Do you have a pressing issue in your body, mind, or emotions that you’re sure is brought about by stress?
One of the clients I will never forget is a young professional who walked into my studio for an eating problem she’s been suffering from for months. “I feel like I’ve lost my resolve to just eat healthy food.”
As a big advocate for nutrition, she was surprised by her seemingly uncontrollable craving for unhealthy treats. After asking the preliminary questions, I was able to tell that her new position in her corporate job was causing a lot of anxiety for her. When pressure mounts up, she resorts to not-so-great food choices. Her gut was suffering, and she was having a hard time reverting to her healthy habits. The eating issues were fueled by stress.
Stress As An Energy
The effects of stress are often evident not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally.
Why? Because stress is an energy and it flows through us. You can feel it in your frozen shoulders; the stiff muscles on your back; in how you slouch; or how you are having a hard time sleeping because your brain seems to resist shutting down to rest.
When stress builds up in our system, it creates a blockage in our energy flow that prevents us from feeling optimism, gratitude, and any positive vibe. Over time, we can easily feel how stress literally robs us of our energy to do the things that bring meaning into our lives. The job we once are excited about now becomes the most dreaded.
As a Reiki Master Teacher, I have seen firsthand how stress is relentless in taking away the peace and the positive energy in an individual. I always recommend healing energy with energy through Reiki to restore the uplifting, good energy.
Reiki for Stress Relief and Management: Healing Energy with Energy
In a Stockton University study on how college students responded to Reiki, 17 out of 20 students were able to see a shift in how they feel and manage stress. Students felt the “calming” effects of Reiki.
I love how they emphasized the calm that comes with Reiki. After all, when you’re bombarded with too much pressure and stress, all you really want is to be calm, right?
Reiki Eliminates Blockages to our Energy Flow
The palm of our hands holds a lot of power, and for Reiki healers, it is where healing flows. The art of Reiki makes Reiki practitioners a conduit for the universal healing energy granted by the universe. It’s like receiving a supply of positive energy to replace the old, stuck, draining energy flow caused by stress. When positive energy flows within us, the blockages compounded by stress, trauma, exhaustion, and fear are slowly removed. Eliminating blockages in our energy flow makes it easy for us to feel positivity.
Reiki Helps the Body Heal Itself
Reiki also improves our body’s capacity to bring healing to the system. When our body is in a relaxed state, it has the capacity to repair itself. Remember how our fever and malaise go away after a good night’s rest? Or how do our muscles feel less sore after holding off working out for a while?
The body is incredible at recuperating. However, just like any system, it can’t perform to its optimum when it is overwhelmed.
Reiki helps us relax which in turn de-stresses our muscles, our brain, our nervous system, and our emotional processes. When we achieve a state of relaxation, the body heals again.
Reiki Brings Back the Balance to our System
Stress invites negative energy to flow freely into our system, and this is why we are so affected in all aspects. We feel tired, we lose our motivation, we feel like we’re in a funk, we’re restless, and we don’t even feel rejuvenated even after sleeping for 10 hours. These effects happen when there’s an imbalance in our energy. Transferring positive energy into our body through a Reiki session can bring back a sense of balance into us. We still need to do what we need to do, but we’re no longer carrying a dreadful feeling that stops us from also enjoying and living life.
Reiki Gives You an Opportunity to Relax
If our body is constantly in fight or flight mode, it can take a toll on our system. When our senses are always on high alert, it’s hard to truly rest and relax. Reiki allows you to escape the busy, loud world for a while so you can rejuvenate and recuperate.
Reiki Guide: How Many Reiki Sessions Can Support Your Stress Levels?
The amount of Reiki sessions you will be needing depends on the kind of issue you are dealing with. Some stressful factors aren’t as big as the others, and Reiki meetings are designed based on the number of healing sessions you will need to handle the situation on a more positive note, and not let stress get the best of you. Dartmouth University shared some interesting data about The Life Change Index Scale and how a variety of common situations impact stress levels. I like to ask my clients, on a level of 1 through 10, 10 being the highest, what do you think your average stress levels are these days and where do you want to be?
Purely as a general guide for people new to Reiki here are the number of suggested Reiki sessions in tandem with your average stress levels. Of course, this will vary on a case-by-case scenario too so it’s best to try out a Reiki Session or Distant Reiki Session first and see what your Reiki practitioner recommends.
Stress Ratio 1-3 / Suggested Number of Reiki Sessions: 1 to 4 Times A Year
Types of Stress Factors:
Pursuing a new relationship
Starting a degree
Change in job roles, company, or job promotions
Strain with others, friends, family members, or colleagues
Change in routine
Change in residence
Feeling stuck or an overall blockage of energy flow in your body
Sleeping Issues
Minor Body Discomforts or Pain
For stress levels ranging from 1 to 3, it is recommended that you get one to four Reiki sessions spread over the entire year at a minimum. You can do it every quarter as a sort of seasonal cleaning or of course as often as you like it supports you.
Stress Ratio 4-6: / Suggested Number of Reiki Sessions: 4 to 6 Times Or More A Year
Types of Stress Factors:
Marital problems
Concerns over your child’s behavior
Supporting Pregnancy, pre-natal and postpartum treatments
Accidents or Injuries
Sudden health changes or health concerns
Mortgages or debts
Work-related issues such as constant heavy workloads, low morale at work, demeaning bosses or colleagues, losing a job
If you belong in this bracket, I’d recommend a minimum of four to six sessions a year, possibly more depending on your circumstance, availability, and finances. It would be ideal for sessions to be done closer together at first, every two weeks or so then spread out on your body’s response and when your average stress levels have become more manageable.
Stress Ratio 7-10 / Suggested Number of Reiki Sessions: Every 1-3 Weeks Initially Then Spread Sessions Further Apart
Types of Stress Factors:
Divorce
Severe injury and accidents
Chronic health issues, diseases, or terminal Illness
Personal lawsuit cases or the like at work
Financial Issues or bankruptcy
For those dealing with heavy factors, I would recommend starting with a course of five Reiki sessions within two or three months depending on availability and finances, and taking it from there. Ideally, start with one session a week, and the rest spread out depending on your body’s response, need, urgency, and availability.
Your Initial Reiki Experiences
Generally, I recommend a course of three to five Reiki sessions to start and you can see its benefits from there and if you’d like to continue onwards. Stress will generally always be part of our lives, but the way we deal with it and see the stress can change for the better so that we can manage it better. Reiki is an incredibly helpful tool to help us manage the stress levels within us for long-term holistic health benefits.
What’s great about Reiki for stress relief and stress management is that it complements other healing practices. Reiki does not overpower medicine or therapy; instead, it elevates these practices even more.
How You Can Enjoy Reiki Sessions – At Home, A Healing Center, Or Anywhere Else Of Your Choosing
If you’re looking for an opportunity to relax, escape the busy crowd and noise, and find healing from within, a Reiki session is for you.
Reiki sessions can be done in-person or remotely via Distant Reiki sessions. You can learn more about how to prepare for Reiki sessions here and how Distant Reiki sessions work. Ready for some Reiki? You can schedule your Reiki session here.
