How Reiki Can Be Complementary Medicine

I've often described Reiki (pronounced Ray-key) as alternative medicine, but in actuality it can be complementary to traditional allopathic/Western medicine.

Here are a few ways that Reiki can be complementary to Western medicine:

• It can provide psychological help. For instance, residents in nursing homes report much more positive outlooks about their living situation after receiving Reiki sessions.
• It can assist with radiation treatments. Patients receiving Reiki directly after their radiation treatments report feeling stronger and having more energy than when they don't receive the Reiki after the treatments. It can greatly improve the speed of healing and decrease or eliminate side effects.
• Reiki also assists before and after surgery. Patients report little to no anxiety before going into surgery after receiving Reiki before their surgery. They report being calm. By receiving Reiki after surgery, expected complications are often completely eliminated and recovery time is vastly improved.

Reiki is a Japanese form of deep relaxation that also promotes healing. It is a form of energy healing that balances the energy in the body. What you say? Energy in the body? Quantum physicists confirm the presence of energy in the body. In addition, consider neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters allow electro-chemical communication between nerve cells. Nerve cells (called "neurons") do not actually touch each other. Instead they are in close proximity with a "gap" (synapse) between each nerve cell. The electrical signal is relayed from one neuron to the next by neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters released at the end of the one nerve cell float across the synapse where they bind to receptors on the next neuron in sequence, triggering an electrical impulse. Thus, there is energy in the body on a very basic level.

When the energy in the body becomes unbalanced, the body's response to invaders (viruses, cancerous cells, etc.) becomes impaired. By balancing the energy via Reiki, the body now has the ability to heal and to fight those invaders.

Recently, Dr. Mehmet Oz, named Reiki as his #1 recommended alternative therapy. I'd like to say that it should be your #1 complementary therapy as well.

Let me know what you think about Reiki. Have you heard of it? What questions do you have about it?