So, true to my words from this video, I’ve been proactive and booked myself a reiki session to see if I can get to the bottom of these emotional and energetic blocks that keep following me around. I had my first session this morning, and it was AWESOME!

Now I’m clamouring around trying to remember exactly everything my lovely reiki master did and said so that I can relay it to you…. haha… it’s not easy!

Anyway, first things first – for those of you who don’t know, you’d probably like an explanation of what reiki is.

What is Reiki?

It’s a Japanese energy healing technique, and it’s based on the idea that we all have an energetic life force flowing through us (called chi, prana, reiki, etc, in different cultures). If this life force is low, or blocked at certain points in the body and can’t flow properly, it can throw us off balance and result in unwellness (meaning unhappiness, anxiety, physical ailments, or otherwise).

During reiki, you lie on a padded table (fully clothed), and the reiki practitioner gently moves her hands over your body and manipulates the energy flow through your chakras and major organs in order to promote balance. What she actually does during the session is going to be different for everyone since it depends on where in your body you are holding tensions and energetic blocks.

If you want more information about what to actually expect during and after a reiki session, this is a great article to read.

What Happened During My Session

I showed up to the reiki master’s little shop at 9 am – her name is Maggi and she’s a really wonderful women. You can just tell. Although I had never met her personally before now, I knew who she was as she’d been recommended to me several times over the past couple of years, and I know why. She just really makes you feel comfortable and welcome. So that was positive 🙂

First thing she did was ask me to explain why it was that I wanted reiki – what issues was I there to heal? 

So I explained what my deal was – that I had severe acne and it was extremely emotionally painful and traumatic. Now I carry fear with me about it coming back – I fear feeling the pain that I felt when my acne was bad. And while this fear and anxiety has improved about a gazillion fold in the last couple of years, it’s still there hiding and the irrational anxiety pops up whenever I break out in mild acne (which for me, goes in cycles – clear for a while, break out for a little while, clear for a while, and on and on). Aaaand, basically, that I’m sick of it because it’s the same old thing over and over.

The first thing she said after I explained this was that “this makes sense that you are here because energetically, the skin is very concretely linked to emotions.”

So Then I Lied on the Table…

I lied on my back on the table, and she put light blankets over me, like I was getting tucked into bed.

Then she asked me to breathe and get a clear picture in my mind of what my wellness looks like to me. So I did that in my head.

Then she put her hands on my head and left them there for a while as she started guiding me into a meditative relaxation state. If you’ve ever listened to any guided meditation, you’ll know what I’m talking about: “your neck is heavy, it’s melting into the table… release any tensions fully… your shoulders, are relaxing and letting go… the muscles in your back are completely relaxed…”

Her hands on my head felt amazing. Tingly, like warm sunshine. Apparently this is how reiki is supposed to feel, because you are receiving life energy from her through her hands.

After the guided meditation, she moved her hands around my head and neck. Often it was just her gently placing her hands, but sometimes it was more like a manipulative touch as like in massage. I just lied there and breathed and enjoyed how it felt.

One thing that happened here was that she was trying to get my jaw to wiggle and be free and loose, but seemed to be having a hard time. She explained that the jaw is where old emotions are often held – past hurts – particularly anger and bitterness. That was interesting because I have noticed that I often clench my jaw throughout the day without really knowing why I’m doing it, and find it difficult to just let it be relaxed and loose.

And Then Came the Questions

After that, she moved her hands to my stomach and gently let them rest there for quite some time as she began to ask me some questions.

At first I was confused about whether I was supposed to open my eyes or what I was supposed to do. Apparently in reiki it’s “your session”, which  means you can do whatever you want. I kept my eyes closed but I began to almost feel a spinning, dizzy feeling and my eyes were sort of fluttering and I was having a difficult time keeping them closed as I talked. So I opened them and looked her in the eye as we chatted.

So … this is where I’m having a tough time remembering the entire conversation and in what order the questions occured, but I’ll do my best.

First thing she asked was what does my wellness look like?

I explained that physically it meant having clear skin, great digestion, and lots of energy and alertness during the day. Spiritually and energetically, having stillness in my life in order to become more connected to the world and universe, and to be joyful and contented in the present moment.

