September 18, 2010

Last week on September 11, SPARK provided over 140 free Reiki sessions to the Chinatown community in Columbus Park in Manhattan. Sixteen volunteer practitioners worked for five hours, and when the event was supposed to end, twenty people were still waiting and the line was growing. This underscores the growing popularity of Reiki and Chi Gong (energy work) in general, and also in the Chinatown community.

Reiki is a Japanese form of Chi Gong and, although not considered a replacement for medical care, is gaining increased acceptance in the medical community as a complementary therapy. In January 2010, the very popular television host and surgeon, Dr. Mehmet Oz, recommended Reiki on his national television show, and results from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey showed that 1.2 million American adults had used an energy therapy, such as Reiki, during the previous year.

SPARK offers free public Reiki sessions as a way for the Chinatown community to see and experience Reiki first-hand. Most people report feeling deeply relaxed, with some falling asleep during the sessions. Others report tingly sensations or simply feeling refreshed. Although many hospitals do not publicize it, they often provide Reiki as an option to patients who are experiencing side effects from cancer treatment, to those recovering from surgery, and to those with a variety of other conditions.

Dave Gorczynski is president of SPARK, a non-profit organization that has provided free energy work sessions and workshops across New York City since 2002. He writes a regular column about energy work and meditation for the Compact News in New York City's Chinatown. E-mail him at dave@sparkenergy.org.