Reiki practice can help with a variety of physical and emotional issues, including insomniastress, depression, anxiety and pain.
For example, research suggests that Reiki can reduce anxiety, stress, and pain in people undergoing surgery. In a study published in the March-April 2017 issue of Holistic Nursing Practice Among the patients undergoing knee replacement surgery, the researchers separated 46 patients into three groups: one group received three or four 30-minute Reiki treatments throughout their hospital stay; a second group received the same number of placebo (simulated) Reiki sessions; and a third group received neither Reiki nor false Reiki. Each group also received standard medical care. Researchers found that those who received Reiki experienced significant reductions in pain, blood pressure, respiratory rate and anxiety before and after surgery, as well as greater reductions than those who did not. groups.
Reiki can also improve mood and sleep: A previous study found that students who received six 30-minute Reiki sessions reported greater improvements in stress, mood, and sleep (especially those with higher sleep levels). anxiety and depression) than the control group.
Other research suggests that Reiki and other forms of energy therapy can help cancer patients improve pain control and anxiety levels.
One of the main benefits of Reiki (which leads to many other benefits) is stress reduction, explains Miles. “Our bodies cannot heal when they are constantly stressed.”
Reiki gives your body a break from the stresses of everyday life, potentially helping to relieve tension and return you to a state of relaxation. Once in this state, your body may be better able to heal any damage caused by stress, injury, or illness. “By helping a person experience deep relaxation, Reiki (can) enhance and speed up our own natural healing process, because the body can stop being stressed and focus on healing itself,” says Maute.
For example, previous research shows that a single Reiki session can help your autonomic nervous system, the primitive part of your nervous system that you do not fully and consciously control (it is responsible for things like heart rate and breathing), to move from sympathetic dominant position or “fight-or-flight,” to a parasympathetic-dominant state or “rest and digest,” Miles explains.
Your brain constantly processes information in a region called the hypothalamus, which then sends signals through your autonomic nervous system to the rest of your body to stimulate or relax different functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and digestion. according to Harvard Health.
When you experience stressors like poor sleep, a confrontation with a friend, or even exercise, your sympathetic nervous system responds by releasing hormones like epinephrineamong other things, and increased heart rate and blood pressure (the fight-or-flight response that prepares the body to face potential dangers), according to British. But when your body is constantly under stress (or is activated by previous, more severe stressful experiences, such as trauma and its resulting consequences), PTSD), this response can become excessive, which can lead to problems such as greater risk of heart diseaseby a previous article.
“The dominant parasympathetic state is the state we are meant to live in,” Miles explains. And Reiki helps support the autonomic nervous system towards this state of safety, rest, recovery and ease.
In a previous study, 21 healthcare professionals suffering from burnout (a work-related mental health problem characterized by mental exhaustion, emotional detachment, and reduced sense of personal accomplishment) received a 30-minute Reiki session with an experienced therapist , as well as a 30-minute placebo. treatment with an inexperienced therapist who imitated Reiki treatment. The two treatments were separated by one week; Participants were randomly assigned their treatment order, and were not told which treatment they were receiving in which session.
Researchers measured heart rate variability, or the variation in time between each heartbeat, to assess the nervous system’s response to the therapy.
A low score indicated that there was little variability between heartbeats, signaling that the sympathetic, or fight-or-flight, component of the nervous system might be working overtime and that stress levels were high. Meanwhile, a high score meant greater variability between heartbeats and that the parasympathetic, or rest and digest, component of the nervous system had kicked into high gear.
The researchers found that heart rate variability was greater after the Reiki session, suggesting (using a very quantifiable physiological measure) that Reiki helped the stressed nervous system relax.
Keep in mind that Reiki is a form of complementary therapy, according to the NCCIH, meaning it is intended to work alongside — and not replace — other medical and therapeutic techniques. “Because Reiki balances the system as a whole so much, it can potentially be beneficial in any situation,” says Miles – but it should not be used as a substitute for other treatments prescribed by your healthcare providers, nor be used against the advice of a doctor.
