Fit to be tried: Reiki treatment
Monday July 26 2010
I'M lying face down and hoping for the best as an attractive woman named Tammi lays two warm hands on my buttocks in an attempt to restore my "energy bubble".
This bubble needs all the help it can get as it's sadly depleted. Like most of us, I find it's tough getting through the economic downturn.
Add to this a break-up after 15 years when my partner left and hooked up with another woman and you get the picture -- I can use any extra energy that's going.
Exercising, eating well and sleeping are vital to help you cope during times of stress but as is often the case, I've let things slide.
So trying out a reiki treatment seems a good option, although this slightly abstract eastern therapy is something that I have avoided in the past in favour of more stress-busting remedies such as a deep-tissue massage or just a good long run.
But Tammi O'Flynn, a therapist at the newly revamped Dublin Holistic Centre, swears reiki (pronounced ray-key) treatment helps with many ailments including high blood pressure, insomnia, spiritual lows and lack of energy.
"It works on many levels, and as well as humans it's really good for animals such as dogs or horses," says Ms O'Flynn (35), who still has a slight South African twang from her native country.
"I like to get out of the way and let reiki work. It helps restore your energy bubble, and the less I interfere the better."
Reiki was developed by a Japanese Buddhist monk in 1922 and uses a technique called palm healing. Practitioners believe they transfer healing energy in the form of ki through the hands.
But will the hands-on-buttocks communing fix my broken heart?
It might help, says Ms O'Flynn. Many people feel emotionally and physically better after a session.
"We work on your chakras, or energy centres," she explains with benign patience, as she prepares to restore all 21 of these points along my body.
"Reiki can be used to reduce pain, accelerate healing and treat physical ailments."
However, it can take a series of treatments for the therapy to kick in, Ms O'Flynn says.
Reiki practitioners believe we have a personal energy field bound up with a system of chakras, a Sanskrit word meaning circle or wheel. These centres are linked to different parts of our body, and govern our physical and emotional well-being.
I wonder if fantasies of large men paying a visit to my ex might not help realign my chakras better, but decide this is an unworthy thought.
The gentle hand-pressing continues -- up and down in firm formation.
Perhaps I'm unattuned, but the energy reconfiguring is a bit subtle for me, although lying down and taking a break from my six-year-old is a welcome interlude.
Ms O'Flynn is a great massage therapist who demonstrated her skills at the recent open day to launch the new-look Holistic Centre in Dublin's South William Street -- have a look if you're in the city. Reiki is one of her specialties.
The popular complementary treatment is handed down from practitioner to practitioner and is one of the less-regulated therapies -- you can qualify in just one weekend.
Even Serbian leader Radovan Karadzic jumped on the bandwagon when he was on the run. He was busted after reinventing himself as a white-haired guru offering homeopathy, acupuncture and reiki therapy.
But there is some evidence the treatment can be beneficial.
Medical researchers at the University of Texas carried out a series of reiki tests, and found anxiety and blood pressure levels were reduced due to the heightened state of relaxation in patients treated with the therapy.
Another study, carried out at the Institute of Neurological Sciences in South Glasgow University in 2004, divided 45 patients into three groups, and found that the heart rate and blood pressure decreased markedly in the reiki group.
For me, the hand-pressing is over after an hour and my chakras are presumably well aligned.
It may be psychosomatic, but I do feel more relaxed afterwards, and I sleep easier that night.
But next time I reckon an hour on a punching bag might be more therapeutic.
The Verdict
Did it work? Don’t know about the chakras, but I felt better
Pluses: Relaxing, reduces anxiety and high blood pressure
Minuses: Too subtle to be instantly gratifying
Cost: €60
Contact: Available nationwide, see: Dublin Holistic Centre, 28 South William St, Dublin 2 Tel: 085 119 3770 www.reikifederationireland.com www.tammioflyn.com
- Amanda Phelan
Irish Independent
