Does Reiki Help with Pain?

Pain. That is a one-word-sentence, but for anyone that experiences pain on a regular basis, that one-word-sentence says it all. It is debilitating, and when it is chronic, we simply have to learn to live with it and struggle through our day, eventually learning to put on a mask to make everyone around us comfortable.

There are many things in modern medicine that can cure pain such as surgery and medicines, but when neither of those work, many people are left feeling hopeless. But before giving up, there are a number of alternative therapies that may help reduce and sometimes even fully remove the pain. One of those therapies is Reiki. Although Reiki is often dismissed without even being tried because how could it possibly work when many times the practitioner doesn’t even touch you?

To answer that question, we first need to understand both what causes chronic pain and how, exactly, Reiki works.

WHAT CAUSES CHRONIC PAIN & ILLNESS?

Many times, many of our body’s ailments, whether pain-related or not, begin with stress. According to an article in The National Library of Medicine,  “chronic stress has a significant effect on the immune system that ultimately manifest[s] [as] an illness.” This article lists many chronic illnesses related to stress from asthma to diabetes to tumors and more. The link is attached; however, I feel that by this point, many of us already know that the stress of our jobs and lives can lead to headaches, stomach pains, back pains and so much more. We know this but have a hard time removing the stressors because we feel stuck in the life we set up for ourselves.

So what do we do to prevent the accumulation of stress when we feel there is no way out of our stress-causing life? We better prepare our body to handle the stress!

I’m not going to lie. The best way to deal with stress is to actually remove the stressor. But that takes wanting to make a change and then planning the steps for change and then taking those life-steps. This is, of course very doable; however if you are not there yet or are not sure you ever will be, then at a minimum, it’s time to start working on how you can help your body while in your stressful environment. It’s time now to tell you how Reiki works.

HOW DOES REIKI ACTUALLY WORK?

Reiki is an energy modality similar to acupuncture but without the needles. Reiki works by removing negative energies from our bodies. To explain what that means a little further, take a moment to remember the last time you were really angry or sad. Remember how your body felt during that time. That was negative energy, and while we eventually move forward from those feelings, residual negative energy stays within our energy body. During our whole life we have accumulated these negative emotions. And as we continue through our stressful life either caused by work, pain, or relationships, these negative energies compound and continue to create stress and compounded stress, which leads to pain and/or illness. With Reiki, I as a Reiki Master can go within your energy body and pull out what has accumulated, clearing and rebalancing your energy body to what it is supposed to be.

BUT DOES REIKI REMOVE THE PAIN?

I’m going to start to answer this question with the fact that I personally, even after I began working with Reiki energy early on, never thought it could remove pain. But I have been proven wrong time and again as I watch Reiki’s abilities simply amaze me with each new client I get. I had a client with chronic life-long migraines who had not experienced migraines in “forever” after our third session. I had a client with chronic knee pain who came into my studio on her third treatment day dancing, saying that her years-long knee pain caused by a prior surgery was completely gone. I mention these two clients because they came in for stress reduction, we did not even intend to stop their pain. This is going to lead me to my next statement.

No Reiki practitioner, no matter what they “say”, can guarantee certain results. This is because Reiki simply goes in and removes the stress. From that point it is up to your body to heal however it chooses. Remove the underlying cause for whatever is ailing you and your body can begin to return to it’s natural, balanced state…whatever that means for you. For many, including many more than the two I listed, I have seen pain relief happen.

IN SUMMARY

Yes, Reiki can help with pain, I have seen it too many times to say that it doesn’t. However, what I like to tell my clients (because no one can guarantee what Reiki will do beyond stress reduction) is that at a minimum, Reiki will reduce your stress which can greatly help you deal with your illness or pain a little better. Reiki can only benefit you, give it a try and see how it works for you.