1. Sleep Kicks In
Search the internet for "sleep" and the results will turn up thousands of articles about how to sleep better. If we are a culture of people obsessed with a health issue, it's sleep. Why is this? Perhaps because we realize how tired we are, yet can't seem to rest.
Once someone ends up in a hospital bed they're in a state of trauma and total exhaustion. Then there are all these smells, and noises from machines, from the ward, from stranger room-mates who could simply be breathing too loudly for our taste. Half the time I give Reiki, the recipient's body will tend to fall asleep for at least a few minutes at a time. It's a good thing.
During Reiki, the body switches from operating in waking life, managing physical issues while operating in the sympathetic nervous system, to the parasympathetic nervous system, when it rests, digests and conserves energy. When we fall asleep, the body releases most of its growth hormone, which doesn't just make you taller; it stimulates your immune system.
2. Heart Rate Goes Down
Heart rate variability (the range at which the heart beats) is an indicator of health. The larger this range the better off we are. Why? Because an increased heart rate indicates the heart's ability to react quickly and appropriately in the face of imminent danger, and a lower heart rate indicates its ability to return to a restful, repairing and more healing state once out of danger. All too often, our heart rate increases through management of daily stresses, and because we don't "shut off", it stays up there.
Over a year ago, a family friend suffered a heart attack. After her emergency catheterization she was in the Cardiac ICU, hooked up to heart monitors, unable to sleep or relax in the ward. While I gave her Reiki, her son was sitting in the corner of the room. Not only did he thank me afterward for helping her finally fall asleep during the session, but he remarked that he was watching the monitors, which showed her heart rate had decreased ten points while Reiki was in progress. This ability to recover from an unnaturally high heart rate means our systems can more readily heal from truama, shock, and stress.
3. Side Effects - and Tumours - can Vanish
For those undergoing cancer treatments, the physical side effects of therapies like chemotherapy can be debilitating. Added to this, there are many emotions under the surface that have played a part in the illness and that will surface during the illness, diagnosis and treatment. Fear, anxiety, anger and dread can prevent the body's immune system from detecting and eliminate toxins.
I've worked with many people who have and have had cancers. By receiving Reiki before going for chemo, they sense real changes in the mind and body. Even getting Reiki after chemo can obliterate its side effects. It can also enhance mood. Fear and anxiety can subside, giving way to a more supported feeling and healing. And yes, I've seen cases where tumours were proliferating and the person was told they had a few months to live, and yet the tumours all disappeared after receiving regular Reiki sessions. Much to their doctor's surprise, the person went on to live a healthy, cancer-free life for years.
The Perfect Complement
In our 2-Day Level One Reiki Course, we talk about how Reiki is the perfect self-healing tool as well as the best complementary therapy to conventional medicine. It's highly portable (all you need is your own hands). It's always available when you need it. Most importantly, it is completely safe as it works from the highest of good.
If you've ever been hospitalized or have visited someone who's been in hospital, you know that it can be a boring and depressing experience. What better opportunity to practice Reiki? It may feel weird and awkward, and yes a hospital bed is very clunky to get around, but you can get creative, and:
- Push the hospital bed away from the back wall, so you can stand behind it.
- Use the mechanism to get the bed at the level you need.
- Draw the privacy curtains if your loved one is sharing a room.
- Put on relaxing "Reiki friendly" music to offset the PA system and other sounds.
- Send distance Reiki even from a few feet away!
Interestingly, nurses and doctors love to see their patients receiving care from Reiki healers. While doctors may dismiss medical intuitives, preferring evidence-based diagnostics and conventional therapies, there are signs that the medical community is slowly coming around.
In fact many of the world's top hospitals and health care institutions now offer Reiki as a service for patients and clients. At the time of writing this, some of these currently include Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Harvard University in Boston, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in western Australia, University College London Hospitals NHS in London. Canadian hospitals offering Reiki as a complementary therapy include: Wellspring Westkirk House at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, Mt. Sinai Hospital’s Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre in Toronto, Princess Margaret Hospital / University Health Network in Toronto, Bruce House AIDS hospice in Ottawa, Sandy Hill Community Health Centre in Ottawa, Tamara's House in Saskatoon and Wellspring with locations across Canada.
Beyond the Ward
So in the end, my first intuition (which was that one of my mom's medications was making her sick) was spot-on. Following several tests, she was taken out of isolation and then released with new medications that are vital and better tolerated by her system and her other medications.And even though she's out of the hospital, she's still getting lots of Reiki.
Want to take a Siam Reiki Course? Find out when the next one is offered here.
