assist in reaching the desired goal.
What can Reiki help with?
Reiki is balancing, so it can theoretically help anyone in any situation. Since we all have our own ways of being unbalanced, the benefits of Reiki treatment are different for people at different times. We are usually unbalanced in the direction of stress, people commonly experience Reiki as stress-reducing, and there is increasing scientific evidence of this. Commonly reported benefits are improvements in sleep, digestion, mental clarity and overall well-being
Additional benefits of Reiki?
- Adapts to the recipients needs
- Helps meditative states
- Promotes personal awareness
- Enhances spiritual connection
- Fosters natural self-healing
- Balances energies of the body
- Relieves pain and discomfort
Are there any dangers?
Reiki has no known medical contraindication and can be safely combined with any medical or complementary therapy or professional. Reiki has been administered during birth, death and in just about every intervening situation. Reiki can help care for the person while physicians focus their attention on the disease. A good practitioner looks at all aspects of a person and takes into account the recipient’s experiences and the ways they are manifesting mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Has Reiki been studied?
A few of the small studies that have been done have shown promising results for using Reiki to reduce stress, anxiety and pain. Some of the data includes objective measures, (decreased stress hormones, improved immune indicators, decreased heart rate and improved blood pressure) as well as subjective improvements in anxiety and pain. One study showed benefits to people being treated for depression, and the improvements held when the participants were tested a year later. The National Institutes of Health currently has five research projects studying Reiki’s effect on Stress, Fibromyalgia, AIDS, Prostate Cancer, Diabetic Neuropathy and coronary risk factors.
How does a session proceed?
The recipient lies fully clothed on a treatment table, covered by a blanket if desired. With the recipient’s permission, the practitioner places hands lightly on the head, front and back of the torso, legs, and feet. Hand placements can vary among different practitioners. Treatment usually lasts 45 to 90 minutes in private practice with 15 to 20 minutes in a hospital setting.
How to choose a practitioner and questions to ask?
There are many practitioners to choose from. It is important to find the right one for you by trusting and listening to your instincts. I encourage consulting, getting to know them and their energy. Does it vibe with you? Do you feel comfortable with them? Here are some questions to ask to find “your person”.
How long have they been practicing Reiki and where?
Are they able to briefly describe the type of training they have had and their belief systems?
What are some of the challenges they have helped clients overcome?
What should one expect from a Reiki Session?
What would they expect of you as a client?
Do they have good reviews or testimonials you can read?
I am honored to be a Reiki therapist, happy to answer questions like these, and hope what I wrote helps someone out there in need.
Thank you!
Theresa Martinez-Shapiro
Flexible Being
Website: www.flexiblebeing.com
Socials:
Facebook: @flexiblebeingonline
Instagram: @theresamartinezshapiro
Instagram: @flexiblebeing
Theresa Martinez-Shapiro
Hello! I am Theresa Martinez-Shapiro; Wife to Robert. Founder of Flexible Being. A Master Reiki Therapist, Certified Oracle Guide, Spiritual Mentor/Guide, Intuitive Empath, Coach, and Educator. I am a fur mom to 3 cats and 1 dog – Sonny, Patches, Ryelee, and Winnie. We currently live and practice in Stockton, California. We operate three businesses – Shapiro Holistic Health and Chiropractic, Fusion Health APC, and Synergy Health MSO, where we seek to improve and change the lives of our patients and those we have the privilege of crossing paths with. My healing and mentoring journey began around 5 years old when I discovered that I was put on this planet to help others. I knew I was different, unique, and gifted. I did not see the world the same way everyone else did, and recognized I was meant to do so much more. I began to research, spending a lot of time reading & asking a lot of questions to anyone that wanted to share stories about their life experiences. I am a dreamer and had a unique relationship with the dream world. My very real, vivid & lucid dreams began turning into out-of-body experiences and unexplained occurrences. I began doing my own dream interpretations to look for patterns & a new way of deciphering life. Family members were part of many different religions, so I was educated in Catholicism, Buddhism, Metaphysics, and Native American culture & beliefs. Along the way, I took up multiple mentors that cultivated my growth and expansion of my gifts, allowing me to focus on my potential and purpose. As an adult, coworkers were unloading their life stories, internal secrets, and things that had not been shared or even spoken out loud. I began to share those experiences with my aunt & Reiki Master/Teacher, Carmen. In 2012, Carmen told me, “I think you are ready to walk the path I always knew you were meant to walk”. That saying began my obsessive journey into Reiki, Spirituality, Psychology, Intuition and Psychic gifts, Meditation and Mindfulness, Past Lives, Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Mysteries of the Universe, Moon and Sun cycles, Astrology, Numerology, Oracle Cards, Shamanism, & so much more. My journey has helped me to assist patients, clients, families, and friends discover who they have been, who they are, and who they want to become. I am expanding my reach and educating others by authoring Musings of a Flexible Being, and I look forward to sharing my journey with you. Thank you! Theresa Martinez-Shapiro Flexible Being Website: www.flexiblebeing.com Socials: Facebook: @flexiblebeingonline Instagram:@theresamartinezshapiro Instagram: @flexiblebeing
