I love Reiki and it is one of the first therapies I learned, back in 2005 – 2007.

While it can be very helpful for lots of people, I find that there are two particular groups of clients that really benefit from it.

Firstly, those who are completely dissociated from their bodies, often due to trauma. Reiki seems to help to re-embody people, and if clients are dissociated I frequently suggest having a Level 1 attunement so that they can work on themselves anywhere or any time.  Feeling back into all the different chakra centres of their own bodies, after a period when getting into body has seemed to be extraordinarily scary. But this takes me back to what I mentioned last time. If you have a level 1 attunement, then your own initial self-healing work with Reiki, may not be easy. What has been hidden away in the body will potentially re-emerge to be seen and dealt with and healed.

Secondly, those who are suffering chronic pain and illness, or who have just been given a very negative medical diagnosis. For these people, Reiki can give them hope and empowerment. Perhaps it will actually bring about ‘curing’ of the condition, or perhaps it will give pain relief and stress reduction. Either way, it is a tool that can be used anywhere and anytime, at home, in the hospital, outside in the garden…

If I am working with you, then it is up to me to hold the space safely, which as always acknowledges that you can move however you want, and voice whatever you want, and if I am touching you anywhere that does not feel good you absolutely must tell me. It is always permitted to say no when you are working with a therapist.

And as I teach my students, as a therapist, before working, set the stage, organise your room as a sacred space and get in touch with how you yourself are feeling. Do you have any aches and pains? Is there anything bothering you? Ideally you leave all your own issues outside the door of the therapy room, but if they must come in with you, it is best if you are aware of them, physically, mentally and emotionally, so that when you start to work with your client, you know what is theirs and what belongs to you, because you will almost certainly be open to transference from your clients. When I am aware of transference during a session, I thank the universal energy for showing me what the client’s system wanted to be seen and then I ask that it is released from me.

After the session always make sure you feel clear of any transference, which may require an Epsom salt bath, or lying on the earth, or using incense or sage or Aqua de Florida. Or it can involve shaking and breathing out that which does not belong to you, or using stones as in the rituals described previously, releasing what does not serve and then giving it to the earth or to water.

For all clients, I ask if they on any medication? This will impact how the system feels and you may need to give guidance that if they continue to work with Reiki and find it helpful, they should get their medications checked by their doctors to see if they can be reduced.

And of course for any woman of child bearing age – are they pregnant? If so you are then immediately dealing with two people, not just one. Personally I will always work with pregnant women, as I believe that the greatest assistance I can give to the unborn foetus is to work with the mother, but I do want to know and acknowledge that I am working with the unborn child as well as the mum.

Finally, for both your own protection and that of your client, I do not believe you should work with someone if you cannot do it from a place of unconditional love. If there is fear or judgement, then my advice is always not to work with that person as it will not be healthy or helpful for either of you. Intention, cleansing and protection are always the keys.