Hand positions in Reiki are not essential, neither are the specific points or places we rest our hands. So why do we have hand positions?
A two minute read for Reiki healers and anyone who has received Reiki and might be wondering.
Whenever we are physically hurt we automatically move our hand to the area, and when comforting others it is naturally to use safe gentle touch; a touch on the arm, arm around a shoulder, hugs. We are tactile beings.
Touch provides warmth, comfort, and reassurance; this is true during healing (whether for other, or self-healing).
Touch helps keep us in the moment, like a physical reminder to ‘be here’ when our mind wanders providing a presence of mind Focus.
When we place our hands on specific areas both healer and the person receiving Reiki will more easily direct their attention and intention to what we would like to be healed. Remember, this might not be what, or the way, we think though.
Where we place our hands might be guided by where discomfort is felt or a ‘hot spot’ of energy is; this provides both tactile and Reiki comfort. It can help with the symptoms experienced whether physical, emotional, thoughts, soul level, or whatever aspect of us is in need. The Reiki energy will still go to the place it is needed, which may be elsewhere, to heal the root causes.
Hand positions get us started with the healing process, especially (but not only) as beginners. The hand positions give us a structure or framework. Receiving healing via the hands in expected places of touch can feel very reassuring and safe for the person receiving Reiki. For the practitioner it can feel like a powerful and supportive healing ritual, one with flexibility and flow.
When we experience emotional upset where we ‘should’ place our hands specifically may not be clear. Reiki hand positions give you a starting point; stress, emotions, and trauma can be stored anywhere in the physical body. So rather than perhaps focussing on head and heart, the Reiki touch can be part of the healing release process.
We don’t always have to use touch and hand positions, for example when we hover our hands, carry out an aura scan, Gyoshi Hô, or Distance Healing. These are all vital and valid ways of giving and receiving Reiki. (This is a subject for a future Reiki blog)
Winter Self-Care
Winter is a time for rest and renewal, looking inwards, and back over the year gone. The place where cold comes from, with the potential for a blanket of snow that softens and covers all, linking us together. To counter the cold and wet we nurture ourselves with gatherings of family and friends, and eating rich, long cooked, sustaining foods, and acts of charity, gifting, and kindness to warm hearts.
Little ways of self-care are important as it's also a season where, with the modern world, we can feel overwhelmed, pressured, and fight against our instinct for rest due to the demands of work hours, family routine staying the same year-round.
Winter is associated with the Water Element so treating yourself to indulgent bathing; a budget friendly skin scrub to exfoliate is sugar! A teaspoon for your face, and a cupful for a body scrub. It's also my favourite as it just dissolves away so no drain blockages! Follow this with skin soothing natural body oils for a spa like feeling.
Christmas (2023)
As well as my love of therapies I enjoy crafting, creating, collating, and painting! Many of my creations have a wellbeing theme and complement my therapy work. I have recently opened a new online shop and I’m adding new creations all the time so stock will grow and flow in the New Year
Using a mix of new materials, upcycled, and repurposed, I aim to be as ecologically conscious as possible, including packaging materials and even how the acrylic paint is washed from the brushes. Everything is suitable for vegan, ethical lifestyles which means no animal by-products are used. Feathers used in smudge wands or dreamcatchers for example are collected from the wild after natural moulting.
Holistic Healing Journey: Nurturing Mind, Body, and Spirit; Interview with Cheryl
I was excited to be interviewed by MysticMag recently. You can read the interview below or on the MysticMag website
MysticMag invites you to explore the insights of Cheryl, a seasoned energy healer who recently shared her wisdom on addressing the interconnected dimensions of physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Cheryl’s profound understanding of the intricate link between thought patterns, emotions, and their influence on the body illuminates a path toward enduring wellness.
Read more: Cheryl's Holistic Healing Journey: Nurturing Mind, Body, and Spirit Interview
How to Prepare to Receive Distance Healing
Distance healing is also known as remote healing or absent healing where the recipient is in one location and the healer is in another. The healing is actively sent by intention, while you rest and receive.
To prepare for the healing it’s good to find somewhere that you’ll feel comfortable, warm and safe, undisturbed if possible (for example turn phones to silent for a while), and have a glass of water and blanket handy. You may also like to have a notebook or your journal ready to make notes if you wish.
Facial Reflexology
What I find most interesting about Reflexology is that every part of us is a microcosm of the macro; by this I mean that every small part of us reflects the whole us. A pair of feet are a map of the whole body, each foot a side of the body, each area relating to organs or systems of the body. Our ears represent the body (in a foetal sort of position) with the spine the outer part of the pinna, the ear lobe the head.
Healing the Fear that holds us back
I came across this quote today (it's an old Chinese proverb) and it prompted me to write this blog post because FEAR is something that holds us back from living life fully. It can literally keep us from moving forward.
“Fear knocked at the door, faith opened it, and there was no one there”
It stops the letting go process (this can manifest as anything from being stuck in grief to being constipated, to no clearing out our old possessions).
It keeps us locked into the past, perhaps where we were programmed (intentionally, for control purposes, or unintentionally / inadvertently) that life wasn't safe.
Holistic Healing Therapies in Coalville, Loughborough, Leicestershire, Nanpantan, Woodhouse, Quorn, Shepshed, Hathern, Barrow upon Soar, East Midlands and Online.