October 15, 2011

Reiki is a form of hands-on energy work (chi gong) that promotes harmony among body, mind and spirit. One of the questions that often enters a conversation about reiki practitioners and energy work in general is, “What do dedicated practitioners do for themselves?”

Answer: They take the necessary time to let go of stress.

Reiki practitioners spend regular time paying attention to themselves to relax their bodies, and calm their thoughts and emotions. As practitioners who help others relax, the importance and benefits of stress management are extremely clear to them.

When asked, a practitioner will probably reveal a daily morning or evening relaxation routine. Reiki practitioners focus hard on staying balanced. They may not always succeed, but they try. Their routine may be five or ten minutes of sitting quietly and breathing slowly, or upwards of 90 minutes on the sofa letting each muscle relax. Spending regular time on letting things go plays an important role in keeping practitioners calm.

Different from other forms of energy work, with reiki, practitioners are taught to be passive during a treatment. They focus on letting energy flow to where the recipient’s body wants it to go, instead of on forcing things happen within the body. From the practitioner’s perspective, a treatment is very similar to a meditation, usually occurring in silence with time to focus on breath, thoughts, and physical sensations.

Practitioners learn to place their hands over or on the recipient’s body, and then wait for energy to flow, always allowing rather than doing. Although passivity may sound simple, it requires a certain level of patience and inner stillness that is facilitated by the practitioner staying relaxed. A calm outlook becomes even more important when faced with a recipient who is undergoing treatment for a life-threatening illness. It may be a family friend who needs help, or a paying client, but in either case, anxiety on the part of the practitioner will only detract from the session.

Practitioners who have worked hard to maintain a relaxed state before, during, and after treatments often find that their focus permeates other parts of their life. They may discuss how they used to live before reiki versus how they live now, and how they have taken steps over time to maintain a peaceful state throughout as much of the day as possible. They may interact with their family and friends differently, and may adopt a more relaxed, easy-going and pleasant manner throughout their workday.

With a little time and conscious effort, anyone can learn to let go of stress.

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.