The other questions she asked were if I ever speak unkindly to myself, if so, what do I say? What is that I’m afraid of when my acne flares up? She also asked me how my relationships with others were. Probably a few other things I can’t remember.

Through these questions, we ended up discussing quite a few things.

One thing I talked about was why the acne caused me so much emotional pain. And that it was because I was afraid of how I would be seen and if I’d be accepted by others, particularly by men in romantic situations. I believe it’s a perfection thing – I want to be perfect to myself, and to everyone else, and acne is a total threat because it’s such an obvious and unsightly “stain” on my image. That’s why in the past, I’ve gone to such great lengths to hide it from everyone by ensuring it was always covered up, never talking about it to anyone.

She did confirm that she could strongly feel it energetically that a lot of my problems stem from this perfectionist thing.

From this, I talked about my ex boyfriend, who I was with when my acne got so bad. I explained that we were different and not very compatible, and there were no hard feelings about that, but on some deep level, I took it very personally because I wanted to be able to please anyone and everyone and it really hurt me that I couldn’t be perfect for him.

I said that I didn’t think it was a coincidence that that happened to be when my acne got so bad.

She said that no, she really didn’t think it was a coincidence at all.

I also explained that I’m in a loving relationship now, a very open, loving, and accepting relationship.

She said that via the energy and our conversation, she can tell that I’ve come a long, long way in my growth and that the anxiety and pain that I feel about my acne is just a past fear, not a current fear. Because of what I explained about being in a great relationship now, the fear is not the same – I know that if I were to break out like that again, it wouldn’t be the same. I know that Luke would love me and accept me no matter what. I also know that everyone else would too.

So all that I’m dealing with is a past fear – just a block that needs to get unblocked in order to allow my energy and healing and wellness to flow. She said I could do this via an affirmation whenever the fear shows up. She said that when I get anxious, I can say to myself something like “Up until this moment, I felt fear and anxiety about my acne. From this point forward, I feel no fear and I choose to allow everything to be easy and effortless”.

Something else she said was that it makes total sense that my mild acne is cyclical. It’s just past emotions trying to get out. They will come out through my skin for a while, and instead of fearing the next time that I break out, I can just observe it – I can use the breakouts and the anxiety they produce as a means to learn more about my personal process. Every time I break out, I can work with the anxiety to face it and work with it. There’s nothing to fear. Eventually as I work through all of my past emotions, the breakouts will go too.

She also mentioned that the reason I am so happy and carefree when my skin is clear is because that is the time after an emotion has risen and has been cleared from my energy via my skin. My body is using that time to rest and integrate the change. Sort of like Shavasana at the end of a yoga practice (if you do yoga, you’ll know what I mean), when you just get to lie there on the mat and totally let go of all stress and hard work.

Aaand… yep. That’s all I can remember. Lots of interesting stuff.

Finishing Up

After the fabulous chat we had, she moved her hands down to over my pelvis, and then my legs. Afterwards, I turned over and lied on my back as she slowly worked her hands down my body from the back. There wasn’t any talking, I just lied there and really enjoyed the sensations as she finished up the session.

Over all, the whole thing took about an hour and a half, which was much longer than I was expecting!

After the Session

After getting up from the table, my body felt so good and loose and tingly and absolutely awesome. And it felt so great to have heard perspective on my issues from a really wise lady who has been doing this for a long time with a lot of people. I wanted more!

I asked her how many sessions are standard, she said one is fine, but if you are working on a really deep pattern or problem, the recommended amount of sessions is four to really solidify the changes. So I signed up for three more!

Then I rode my bike home, and now I’m sitting here hours later writing this, and to my surprise, my back and neck and head still feel all tingly. Especially my upper back between my shoulder blades. It’s going crazy with tingliness. So cool!

Anyway, I have a really positive feeling about this. Like I’ve just had a big, warm, smile inducing hug from a friend. I can’t wait for my next session!

Watch this Article in Video Form

What do you think? Have you ever had any energetic work done via reiki or another modality? Would you try it? 

— Click on the links below to view the follow up articles on how the rest of my reiki sessions went—

5 Things I’ve Learned in the Past Week for Treating Acne, Anxiety, and Low Energy

Follow Up Day:  How My Reiki, and My No-Shaving Experiments Turned Out

photo from angelhands.ca and yourdynamicbalance.com