A few years ago when I asked an audience how many people did a meditation practice on a daily basis or knew what Reiki was – very few would raise their hands. I am pleasantly surprised to now observe more hands rising when I ask about meditation, or other ancient healing techniques (like Reiki). More people are seeking alternative healing approaches to reduce stress, to relax, to augment their traditional healthcare team for a particular illness and to explore – at a deeper level – the mind-body connection.
Offering Reiki at Four Directions Wellness
Healthcare system is evolving:
How does the song go? You know the one by Bob Dylan that says “the times they are a changing..” There is a slow but quickening interest in ancient healing modalities. Our current healthcare system is excellent. We are so lucky to have expert physicians, physician assistants, nurses, therapists, nurse’s aides and others supporting our healthcare system. As our healthcare system continually evolves, there is an interest to combine the best of all healing approaches. Combining the best of western medicine with eastern medicine. Combining the best of physical health with mental health. Combining the best of ancient healing modalities, including spiritual components, with our current healthcare structure. These changes will mean a new healthcare paradigm. The healthcare system is transitioning to a “whole person” evaluation as more practitioners recognize that our thoughts, emotions, stressors and physical demands are interconnected, requiring us to work with the whole of the individual.
What are some of the reasons that we are exploring alternative approaches?
I will mention that, in part, this is happening because of concerns for opioid addiction and other prescription drugs. People are seeking alternative approaches to drugs to reduce pain and lessen physical symptoms.
There are other reasons too. In our hectic lives, we are finding that people have higher levels of anxiety, depression and other symptoms impacting their ability to be content and happy. The ancient healing modalities – for the most part – help slow us down. Help us to breathe more deeply, to relax, to find peace and calmness and to allow our bodies to innately heal when connecting to that more centering approach.
There are many other reasons as well including care coordination, higher healthcare costs, lower U.S. life expectancy, patient’s personal interest for alternatives and many more. Yet the trend towards adoption of these techniques is increasing each year.
What changes when the healthcare system adopts ancient healing modalities?
One of the best parts of working with the ancient healing modalities is the opportunity to get back to individualized care. The patient or client work in a partnership with all of their practitioners. The practitioner is no longer dictating the next steps but rather it is a joint process with the patient actively involved in his or her healing too. After all, who knows a body better than the actual person inhabiting it?
This process requires consideration of all aspects including body-mind-emotions and spirit. The “whole person” approach is excellent for preventative care as issues get addressed early on such as visible stress impacting emotions and the physical body. The whole person is also excellent for chronic conditions, developing a more extensive plan to support the person and his/her symptoms. The person, our excellent traditional healthcare system and integrative or holistic healthcare is the future!
What type of healing modalities is available?
There are many different types of healing modalities available. It’s fascinating to research various cultures to see what their ancient healing remedy might have been. Once you begin to review various cultures, it becomes apparent that most have similar objectives and goals. (And if you are also interested in learning more, please take a moment to review the Four Directions Wellness weekly blogs that delve into the old healing modalities.)
Here are some popular examples:
China: Acupuncture, Qigong and Tai Chi
Japan: Reiki
Roman/Greek: Meditation and Guided Imagery
India: Chakras and Yoga
Native American: Shamanism
There are so many more. If you have a strong association with your particular lineage or another culture, I would encourage you to investigate to find the culture’s healing perspectives.
Each individual has an opportunity to try one or better yet, work with the practitioner to explore various approaches.
You might find that you like doing a Yoga routine but later want to incorporate Reiki into your daily routine. You can use just one technique or have fun exploring several of them at one time.
I personally have found that I could spend decades learning, training and using each technique. There is so much to explore and to incorporate into our lives for better health and awareness.
What should you consider when choosing a practitioner?
Healthcare providers are currently considering approaches for inclusion into our medical care for health and wholeness. As they do, they are establishing credentials required for the practitioners – not accepting only weekend certifications. It is important to carefully evaluate your practitioner.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Your Gut Feeling: Check in with your gut. If the practitioner does not seem sincere, honest or able to listen to you, its time to find another practitioner. Trust your gut. If you sense any significant emotional issues or concerns with your practitioner, time to move on. If you feel unsafe or the practitioner is inappropriate, it is absolutely time to move on.
- Certifications/Training: Evaluate them. If they only have one weekend training and that’s it, find another practitioner. This is important because the success of the ancient healing modality is contingent on the practitioner doing his or her personal work. (They need to practice walking the walk before talking the talk.) You want to know that they are committed to both their own inner work and that of yours. More importantly, that they have really spent time working on fully encompassing the healing modality.
- Integrated with Others: Helpful but not necessarily required. If the practitioner is tied to a recognized group such as a healthcare system or well-known mental health group, that is very good. This is a trend that is just beginning to happen so your practitioner may still be excellent but not integrated with anyone.
- How do you feel? The practitioner’s healing technique should feel better not worse when they are working on you. There are some exceptions to this rule but in general, if it does not then you may want to see someone else. (One caveat: If your session was intense, it may bring up uncomfortable emotions. An emotional release may be just what is needed at that moment. Be sure to talk to your practitioner.)
- Finally – Your Commitment: With any ancient healing technique, you are an active partner with the practitioner. Be ready to explore, delve deeper, ask questions and be prepared to do homework to support yourself! Awareness and connecting with your personal intuition is all part of the wonderful process.