My Reiki Healing Journey: From Sceptic to Believer
- Ellen Blackman
- Mar 24
- 3 min read
I wanted to share something with you today - my journey with Reiki and how it changed my understanding of energy and healing.
What is Reiki, anyway?
Before I tell you about my experience, let me explain what Reiki actually is in simple terms. Reiki is a Japanese energy healing technique where the practitioner channels universal life energy through their hands to support the body's natural ability to heal itself. The word comes from "rei" (universal) and "ki" (life energy).
It's not religious or tied to any specific belief system - it's simply working with the energy that flows through all living things. Think of it as helping to clear blockages in your body's energy pathways, kind of like removing fallen branches from a stream so the water can flow freely again.
My First Reiki Experience in Goa
I'll never forget my first Reiki experience. I was in Goa, India. Ede and I had been travelling India for a few months on our way back from living in London and when we arrived in Palolem we looked for a local yoga teacher to practice with daily. We discovered Swami Dyanan, a tall older man with long hair, a smooth easy gait and a life time of experience teaching. We started meeting in his little studio that was mostly open to the sounds of insects, beach dogs and the sea beyond. We met every morning for yoga, just the three of us.
Through our conversations I learnt that he was also a Reiki practitioner and to be honest I was pretty sceptical in the beginning…"How can someone's hands hovering over me possibly make any difference?" But I was curious and so decided to give it a try.
Within minutes of the session beginning, I felt an incredible warmth moving through my body, starting from wherever his hands were positioned. It was like having a hot water bottle placed on tense muscles, but the heat was coming from within. In some areas, I felt a distinct tingling sensation, almost like gentle electrical currents.
By the end of the session, I felt lighter and more aware of the energy in my body. The chronic shoulder pain that had bothered me for months had eased significantly. But more than that, I felt a mental clarity and emotional release that I hadn't expected at all.
How Reiki Can Help
Since that first experience, I've learned more about Reiki and the energy body and I've seen how it can help people in so many ways.
Physical relief: It can ease pain, accelerate healing after injuries, and support recovery from illness.
Emotional clearing: We store emotions in our bodies and Reiki helps release these stored emotions, often bringing a sense of lightness and emotional freedom.
Stress reduction: Even a single session can activate your body's relaxation response, lowering stress hormones and helping with anxiety. It's like hitting the reset button on your nervous system.
Better sleep: People have reported better sleep after Reiki sessions often helping with insomnia patterns that have persisted for years.
Enhanced clarity: When energy flows more freely, mental fog often lifts too. Decisions become easier, creativity flows, and you can access your intuition more readily.
What I love most about Reiki is that it meets you exactly where you are. Sometimes the shifts are dramatic and immediate, other times they're subtle and unfold over days or weeks. But almost everyone feels a sense of deep relaxation during the session itself.
Why I'm Sharing This
I'm not sharing this to convince you of anything, but rather because I wish someone had explained Reiki to me in simple terms years before I discovered it.
If you're curious about experiencing Reiki, I'd be happy to talk more about it or recommend some excellent practitioners in our area. And if you're dealing with any physical or emotional challenges right now, know that there are gentle, complementary approaches that can work alongside conventional treatments.
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