REIKI 2003
Online Article in Advance for Nurse Practitioner ~ November
2003
http://www.advancefornp.com/common/Editorial/editorial.aspx?CC=25104
Healing Through Reiki ~ By Hima Delal, OTR/L
Reiki, the Japanese healing technique administered by
the laying on of hands, is a safe, natural therapy based on the idea that
an unseen life-force energy flows through us and keeps us alive. If that
energy called reiki in Japanese is low, we are likely to get sick or feel
stressed. If it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.
Reiki (pronounced ray key) balances and strengthens the
body's energy, promoting its ability to heal itself. Reiki practitioners
initiate reiki while doing conventional medical practice or therapy treatment.
It is not a substitute for any medical therapy or treatment, but supplements
and expedites the recovery process.
There are no prerequisites or qualifications to becoming
a reiki practitioner. Once reiki is activated in your hands, you have the
ability to radiate this gentle and nurturing polarized energy. You can
treat yourself and others.
I have found that reiki treatment can initiate movement
in muscles by waking up paralyzed nerves. Reflexes and tone normalize.
Reiki helps heal fractured bones, sprained tendons and strained muscles.
It decreases pain and the side effects of medicines. It brings about many
positive results at a much faster pace.
Patients draw reiki energy from their practitioners' hands
through chakra, energy centers correlated to the body's endocrine system
and its organs. Reiki energy helps to harmonize the body's energy pathways
through the chakra and also strengthens and activates inner healing strength.
Use in Hospitals
Routine medical practice is based on expensive medication,
tests and technology. This fosters an unsolvable cost dilemma. Seeking
to save money while increasing effective treatment, Columbia Presbyterian
Medical Center in New York now offers reiki to its heart surgery patients
in the OR to expedite post-operative recovery and avoid operative complications.
Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York and the Cleveland
Clinic Hospital in Ohio use it to eliminate side effects of cancer medication
and radiation therapy and to help prevent the spread of the cancer.
Tucson Medical Center in Arizona has a team of reiki practitioners
who give therapy to their oncology patients while they are waiting for
chemotherapy treatment. Patients have reported a reduction in pain, increased
appetite, better sleep, increased relaxation and positive attitude toward
life.
Portsmouth Regional Hospital offers reiki treatment for
its ambulatory surgery clinic patients, and the California Pacific Medical
Center offers reiki through its health and healing clinic for chronic and
acute illnesses. The University of Michigan Hospital offers reiki healing
to all types of patients through its nurse practitioners under the title
of nurse healers.
These hospitals claim reiki treatment is efficacious in
reducing symptoms including anxiety, depression, phobias, indigestion,
insomnia, loss of weight and appetite.
My Experiences
At our Vital Energy Wellness Center, Kristine Kelly,
an occupational therapists and reiki master, and I initiate this treatment
for all patients coming for routine therapy.
I have seen some amazing results from it, having combined
it with routine therapy for many years. I once came across a severe contraction
of the hand following CVA in a nursing home I was covering. Nursing staff,
doctors, physical and occupational therapists were all involved with this
patient's treatment when I began working there. They were trying to open
the contracted hand, which had developed a very bad wound on the lateral
aspect of the index finger and the medial aspect of the thumb. The hand
had been in a tight fist secondary to severe plasticity for 4 to 5 months.
The staff asked if I had any suggestions for this patient.
I evaluated the hand and reviewed all past treatments.
The patient had been given several oral medications. The local therapist
had been trying to range the patient by using whirlpool treatments, ultrasound
and a splint roll. Once or twice the wound had a light scab but opened
up again.
I started my reiki treatment along with Myofascial Releaseª
on the left hand. With great surprise we watched the hand open almost 25%
in less than 10 minutes. An occupational therapy assistant was surprised
to see that the patient was relaxed and calm throughout the treatment and
no one needed to hold her good hand.
I cleaned the contracted hand with antiseptic spray and
applied lamb's wool between the thumb and the index finger. I notified
involved staff not to touch the hand even for hygiene. On my next visit
(the third day, because I work alternate days) I started my reiki first
thing and then took the lamb's wool out. To my surprise, the scab was there
on the thumb and index finger. The head nurse came and saw the wound with
disbelief and happiness.
When I returned again I checked range of motion for the
whole upper extremity as well as the hand. I opened the thumb and took
the lamb's wool out. The wound was completely healed.
I also have seen positive results with my sports injury
cases, such as expeditious healing of tendons, muscles and bones. I have
seen a boosting of confidence, harmony in team members, help for acute
and chronic migraines, head injuries, CVA cases with memory and judgment
loss.
Hima Dalal, OTR/L, originally from India, has been practicing
occupational therapy for 23 years. She currently works in Columbia, S.C.
She is also a reiki grand master and yoga teacher. Readers who want to
learn more can reach her at 803-781-3157 or 803-466-1082, and her e-mail
address is vitalenergywellness@yahoo.com.
Copyright ©2003 Merion Publications
2900 Horizon Drive, King of Prussia, PA 19406 ¥ 800-355-5627
Publishers of ADVANCE Newsmagazines
www.advanceweb.com
