Reiki is a treatment where life force energy is channeled via the practitioner into the client’s body. This life force energy then works within their body, allowing the body to enter a deep state of relaxation and start to heal itself.
This healing can alleviate mental, emotional or physical distress, or a combination of all three.
Reiki is an excellent complementary modality for:
Stress & Anxiety
Depression
Cancer
Strengthening Immunity
Gut health
Migraines & Headaches
Autoimmune Illness
Pain Control
Physical Injury
Fatigue / tiredness
Sleeplessness
Healing support for pets who are ill
This week we will be focusing on Stress:
What is stress:
We all deal with stress at some point in our lives. Stress is a situation that triggers a particular biological response. When you perceive a threat or a major challenge, chemicals and hormones surge throughout your body.
Stress triggers your fight-or-flight response in order to fight the stressor or run away from it. The stress response is your body’s way of dealing with tough or demanding situations. It causes hormonal, respiratory, cardiovascular, and nervous system changes. For example, stress can make your heart beat faster, make you breathe rapidly, sweat, and tense up. It can also give you a burst of energy. Typically, after the response occurs, your body should relax. Too much constant stress can have negative effects on your long-term health.
Effects of Stress:
Stress has become all pervasive. We live in a time of instant communication and we are constantly bombarded with a stream of information! Daily we face untold demands for performing in the workplace, at school or varsity, we face expectations from our colleagues, partners and loved ones, we experience the constant drive to be more, do more, have more!
The statistics scream – too much stress hurts us!
It hurts work performance and relationships. It hurts your health and quality of life. It affects your enjoyment of life and it affects your health.
Stress affects different people I different ways. Some people are able to channel stress to enhance performance and creativity. But, too much stress creates overload!
Your creativity and clarity decline,
you feel disconnected from yourself.
fragmented thinking,
negative attitudes, and
feeling out of control
physical aches and pains
physical illness eg stomach/gut issues, cancer, migraines, auto-immune diseases, excessive tiredness, weight gain or weight loss
Stress often starts with a feeling. You first feel tension, irritation or worry. It then escalates into stronger emotions of
frustrations,
anxiety or
anger.
Finally, you end up overloaded and exhausted
You accumulate stress when you carry around feelings of stress without resolving them. Feelings aren’t bad or wrong – you may just not fully understand what they are trying to tell you. Many feelings can cause stress: fear, worry, sadness, loneliness, reactivity, irritation, anger, moodiness, hurt, jealousy, guilt, envy, resentment. You can most probably think of many others.
In our society, people don’t like to acknowledge feelings. If you admit to yourself that your emotions are managing you, rather than the other way around, you may fear you are lesser, incapable, or even crazy. If you’re like most people, you don’t like to admit you’re hurting or feeling bad, that emotions are running you ragged, or that you feel a slow burn inside. You’d rather ignore it, squish it, hide it, or take it out on others. When emotions have nowhere to go, the emotional energy builds up and then gets vented in judgment, projection, or blame. If you can’t find relief, you may blow up or want to go hide under the covers. This is often called the “fight-or-flight” response. Stress switches on brain circuits and hormones that prepare the body to protect itself in dangerous situations. The problem is this survival circuitry gets activated by everyday situations that are stressful but not life-threatening—an argument with your mate, a traffic jam, a looming deadline—until your mind, emotions, and body are on stress overload. It doesn’t have to be this way. Most people have heard about ways to cope with stress—eating nutritious foods, drinking less alcohol and coffee, stopping smoking, exercising, meditating, taking breaks, spending time with friends, and doing fun things—but they rarely get around to following the advice or do so sporadically. Let’s face it: Changing habits is inconvenient, especially if you gain comfort from eating fatty or sugary foods or carbs, or feel less stress after drinking coffee or smoking. Few people want to eliminate pleasures from their life, even in the name of stopping stress. Plus, most people are moving so fast on their stress treadmill that they don’t see how they can afford the luxury of exercise or enough relaxation time to make a difference. Time is like money; there’s never enough. The nagging feeling that you’re never caught up keeps you from doing the things you know you should. If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. It’s time to wake up and do something.
Bibliography:
Childre, Doc. Transforming Stress: The Heartmath Solution for Relieving Worry, Fatigue, and Tension (p. 2, 5, 6). New Harbinger Publications. Kindle Edition.
www.healthline.com
www.webmd.com