A friend pointed out to me that it’s like I have a whole other work life outside of my job at the university and writing my column for the Post. For the past two years I’ve been teaching Reiki at a naturopathic college on weekends because, you know, I’m not busy enough.
Reiki is a treatment of Japanese origin whereby the practitioner acts as a channel for healing energy from the universe. The recipient receives this healing energy through the Reiki practitioners’ hands. The word “Reiki” derives from the individual Japanese words Rei, meaning universal, and Ki, meaning energy. After a typical one hour treatment session, the recipient may feel relaxed or energized, pain-free (or pain is lessened), balanced and content. These days I spend more time teaching than providing treatments. After a typical Reiki I training session, the student can treat themselves or others; Reiki II yields the ability to send energy at a distance. Advanced Reiki teaches additional specialized techniques to enhance healing; at the Master level, the student becomes a Reiki Master and can now teach and attune others to the Reiki energy. I’ve been a Reiki Master for about 7 years.
For anyone who has never heard of Reiki or similar modalities, I’m sure your first reaction is, “What a lot of New Age mumbo jumbo!” Hey, I’ve been there. After all, I graduated from St. FX with a Bachelor of Science. Of course I never looked into a microscope again after graduating, but I still considered myself a Woman of Science (WOS.) As a WOS, I thought anything outside the realms of massage and physiotherapy was a little wacko. However, I happened to go for a treatment from a newly minted Reiki practitioner while living in Maine. I was desperately stressed from school and open to anything. I found that the Reiki treatment was a profound experience; I even shed a few tears of relief while on the table. Afterwards my first thought was, “Well, that was weird. There must be something to this Reiki stuff.” When I moved to Windsor, I found a Reiki Master and completed training with her.
Alternative medicine and other complementary therapies are very popular in Toronto. You can’t go anywhere without seeing ads posted for yoga, meditation classes, Reiki, aura reading and past life regression sessions and so many more. It’s easy to dismiss all of these things as total bunk. But as a true WOS, I have seen the evidence in my own life that supports my beliefs about Reiki. And I also know interest in Reiki isn’t limited to the city; I personally know some talented Reiki Masters in Cape Breton who are spreading the word about this great practice. Many spas and salons now offer Reiki as part of their regular services. So when you book your appointment for your first Reiki treatment, tell ‘em a WOS sent you.
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