How Does Reiki Promote Wellbeing?
Reiki (ray-key) is Japanese for ‘universal life energy’, a term used to describe a natural system to help bring about an improved sense of well-being and a positive feeling of spiritual renewal.
One of the many benefits of Reiki is that it promotes well-being, but how does Reiki do this? Well-being is defined as:
the state of feeling happy and healthy
how you feel about yourself and your life
judging life positively and feeling good
a sense of health and vitality that arises from thoughts, emotions, actions and experiences
At the centre of well-being is how we experience the world around us and is affected by our physical health, our surroundings, the people in our lives and the actions we take that change our environment. Well-being can be categorised into different areas which affect us all and are all interrelated - each type will affect the others.
Emotional well-being - affects how we are feeling and whether we can easily express our emotions. Can you manage your emotions and generate positive emotions?
Social well-being - can we share, develop and sustain meaningful relationships with others? Positive social well-being provides us with authenticity, a sense of connectedness, and a feeling of being valued and belonging.
Physical well-being - relates to our physical health and includes sleep, nutrition and exercise.
Intellectual well-being - this is the power of knowledge and skills. This type of well-being can be improved by being creative and becoming a student of life and a life-long learner and can help us discover our particular skills and talents and share these with others.
Spiritual well-being - gives us a sense of purpose and meaning in life concerning a higher power. Take care of our soul by spending time meditating or in nature, thinking about the meaning of your life, or following your religion’s teaching.
So how does Reiki affect our well-being?
Reiki (ray-key) is Japanese for ‘universal life energy’, a term used to describe a natural system to help bring about an improved sense of well-being and a positive feeling of spiritual renewal. It is a tradition that is open to any belief system and benefits may include deep relaxation and the promotion of a calm peaceful sense of wellbeing. Reiki practitioners are able to treat themselves and others, not only from a personal and emotional perspective, but also as an aid to individual development and spiritual growth.
Those who have experienced a Reiki treatment often report that their quality of sleep improves, emotional stress and tension is reduced, they experience greater positive energy and symptoms of anxiety, depression and mood depression lessen. Reiki energy is also found to boost the body’s immune system which fights illnesses.
A Reiki treatment involves gentle touch in a calm setting which on its own is relaxing, as can spending time with someone who is totally focused on you. This can also affect your general well-being. Reiki can be used alongside other conventional or complementary treatment and often helps to provide emotional support during recovery of more serious illness and is becoming more acceptable as a treatment in hospitals, cancer centres and hospices.
Reiki can also be beneficial at challenging times in our lives
We can all feel overwhelmed or disconnected, either emotionally and spiritually and Reiki treatments can bring a sense of centredness, grounding and the ability to make decisions and cope with life's difficulties. It can also calm the mind (a bit like practising mindfulness or meditation) and sort through and sift the information it needs to process.
Reiki encourages and supports positive personal choices, such as improving diet, taking more exercise, spending time resting or on leisure activities, and may reduce the need for alcohol and tobacco. Encouraging greater inner harmony and balance, regular Reiki treatments promote a calmer response to life's challenges.
All of these benefits will help to improve our well-being but, ultimately, we all need to take responsibility for our own well-being. Regular Reiki treatments will certainly bring balance and healing, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and we need to think about how we can improve and sustain all areas of our well-being.
How are your pillars of well-being being met and what can you do to maintain, or improve your own well-being? How does this impact your overall health and those around you?
What changes can you/will you make?
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