May Reiki Help you to Treat Depression?


What is Reiki?

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing.

Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.

An amazingly simple technique to learn, the ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an "attunement" given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of "life force energy" to improve one's health and enhance the quality of life.



Using Reiki for Depression

Reiki therapy can be used deal powerfully with mental stress, feelings of failure, loneliness and very high expectations, which are some of the main causes of depression. Using Reiki for depression will speed up recovery in unimaginable ways. Depression can affect any individual irrespective of age and sex. Regular Reiki self-healing can make anyone free from feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and worthlessness and make life positive again. It may positively affect sleep, concentration, level of thinking, appetite and psychological condition. Reiki Treatment for depression can go a long way to get rid of this condition form its root.

Once you learn how to use Reiki to treat depression you can reduce anger and restless as well as unexplained pains like headache, stomachache, whole body pain and back pain. With Reiki depression treatment you can lower the risk of being addicted to drugs, alcohol etc. Reiki heals depression from its foot and can free anyone from suicidal thoughts. Reiki is very helpful as it can help anyone get rid from this condition faster when used along with regular medical treatment. 

Demonstrated Effects on Stress, Depression, Anxiety and Pain

One of the researchers, a Reiki Master from the UK, Joe Potter, has been conducting an ongoing investigation into Reiki’s effectiveness. An online search in PubMed lists dozens of studies involving Reiki or other healing touch methods, investigating a broad range of conditions in many different populations. Potter reported: “[s]tress was the most common word written by clients as a description or part description of their condition during their first session. Here 20.27% of the total client group treated used this word on their initial visit for Reiki treatment….” In animal studies, Reiki treatment produced clear signs of reduced stress as indicated by changes in autonomic, biological measurements such as heart rate and certain cellular signs of stress-related damage.

In a study of nurses with “burn out syndrome,” biological indicators of a significant relaxation response, linked to the Reiki treatment, been presented by the scientists. When nurses administered Reiki to a group of patients with acute coronary syndrome, the substantial relaxation effect was achieved and recorded through standard physiologic indicators.

Shore (2004) followed patients, being treated with Reiki, for mild depression and stress. After six weeks of treatment and for up to a year afterward, those who had received Reiki showed both immediate and long-term improvements in depression, stress and hopelessness. In a small study, complete elimination of typical postoperative depression was seen in heart surgery patients given Reiki during surgery.

Pain often causes depression and anxiety. Reducing difficult-to-treat chronic pain can have a substantial effect on psychological well-being. Some studies have found Reiki to be effective for pain, anxiety and depression relief. However, their design or conclusions are unclear as to whether Reiki’s emotional benefits were a result of pain reduction or a separate phenomenon. Nonetheless, research demonstrated Reiki’s positive results for both pain and anxiety or depression.

Dressing and Sing (1998) found that among cancer patients, Reiki brought about significant levels of pain relief, anxiety and depression reduction, improvements in sleep quality, relaxation and general well-being. This effect was stronger in men, than in women. These benefits remained when checked after three months. Among abdominal hysterectomy patients, Reiki helped reduce pain and anxiety, particularly in a preoperative setting.



How to use Reiki to treat depression?

A number of Reiki techniques are there to treat depression. Reiki symbols, positions, self-healing methods, distance-healing techniques all are highly useful in treating depression. These techniques help to nullify the effects of the negative thoughts, emotions and feelings and restores the usual flowing of the life force throughout the body.

Reiki is a hands-on healing technique that transmits universal energy from the Reiki practitioner to the individual receiving the treatment. The practitioner applies hand positions on the body, which passes the energy to the Reiki client. The energy enters the body and goes to wherever it is needed.

This infusion of energy results in changes to the energy body of the person receiving the treatment. All illnesses including depression show up in the energy body. They show up as blocks to the natural flow of energy. Blocks to our energy can come from repressed feelings as well as poor food, water, sleep habits, and other lifestyle problems.

They can also come from stress as well as unprocessed grief and sadness. Think about how you feel under stress. You tighten up on the inside and the flow of energy in the body becomes constricted. That constriction impairs your functioning. Multiply that one stress incident by all the stress in your life, and you have seriously blocked energy that can create illness, including mental illnesses and depression.

Basic Reiki treatment for depression

Let’s review what we know about the potential sources for depression, and how we can use this knowledge to treat the core.

Depression is a mental illness, caused but a chemical imbalance of serotonin and norepinephrine levels the brain. Both neurotransmitters are excreted by one neuron and received by another through receptors located at the signaling site. Serotonin and norepinephrine levels trigger the structure of the brain that regulates emotion, stress, appetite, and sexual drive; the hypothalamus. When a person becomes stressed, norepinephrine is synthesized and serotonin is up taken into the cell triggering the hypothalamus to activate the pituitary gland and produce a hormone called CRH. This hormone activates the adrenal gland (located near the kidneys) to release another hormone, called cortisol, into the blood stream. Cortisol gives a fight or flight response by increasing glucose levels, heightening cognitive function, and reducing susceptibility to physical pain by numbing the senses to prepare for “impact”. If the reuptake of the neurotransmitters is disrupted, the adrenal gland is kept in the “on” position and continues to release cortisol into the blood stream. High levels of cortisol in the blood for a lengthy period of time causes bodily reflexes associated with the fight or flight response to fatigue and ultimately malfunction, initiating s feeling of continuous stress on the body.

