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Here's how I ended up finding Reiki.
I went to India on business with my husband in Jan/Feb of 2006. At the hotel where I was staying, there was a Pranic Healing conference. I had heard of energy healing before but had never actually met anyone who did energy work. One morning, after breakfast, my husband and I were walking around the hotel and saw that the Pranic Healers had tables set up where they had books, CDs etc for sale. So we walked over and started talking to them. I spoke with a lovely Indian woman who is one of their master healers. At some point, she looked at me and said, "Is there any part of your body that is causing you pain right now?" My neck and shoulder was killing me from the long flight and hauling luggage, so I indicated where. She stood maybe several feet away and kept on talking as she began moving her hand to channel energy to me. I didn't really know what to think about it, although I did notice a tingling sensation running from my elbow up to my shoulder, kind of like when you hit your "funny bone." We talked for a few more minutes, I bought their manual out of curiosity and went on to work.
It wasn't until I was sitting at my laptop in the office that I realized my neck and shoulder no longer hurt at all. Now, I have had neck and back pain on and off for years. And never does it just resolve like that. I was very impressed. But I didn't have the mind-blowing "catalyst" moment until I had gotten back to the hotel from the office. For a couple of months, my mid-back would get really stiff and uncomfortable to the point where I would have to take a shower each night and stretch in order to get some relief. So, I was back at the hotel and told my husband I was going to take a shower. I got into the shower, started stretching...and realized I had NO pain, no stiffness and my back was completely loose and supple. How I had not noticed that earlier is beyond me. I stood there in the shower saying, "I MUST learn how to do that!!"
I got back to the U.S. and was searching for Pranic Healers, but there were none in my state. Eventually I located one in Chicago and since I did travel on business there, I planned to attend training several months later. In the meantime, I kept searching because I wanted to learn energy work very badly at this point. I found my teacher's Reiki site and it immediately appealed to me. I had practiced zazen for years at a local zendo, and was familiar with some of the concepts. And I liked that my teacher seemed very grounded and willing to share information. So, I went to him for a Reiki session and it was amazing. I just felt so different, so calm and peaceful afterwards. It was something I needed even more than relief from physical pain.
So, I took my Reiki training from my teacher and fairly soon, I noticed something interesting. For the past 6 years I had suffered from Interstitial Cystitis, which is a very painful inflammation of the bladder wall lining. I was taking 4-5 different medications each day to manage the symptoms. Over time I had experienced some improvement, so I was able to reduce some of the dosages I was taking, but was still on these medications. These medications were expensive, fairly toxic to the liver and had a number of unpleasant side effects. I have holes in my memory from the first year or so of taking the meds. I also had a situation where the meds one doctor prescribed interacted with ones I was taking for someone else and I was barely able to function.
After practicing Reiki for a month or so, I realized that I was no longer having the symptoms at all that I had been experiencing. I decided to wean myself off the medications completely to see what would happen. I was fine. I haven't taken any medications for my bladder since the mid-part of 2006 and I consider myself to be healed. This is amazing, since very few people with IC or pelvic pain syndrome ever experience that degree of improvement. That summer, I became pregnant with my daughter and experienced none of the discomfort I expected with my bladder during or after my pregnancy. I even had an indwelling catheter for about 5 days after my daughter was born because of post-partum complications (if only I'd had someone in the hospital then who could have done Reiki!) and didn't have any issues with it later, which is often a problem for anyone with bladder issues.
I went to India on business with my husband in Jan/Feb of 2006. At the hotel where I was staying, there was a Pranic Healing conference. I had heard of energy healing before but had never actually met anyone who did energy work. One morning, after breakfast, my husband and I were walking around the hotel and saw that the Pranic Healers had tables set up where they had books, CDs etc for sale. So we walked over and started talking to them. I spoke with a lovely Indian woman who is one of their master healers. At some point, she looked at me and said, "Is there any part of your body that is causing you pain right now?" My neck and shoulder was killing me from the long flight and hauling luggage, so I indicated where. She stood maybe several feet away and kept on talking as she began moving her hand to channel energy to me. I didn't really know what to think about it, although I did notice a tingling sensation running from my elbow up to my shoulder, kind of like when you hit your "funny bone." We talked for a few more minutes, I bought their manual out of curiosity and went on to work.
It wasn't until I was sitting at my laptop in the office that I realized my neck and shoulder no longer hurt at all. Now, I have had neck and back pain on and off for years. And never does it just resolve like that. I was very impressed. But I didn't have the mind-blowing "catalyst" moment until I had gotten back to the hotel from the office. For a couple of months, my mid-back would get really stiff and uncomfortable to the point where I would have to take a shower each night and stretch in order to get some relief. So, I was back at the hotel and told my husband I was going to take a shower. I got into the shower, started stretching...and realized I had NO pain, no stiffness and my back was completely loose and supple. How I had not noticed that earlier is beyond me. I stood there in the shower saying, "I MUST learn how to do that!!"
I got back to the U.S. and was searching for Pranic Healers, but there were none in my state. Eventually I located one in Chicago and since I did travel on business there, I planned to attend training several months later. In the meantime, I kept searching because I wanted to learn energy work very badly at this point. I found my teacher's Reiki site and it immediately appealed to me. I had practiced zazen for years at a local zendo, and was familiar with some of the concepts. And I liked that my teacher seemed very grounded and willing to share information. So, I went to him for a Reiki session and it was amazing. I just felt so different, so calm and peaceful afterwards. It was something I needed even more than relief from physical pain.
So, I took my Reiki training from my teacher and fairly soon, I noticed something interesting. For the past 6 years I had suffered from Interstitial Cystitis, which is a very painful inflammation of the bladder wall lining. I was taking 4-5 different medications each day to manage the symptoms. Over time I had experienced some improvement, so I was able to reduce some of the dosages I was taking, but was still on these medications. These medications were expensive, fairly toxic to the liver and had a number of unpleasant side effects. I have holes in my memory from the first year or so of taking the meds. I also had a situation where the meds one doctor prescribed interacted with ones I was taking for someone else and I was barely able to function.
After practicing Reiki for a month or so, I realized that I was no longer having the symptoms at all that I had been experiencing. I decided to wean myself off the medications completely to see what would happen. I was fine. I haven't taken any medications for my bladder since the mid-part of 2006 and I consider myself to be healed. This is amazing, since very few people with IC or pelvic pain syndrome ever experience that degree of improvement. That summer, I became pregnant with my daughter and experienced none of the discomfort I expected with my bladder during or after my pregnancy. I even had an indwelling catheter for about 5 days after my daughter was born because of post-partum complications (if only I'd had someone in the hospital then who could have done Reiki!) and didn't have any issues with it later, which is often a problem for anyone with bladder issues.
