Ouch! How Reiki can help with chronic pain

Pain is a fact of life. Everyone suffers with it at some point. Sometimes
it’s acute, sometimes chronic. Sometimes it physical, sometimes
mental/emotional (often both). Acute pain is usually short term and has
an identifiable cause. Chronic pain may or may not have a known cause,
but it doesn’t seem to ever go away. Chronic pain can have devastating
immediate and long-term effects on a person’s life. A Northwestern
University study showed that chronic pain can shrink the size of the
brain by an astonishing 11% and speed up the aging process by 10-24
years! Whatever kind of pain you may have, Reiki can be a significant
part of a pain-reduction tool kit.

Usually when someone goes to the doctor for pain, they are
prescribed a pain killer. If the pain is idiopathic (long-term pain
without a known cause), that may be the best you get. Whereas
medications can be helpful, the long-term side effects can do just as
much harm as good. It’s worth it to take the time to find other ways to
help relieve pain, whether as an alternative therapy or to support
prescribed medications. In a review of 24 studies by the International
Journal of Behavioral Medicine, it was found that touch therapies
successfully reduced pain, and that Reiki was the most effective of the
studied modalities.

How does this work? The most common benefit that people have from
a Reiki session is deep relaxation. In this state the sympathetic
nervous system (the fight or flight part) has a chance to “step down”
and allow “rest and digest” parasympathetic nervous system to take
over. It is very much like when a person is put into a medically
induced coma to aid healing from a serious injury. In this state,
physical as well as mental/emotional healing can occur. Along with
relief from physical pain, a person’s outlook or belief about the pain
they suffer from can shift. Whereas a pain attack may have caused
anxiety and depression in the past, they can now handle it better so
that it reduces the impact of pain on their life.

One thing to realize is that Reiki is not an instant-acting pill.
The healing usually happens over time and several sessions, although
most people feel some relief at the first session. It's also very
important that people be invested in their own healing. In my practice I
empower people by giving them tools to use at home, and urging them to
take a Reiki One class to learn Reiki Self Care. Click here to learn more about my upcoming Reiki One Class, and about the Croton Community Reiki Circles.

Myra Oney, RMT, CHHC

Myra is a holistic health coach and a Reiki Master Teacher. She is a
graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and Intrinsic
Coaching©, and a member of the American Association of Drugless
Practitioners and the International Association of Reiki Professionals.
She has been in practice for sixteen years. She teaches, lectures and
sees private clients in Croton on Hudson, NY. Her passion is helping
people attain their ultimate state of health and well-being by
facilitating them in connecting with their true, essential self. www.dailylivingreiki.com