Reiki

Reiki has been presented rather like an oriental version of healing, though in its original Japanese form the emphasis was very much on self-healing and personal development. Certainly the practice of Reiki is based on working with, and channelling energy, or a universal energy. This energy is referred to as ‘chi’, which you may have heard of. When you visit an acupuncturist they use needles to encourage energy to flow through a series of meridians or energy channels that run the length of your body; that energy is called ‘chi’.

When we move from China to India, the same energy is referred to as ‘prana’, and breathing exercises and yoga techniques have been developed to again bring your energy system into balance. In India they do not think in terms of meridians, but of chakras: energy centres running the length of your body from the crown of your head to the base of your spine, seven main ones and further subsidiary ones in other locations.

The intention with all these energy techniques is that if you can harmonise your energy system, you are putting your body in the best possible position to heal itself on all levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.