reikijoyliving

I was taking care of a minor cleaning chore this evening and I happened to be cleaning the placemat that sits under my cat’s dishes. There were two corners that really weren’t coming clean. So, I thought about it. And realized that hey, this is the placemat on which my cat’s dishes sit. Why wouldn’t I want it to be filled with reiki.

So, I placed my hands, palms down on the corners of the placemat and gave it reiki for about a minute. Nothing too serious. Then, with almost no pressure at all, the placemat became clean. Not bad. 

Move over Lysol. There’s reiki!

Okay, I admit it. I think kitty toes are some of the most adorable things in the world. When one of our cats is sleeping in the chair, his feet dangling over the edge, I can’t help but play with his feet. Or when the kitten is laying on his back and stretches, curling his toes and yawning…adorable.

Giving reiki to your feet is grounding. It centers you. It’s usually done as a way to end the reiki session to help bring the practitioner back to the “real” world. I don’t know if our cats need grounding. Sure, they think they are the center of the universe. But animals are famous for living in the NOW. I could certainly give reiki to their kitty feet, but you know, it’s more fun to tickle them.

This picture is Tenzin, our 14mo. old formerly feral “kitten”. He’s watching television with me last night. (I’m in the desk chair and he’s on the chair in my den that was setup for the cats to lay on.) Aren’t those adorable kitty feet?

Working third shift means that sleep is important to me. I sleep during the day. Well, usually I have one (or more) cats sleeping up near my pillow (or on it). When going to sleep, I like to rest my hand on the nearest cat (usually Tigger, our 17 y.o. diabetic cat.) and give him reiki until I fall asleep. The reiki relaxes me, helps him, and I can feel him purring through my fingers. (I put in ear plugs to sleep so I often can’t hear him.) It’s a  very relaxing situation for both of us, and it works great. He gets reiki and attention, and I get a rumbly purr to help me fall asleep.

I love finding new ways to incorporate reiki into my daily life. Recently, I’ve been helping out at the barn where I board my horse by doing evening chores. One of those chores is filling the water buckets (with a hose, thank goodness. Toting buckets is hard work!).  So I’m on my last bucket of the night when I get the tingly-hands reiki feeling. I look at the water, and at the hose in my hand, and think, “you know, this would be a great application of reiki.” Adding reiki to the water that I’m filling each bucket with. I was on the last bucket, so I didn’t get a chance to test my theory, but I think tomorrow night, when I feed again, I will.

I think giving reiki to a pet while at the vet’s office, even if it’s for routine treatments (as Tigger’s visit was last week) helps on a couple of levels. First, reiki is first and foremost a modality for relaxation and stress relief. Even though Tigger is a laidback cat, I’m sure he felt some stress at being at the vet’s office. He knows when he goes there usually he gets poked. Tigger is diabetic so if he is at the vet’s office it is either for yearly shots, to have his blood work drawn, or because he’s gone off his food and just getting checked out. (I find it interesting that when he comes back from the vet his appetite always picks up as if to say, “I’m fine! I’m fine!”)Secondly, I think the closeness of giving reiki does tell the pet that you’re there. Plus, if your energy is calm, which is something reiki helps with, then the animal doesn’t pick up on any stress from you. If “mom” isn’t worried, then the pet doesn’t need to be worried either.

Finally, yes, reiki is also considered to help facilitate healing. So, if the animal is at the vet’s office and in need of actual healing, then the reiki can certainly help. Even if it’s by helping the pet to relax enough so the medicine can do its work.

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!

For animals that go both indoors, and outdoors, during the winter, I especially think such wellness reiki treatments are beneficial. For example, when a dog comes in from a walk, clean and check his paws for ice and snow. Then, you can hold them in your hands, warming them up, and sending reiki to them. The energy and your hands will help warm up the dog’s paw, and the reiki, will hopefully help too. You could continue the reiki as you rub a towel over the dog’s fur to help remove any melted snow or ice, continuing to send reiki through the dog’s entire body. This is the kind of reiki treatments I like, ways to spend more time with your pets and help them at the same time!

I’d like to get back to talking about reiki for animals because that’s where my expertise lies. Winter is a time when our animals need a lot of supportive care. Even indoor animals can be affected by the changes in humidity levels and temperature. A cat sitting in a window, for example, will be exposed to a lot colder temperatures during these months, than in the summer.

So what can you do? Well, with the weather getting colder, we spent a lot of time bundled up. In my house the cats are attracted to that, and inevitably watching television or reading with a blanket on my lap means I have one, or more, little furry visitors. Petting the animal is a great time to send it reiki. You can do so with a general wellness intent, thanking the animal for its company (and probably its warmth!).

While most people who are attuned to reiki learn the hand positions for treatements and follow a proscribed sequence for those hand positions, to me, some of the best reiki is spontaneous. I’ll be writing, or spending time in front of the television with my cats, and all of a sudden the reiki starts to flow. My hands tingle and I can feel the energy working through me.Sometimes it’s in response to a thought. Sometimes it just happened. Like last night my cat crawled up into my lap. He’s been kind of needy; he loves to sleep on my desk and on the five days a week I work, my desk is taken up by a second keyboard. So his little kitty heart gets broken. Last night, he crawled into my lap, settled down and began purring. A few moments later my hand, which was curled against his side, started tingling so hard it nearly hurt. My kitty thought he needed attention and reiki and he needed it now! 

Although I’m waiting for my book Animal Reiki To Go (still forthcoming from The Lotus Circle), that doesn’t mean that I can’t still talk about animals and reiki. In fact, last year, I had an article published in Natural Horse magazine that talked about hand positions for sending reiki to a horse’s head. Since many horses are “head shy”, usually from mishandling or accidents, and many of the mental/emotional centers for reiki are located around the head, this is an important aspect of equine reiki practice.

I’ve given reiki to my mare, Fortune, many times. Mostly it’s just something I do as part of our bonding. I’ll groom her and we’ll work for a while, then the session ends with reiki, more horse treats, and patting, combined with a few kisses on the top of her nose.

Personally, I feel that reiki help strengthens my bond with my horse. It’s something we do together, and something I feel helps her. It is, simply put, a magical part of our relationship.