I’ve been teaching for years in my Reiki classes that we’re a touch-deprived society. Immediately reinforcing that Reiki self-treatments, also when others receive Reiki are the exact antidote to this and much more. The power of touch is real. Since everyone is in quarantine now, Reiki takes on new meaning! Not only for the touch deficit, but Reiki is really built for a pandemic. Why? Because Reiki can:
- Spiritually cleanse your space / rooms / beds
- Reiki charge your food and water
- Boost yours and your family’s immunity
The importance of touch in infant development and for premature babies, and really all babies is well- documented scientifically. I always mention premature babies and hospital procedures to ensure they receive the human touch needed in my Reiki trainings. The Los Angeles Times has an article from 4/15/20 with this gem:
Touch may not get the same media love as the other senses, but science affirms its vital importance. And its absence in our lives right now may be causing unintended harm. That’s because touching increases the natural killer cells that help us fight off illnesses, said Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. Touch also decreases cortisol, a hormone that can harm the immune system; it also helps ward off depression.
Not touching and avoiding touch is just unnatural. No matter what age, all humans need and want to be touched. We’re adapting to new ways of living in many areas all at once. There’s the myriad of concerns over health, family, income which creates stress in an already unfamiliar situation. Stress lowers immunity. A weakened immune system is a target for the coronavirus.
The Daily Beast reports this:
Professor McGlone told The Daily Beast that research he had contributed to had shown there were “two separate senses of touch receptors in the skin—a fast one and a slow one. It’s the slow one that’s responsible for all the emotional benefits—or lack off if not stimulated.”
It is, said McGlone, “gentle touch that is so vital to our mental health and wellbeing. All social mammals, including humans, have a population of gentle touch sensitive nerves in the skin called c-tactile afferents (CT) that respond optimally to a caress. These are not the same touch nerves that tell you when someone has touched you—those nerves are myelinated which means they send signals to the brain in tens of milliseconds. The CTs are unmyelinated, and for them when stimulated it takes a couple of seconds to get to the brain and they project to emotion processing regions where ‘feelings’ are represented.”
Alright, let’s talk about Reiki because it delivers on all these fronts and more. First if you’re partnered or with other family / close ones or pets, then you’re less touch-deprived. During quarantine Reiki touch is still very profound, and life-on-hold mode can reduce intimacy because of the stressors involved. If you’re single or sheltering in place alone, then Reiki self-treatments are heaven-sent!
Staying home with others gives Reiki practitioners an amazing opportunity to Reiki others and of course themselves (together with Reiki Meditation and a host of practices Authentic Japanese Reiki offers for trained practitioners).
If you’re home solo, then as a Reiki practitioner you have an even more amazing opportunity to dig deep into all that Usui’s Japanese Reiki includes.
I’m going to reiterate some of the truths I share when I teach self-treatments in Shoden, which is Reiki Level I.
The main point is that beyond the substantial wellness and healing benefits of Reiki treatments, which are whole-person, meaning physical, mental and spiritual layers of being are simultaneously addressed, REIKI TOUCH is a profound way to establish, maintain and grow a loving relationship with yourself.
Reiki self-treatments bring the message of self-love home. It’s a time where there are no conditions. Whatever you feel bad, angry, sad, pained, hurt, or broken up about, whatever ill-health is in your body or mind, it’s all held unconditionally in a space of acceptance and noting, ‘here we are, this is what’s going on.’
No one’s making demands, imposing anything, there’s no one way to be, but to simply be. Breathe and be. Let Reiki flow and be.
Give yourself Reiki regularly during quarantine.
If you want deep insights as to the power of Reiki touch read, study, save, print this long-read:
I didn’t mention it at the opening, but another way Reiki is ideal for a social distancing pandemic is Remote Reiki Healing. Also want to state clearly here that go ahead and use Reiki in all the ways you’ve been trained, BUT also sanitize your home, clothes, food, etc., during quarantine according to CDC and local authority guidelines, and follow other similar guidelines as you go about living in your community.
Reiki Remote Healing: This is a special power of Reiki. It allows for Reiki to be received by you in the comfort of your home, while the Reiki practitioner applies nonlocal or remote Reiki to your specific needs. Practitioner and recipient can be located anywhere in the world from each other, even live in the same town. You don’t have to be physically in the Reiki practitioner’s presence to heal, grow, be happy, and find wellness with the help of Reiki. Nonlocal Reiki is just as effective as in-person sessions.
If you’re Okuden or Level II Reiki-trained, then you’ll be able to practice Nonlocal Reiki which is a big part of the Reiki II class.
Reiki is an artful spiritual teaching about healing, meditation, intuition, wellness, emotional balance, mental strength and clarity, and personal spirituality. It facilitates in all these areas and as mentioned at the beginning, in a few more.
Cleansing space with Reiki is so easy it’s part of Level I. What makes it special is that Reiki builds in a home or room as it’s applied regularly to cleanse and charge. The powerful and beautiful vibrations linger, even after you leave.
Our food and water aren’t in good shape. Do what you can to source the best food and clean, filtered water you can, and then still Reiki it! Reiki makes this possible because it’s also a practical teaching.
Lastly for now, boosting immunity. Well, there’s a whole post about that. It’s brief.
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Authentic Japanese Reiki Master Teacher / Healer at my Oasis Reiki Dojo – Available globally. Meditation, Healing, and Spirituality training and services. Meditation Guide. Intuitive Coach. Spirituality Writer. Photographer. Poet. Artist. Dad. Plant-based.
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