Antidepressants target serotonin receptors in the brain by inhibiting the reuptake of the neurotransmitter and giving the body the ability to regulate the pathway leading to the adrenal gland, thereby preventing the release of more cortisol into the blood stream. However, Reiki healing centralizes focus on the lower half of the body, such as the naval and the kidneys where the adrenal gland is located. It is believed that there are three blocked chakras associated with people suffering from acute depression; and the first being the Root Chakra.

The Root Chakra, located in at the base of the spine, anchors a person to the earth, and is responsible for driving the physical will of a person. The branches of the body involved with the root chakra are the blood, the spine, anus and rectum, teeth, nails, and prostate gland. Reiki healers claim that an unbalanced root chakra is unable to acknowledge reality and receive it joyfully; therefore, the person overindulges in food, alcohol, or sexual actions, resulting in unhealthy habits and obesity. If the Chakra is completely blocked, the person lacks emotional drive or physical energy, in addition to feelings of sadness and anxiety.

The second chakra, referred to as the Naval Chakra, is centered right below the naval. This chakra encompasses the kidney, the pelvic girdle, the liver, the bladder, and body fluids such as gastric and lymph fluid as well as the blood. When the Naval Chakra is blocked, the person views life as uninteresting or expressionless, and they have an inability to form sensual and meaning personal relationships. Due to their “emotional paralysis”, the person acquires low self-esteem, causing low self-worth and contemplations of suicide.

The third chakra, called the Solar Plexus Chakra, is located above the navel at the base of the rib cage. This chakra was corresponds to a person’s self-perception and ego. The solar plexus governs the lungs, diaphragm, spleen, stomach, and the pancreas. If the aura of this chakra is perceived as black, the solar plexus is unbalanced, causing the person to feel moody and unharmonious. The person becomes restless with life and its results thereby affecting their sense of security and accomplishment. Usually the person blames others for preventing their advancement in life, and exudes hostile tendencies towards others.

The Reiki practitioner, or the “healer”, is able to see the unbalance of the three chakras through the color of the surrounding aura of the patient. Next, the healer lightly places his fingertips around the origin of the chakra, or alternatively positions both hands about an inch above origin of the chakra, being careful to keep the fingers close together. Once the hands are in place, the transfer of energy can begin. For example, when the healer focuses on the Solar Plexus chakra, the healer intently concentrates on the healing the patient while centering each hand an inch above the base on each side of the rib cage. The positive energy from the healer initiates the body of the patient to accelerate its own natural process of restoration. The healer loses no energy, but is simply a medium from which positive energy from the environment can flow.

Unlike antidepressants, which claim that effects and restoration of serotonin and norepinephrine levels may take years before improvements are noticed, most Reiki patients claim that they leave the session feeling relaxed and rejuvenated.



Advanced Reiki treatment for depression

If you are an advanced Reiki practitioner, you can use the following Reiki Symbols for self-treatment for depression, or you are visiting advanced Reiki healer, the special healing symbols may be used to address the issue with the highest level of efficiency.

These are the holy healing symbols, which improve the flow of life energy in the body:

* Sei He Ki: This is one of the symbols used for the treatment of the depression. This symbol is used to heal mental and emotional illness. It is also used for protection, clearing, balancing and purification of mind. This symbol is very much useful in depression if it is related to problems in relationship. It also decreases the fear, anger and sadness. It is also used to purify the food, water and dissolves the impact of negative energy. You will release the negative emotions during the period of treatment by using this symbol. You need to take Reiki second degree training to be attuned to the power of this symbol.
* Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen: This distance Reiki symbol can be used across the room, across the country or any part of the world. This symbol is otherwise known as 'The awakened Heart' and is also part of the Reiki 2nd degree course.This symbol can heal the Karmic patterns and problems associated with it. It is helpful in relieving the mental and emotional pain as well as associated stress.
* Dai Ko Myo: This symbol is helpful in healing at the soul level. The healing then manifests at other levels, hence this symbol works powerfully to decrease the problems associated with depression effectively. This symbol is taught in the Reiki 3rd degree course.

Reiki positions for depression

You can learn the Reiki hand positions for treating self & others. These Reiki positions are very helpful to relieve mental depression. In these positions, the hands are placed on energy centers of the body known as the Chakras.

Because endocrine system is influenced by these energy centers, when Reiki is given to the energy centers there is a balancing effect on the glands. When secretion by the glands is balanced, the body comes back into its natural healthy state.

* Place hands on the back of the head and give Reiki. This treatment will promote relaxation and will help to get rid of headaches, associated with depression.
* Gastrointestinal problems are often associated with depression. The gastrointestinal problems may include nausea, vomiting, stomachache and indigestion. For these problems, you can place your hands on the either sides of the navel or umbilicus and slightly to one side. Relief from these symptoms improves the health condition and helps to decrease the level of depression.
* For another specific symptoms of depression like muscle ache and headache, place hands across the shoulder blades (scapulae) at mid to upper point. This position will help you to get rid from muscle ache, headache, and from the stomach ache.
* You can also place your hands across the lower ribs. This position affects the kidneys. This position will improve the function of the adrenalin glands and ultimately change the mood to positive.





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