I’ve been teaching Reiki for a long time now and although each class has been unique and uplifting, I’m making some big changes this time around. First of all, I’m offering this class for both those who want to learn from the comfort of their own homes, via Zoom and in person. With the pandemic still impacting us in deep ways, Zoom is a very safe and approachable way to learn Reiki.
I must admit that I was originally hesitant to teach this class online or through a service like Zoom. I was slow to embrace this step forward in technology. I changed my mind, however, when I attended another class on energy healing through Zoom. I really liked it. I had my own space, I didn’t have to travel, and yet, I had a great time with the other students and the teacher. Because energy healing is effective across distances, we could even practice with each other. (If you are interested in the impact of remote Reiki, take a look at the study at the end of this post.)
So, I took a webinar from William Rand (founder or the International Center of Reiki Training) several months ago, to gain his insights and training about how to teach Reiki as a webinar. He assured us that he had taught many classes through Zoom and found that students loved it. It was great to see the possiblities available, and I’m excited to share this with my students.
Of course, some students want to be together with others to learn. That’s why I am offering my upcoming class as both an in person and Zoom class. I have heard from others that they want to take the class via Zoom, but they want the in person attunement. If that is you, just call or email me and we’ll arrange a time for you to receive a one on one personal attunement if you are local to Iowa City. I know that people really like the connection that comes from being in person, but know that I have received a distant Reiki attunement, and it was a very positive and powerful experience.
I’m also integrating some new Reiki meditations into this weekend training. That means that during the first day, during the Reiki I training, students will experience deep healing meditations meant to better prepare them to feel safe and confident in their experience of Reiki, whether they are working on themselves or others. In these mediations, we will focus on grounding, boundaries and learning from our highest source of wisdom. I believe these meditations will help students integrate Reiki more easily into their daily lives.
Are you ready to learn Reiki? If so, click below to enroll now.
If you are sceptical about the effectiveness of remote Reiki, take a look at this recent study conducted with frontline healthcare workers receiving remote Reiki for 4 consecutive days. They showed statstically significant improvements in stress, anxiety, pain and wellbeing. They reported feeling more relaxed, calm and resilient. Here is the exerpt of the abstract (found at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/21649561211003689):
Evaluation of a Reiki Program for Healthcare Workers Negatively Impacted by the PandemicNatalie Dyer, Ann Baldwin, Rosemary Pharo and Feona Gray
Objective
To conduct a pragmatic effectiveness trial of a Reiki program for healthcare professionals negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
Reiki Medic-Care is a non-profit organization that provides remote Reiki to National Health Service (NHS) healthcare professionals in the UK. Healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses, and ambulance paramedics) whose physical and/or mental health had been negatively impacted by COVID-19 were eligible to sign up for the Reiki program and were also invited to participate in the research study. Each participant was assigned eight certified, licensed, and fully insured Reiki practitioners who gave them 20 minutes of remote Reiki for four consecutive days. Participants’ stress, anxiety, pain, sleep quality and overall wellbeing were evaluated with 7-point numerical rating scales based on the Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile-based (MYMOP) questionnaire. Measures were completed by participants online when signing up to receive Reiki (pre) and the day following the final Reiki session (post). Participants were also asked to give written feedback about the sessions at post.
Results
Twenty healthcare professionals agreed to be in the study and provided some survey data (pre or post), and of those, seventeen participants completed both the pre and post survey (85% retention). All participants were female. Paired samples t-tests revealed statistically significant improvements in stress (p = .001, d = 1.06), anxiety (p = .001, d = .94), pain (p = .003, d = .86), and wellbeing (p = .029, d = .61) from pre to post. There were no significant differences in sleep quality (p = .150, d = .37). Participants also provided positive feedback about the program, including feeling more relaxed, calm, and resilient.
Conclusion
The Reiki program for healthcare professionals demonstrates preliminary effectiveness for improving stress, anxiety, pain and wellbeing in frontline healthcare workers negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection is ongoing, and future research will include a larger sample size and long-term follow-up.