reikijoyliving

Tonight is New Year’s Eve and I bet many of us are thinking about our resolutions. There’s one thing you can do right now to give your resolutions a boost: send them reiki. That’s right, you can send your resolutions reiki. Write them down on a piece of paper and fold it in quarters (or small enough to fit between your hands.). Hold the paper in your hands, sending reiki to them. While you’re doing this, you can envision you achieving your resolutions, making sure to send reiki to that image as well. It’s a good way to give your goals a boost and ring in the new year right-with reiki!

Yesterday was Tigger’s (17yo diabetic, hyperthyroid cat) annual checkup. We retested his thyroid, gave him his annual vaccines, and made sure he was doing okay. He was and for a cat of his age and with his health issues received a very clean bill of health. Mr. Tigger is always a laid back cat. He takes his twice daily insulin shots with a good attitude, even coming to get me if I get busy and happen to miss the time. So while we were in the vet office to keep both of us calm (I worry about my furry kids, even when there’s no need.), I gave him reiki.

I drew the power symbol (something you learn when you’re attuned) between his shoulder blades and then cupped one hand under his chest and gave him reiki. With my other hand, I petted him. He settled down, no longer trying to get off the table and patiently waited his turn for the vet to come in and see him.

When he was taken back to have his blood drawn, I used distance reiki to keep sending him energy. Sure, I knew he wouldn’t fight the technicians-he really is that laid back of a cat-but I figured the reiki would help him with being in an unfamiliar place.

He came through his checkup with flying colors!

There are four different hand positions given for self-treating the feet and each one is listed separately. For me, as long as both feet get done, and the tops and bottoms are covered, then it doesn’t make any sense to separate these positions into four different ones.

The first position is to hold your foot in both hands in a way that is comfortable. Most people cup one hand over the top of the foot and cup the other along the bottom. William Rand’s handbook, Reiki: The Healing Touch, has the left foot as position #11 and the right as #12.

Alternately, you can cup the bottoms of both feet at the same time, with the left hand on the left foot and the right hand on the right foot. Then, I would go to the top and cup them at the same time as well. You could even press the bottoms of the feet together as in a yoga position.

The last position has the person cupping the right food with the left hand, and the left foot with the right hand. The arms cross. This is said to balance out both sides of the nervous system.

Whatever way you chose to treat the feet, it is very important to do so. Ending at the feet helps to ground the person receiving the reiki. It’s a good way to end your treatment and a good way to ground before reentering into the regular world.

This next position builds on the lower back position by working more with the tailbone and lower spine. While, of course, reiki practitioners cannot give medical advice, I find that with my long hours at the computer this position combined with the one yesterday really help. There are muscles between where the gluteus muscles start and your back muscles end, and it’s in this area, that I really need the help. (I don’t have the best computer posture at times, especially when I’m surfing message boards.)

For this position, put your palms on your lower back, centered between your spine and your sides with your fingers pointing down. If you were wearing jeans, think of putting your hands in your back pockets, and use your thumbs off to the side for support. This is a sharper jolt of reiki energy into those muscles.

I’m sure we’re familiar with standing up and putting our hands on our lower back. We might rub the muscles there or lean back to give our body a much needed stretch. This reiki position mirrors the comfort and relief we find when we lean back and stretch those muscles.

You can sit or stand for this position depending on your comfort in each position. Simply rest your hands on your lower back with your thumbs pointed down. Your fingertips should touch.

I find a little reiki with this position really helps me after long hours spent at the computer. After cleaning stalls at the barn, my back hurt (hadn’t done that for 12 years, LOL!). I used this reiki position to soothe my aching muscles.

I’m going to take a moment out from our series on self-treatment hand positions to wish everyone a happy holidays! It doesn’t matter what you celebrate (or don’t) or what you do (or don’t) believe, this is a time of wonder, beauty, and joy. It took me thirty minutes to get out of the Wal-Mart parking lot today, and in that time, I smiled and witnessed the most generosity and giving spirit that I’ve seen in a while. No horns honked. No rush. No fuss. Just people letting other cars into line and moving in an orderly fashion.

So here’s to a wonderful holiday and to a happy and prosperous 2009! We’ll resume our series on reiki hand positions tomorrow. And now, the obligatory stick figure.

The next reiki position encompasses the pelvic region. It’s good for the root (or sacral) chakra, and so this is the name I give the position. It’s also very good for women’s issues, or for really grounding and centering. When providing reiki treatments to others, you want to respect their personal space. Therefore the hands are usually held a few inches above this area. We don’t ever want to touch someone in such a fashion without their permission.

This hand position is done by placing your hands on the lower stomach with the heels of your hands on your hip bones. Your fingers are pointed down and touching in a “V” shape. This sends energy into your lower body and acts as a strong grounding force.

Note: I guess the main explanation for the hair on the figures (which return tomorrow), is that I’m having too much fun sketching them out in MS Paint. I hope you enjoy!

The next reiki position is the solar plexus. Personally, I find this to be a very calm and grounding hand position. It’s also good for women’s issues, though the next hand position is also very good for that as well. I find this reiki position to be a very comforting, nurturing one, almost like a reiki hug.

If you’re performing the reiki positions in sequence, then from the last one, simply slide your hands down so your fingers touch just beneath your navel. You want the bottoms of your hands resting just above your hip bones. This is another reiki position where you’ll want to experiment to find what feels best for you.

So I checked with a group of reiki practitioners to see whether you’re supposed to leave your arms uncrossed when doing the shoulder position. And, I’m much relieved to find out that I was right. Unlike other methodologies it doesn’t matter what is crossed, or isn’t, during reiki. The energy will go where it needs to go and will flow regardless of crossed arms. So, when performing the shoulder, or any reiki position, make sure it’s comfortable for you. Don’t worry about getting the hands “just right”. If something feels better, then do it. Move your hands a few inches to one side, or a bit higher or lower. Experiment with finding the perfect way to perform the reiki hand positions for you.

And, because I couldn’t resist drawing another stick figure…don’t be like this guy. Do what feels right to you.

The sixth position for self-treatment is the solar plexus, or stomach. I find this to be a very grounding reiki position, and often use it at work when I need to take a few moments to just catch my breath. It can also be a soothing position for stomach aches or worry. Taking deep breaths and focusing on sending reiki to your center can help spread the reiki throughout your entire body.For this position, simply place your hands flat on your stomach with your fingertips touching. Don’t press and don’t force your hands into position. Simply accept where they rest. Then, you can envision reiki entering your solar plexus and spreading outward throughout your body.