Excerpt from "Integrative Healing - Merging with Modern Medicine"

The system of Reiki appears to be generally safe, and no serious side effects have been reported. It has been my personal experience that 99.97% of my clients do not have a healing crisis/detox reaction. As an ethical Reiki practitioner it is important that we inform our client and their caregivers of this likelihood no matter how small. Some people would argue that the client might report a healing crisis because we have planted the thought in their mind that such a thing can happen. Our thoughts create our reality. Yes, this is a possibility however it does not matter. The practitioner needs to make the client and caregivers aware that symptoms of the ailment or condition being treated may get worse before getting better.

A stagnation of energy can be akin to an energy block. This block in the client’s body needs to be removed like when a drain gets clogged. The method that the practitioner uses is less drastic than a plumber’s snake or Drano ©, but the effects are the same.

During the reiki session some clients feel heat coming from the practitioner’s hands, or they could experience cold, a pulse or even temporary pain. Reassure your client that these sensations are normal, and they will pass quickly. After the session the client may still be adjusting to this change in energy flow.

The healing crisis is nature’s way of communicating with the individual that something is out of balance. It is the body itself that has the make-up and the materials that produce a crisis. It requires energy to have a crisis; it takes activity of blood cells and power of tissue structure. It takes a reserve to go through a healing crisis, and the body will not produce it, unless it is able to go through with it.

We cannot put a new foundation in the body without first cleansing the body, sometimes the process is not always comfortable. It then provokes, say a cold, or some other mucous discharge to flush out the obstruction, calling in an army of macrophage and other immune defenders to help dispose of the stuff.

During a healing crisis, a great deal of toxins may be pulled out of body tissues and put back into the circulation in order to be eliminated. During this process, some uncomfortable symptoms may occur, such as:

-general fatigue

-pains and aches, such as headaches, low back pain, joint pain, etc.

-skin discharges, unusual sweating and body odours

-frequent urination, diarrhea or constipation

-fever, or feeling of coldness

-temporary cessation of menstruation, or decrease in sexual desire

-mental irritability, restless dreams, etc.

If a healing crisis occurs it may last from a few hours to a few days; only in extremely rare cases will it last a few weeks. The healthier our general condition, the fewer symptoms there will be. The more the body has to clean up, the stronger and / or the longer will be the discharge reactions. Support your body and this cleansing process by drinking quality water, eating more alkaline foods and staying away from white flour, white sugar and overly processed foods.

During the healing process, the body brings back old diseases in reverse order, especially if these diseases have been suppressed through medication. It is like a movie seen backwards. However, the eliminative processes may bring back old troubles in such a way that it inspires one to live an entirely different life, so that we are finished with that old way of living.

Depending on the nature of the Reiki session a client may be asked to return for follow-up sessions. The general rule of thumb is four to six. Note this is not a hard and fast rule, take into consideration the needs of your client, and the condition as it may take less or more.

Maintaining the protocol with your practitioner is important as each session builds upon the previous one resulting in a clearing of this stagnated energy.

Lorinda Weatherall currently resides in Barrie, Ontario Canada. Her interest in holistic health started as a teenager and has continued to the present day. She has been a Natural Health and Wellness Mentor in the Barrie, Ontario area since 1995 and works as a volunteer at Hospice Simcoe. Visit her website: http://www.ihwreiki.com

Integrative Healing - Merging with Modern Medicine by Lorinda Weatherall, is published by Ayni Books 29^th November 2013. ISBN: 978-1-84694-963-0 (Paperback) £11.99 $19.95.