I heart Reiki

Katrina, Stephanie and KC – Reiki I Attunement
When I first heard about Reiki I was struggling with Chronic Fatigue (CFS).  Before my illness I would have been hard pressed to even participate in a conversation about energy work and its healing abilities. In fact I am positive I would have closed my ears entirely.  However, the version of me with Chronic Fatigue was open to anything that could possibly bring me back to myself.
At that point I was more than a year into my battle with CFS (which is far, far more than simply being tired).  I felt betrayed by my body and because of my illness I had no choice but to transform my power yoga practice to one of a restorative nature. Over the course of my illness I utilized numerous styles of doctors, nurses, chiropractors, acupuncturists, therapists, and nutritionists in an effort to heal myself. I also rested. Rested. Rested. Rested.
The second winter of my illness I relocated from Maine to Arizona in order to have sunlight and warmth through the darkest months. It was there that someone recommended Reiki and it was then that I had unknowingly moved myself directly across the street from a metaphysical college that offered training.
 Mike and Kelly – Reiki I Attunement
I never had a treatment session.  I just signed-up for a Reiki I Attunement and was over the course of the weekend changed forever.  Reiki (and just to be clear no one actually knows what it “really” is – is defined as Universal Life Force Energy, which is similar in concept to Prana and Chi.) completely altered my being and it was after my first Attunement that I started to get better.  During the 21 subsequent days that I was directed by the teacher to practice I felt myself begin to shift. I stopped digging further into my hole of illness and instead started to grow back out of the darkness and into the light.
This May marks my eighth anniversary as a Reiki Master.  Since that time I have introduced thousands of students to the practice and trained hundreds of practitioners.  During that time I have stood witness to remarkable transformations. There have even been times when I have worked with a client who is in so much pain that I can barely stand to be around them. I give advice and they talk over me. I offer suggestions and they are too busy during a session that they are paying for to even listen. I try to guide them in their healing and they thwart me pretty much every step of the way.  They remind me so much of me.  Maybe its because I understand them that the Reiki shift is the most pronounced but after a training the next time I see them they are changed.  The shift that was due occurred and they tell me remarkable tales of their transformation.  In fact all the practitioners I have trained tell wonderful tales of healing.
 Quiet Winds Reiki Master Manual
Although I always wanted to be of service through my work I had not planned for it to be in this way.  The process of my becoming a holder of space so that others might heal was born out of my illness and subsequent healing.  I look back at my time of illness with deep gratitude. I recognize it as one of my life’s greatest teachers and through my struggle to heal it I woke-up.  I found the ground, I found my footing, I found my way.  My life’s work was shifted and now I hold out the tools I utilized in my own healing to inspire and empower others to heal as well.
I would love to hear your Reiki story. Please tell your tale in the comment section below.  Light to you!