Reiki: A new way of helping

     It's 1:00 in the afternoon. Ms. Smith, a Long View resident, is resting in a sunny spot overlooking the gardens. Ms. Smith has a visitor helping while she rests. The visitor is seated next to her and is applying a light touch to her broken shoulder. The light touch is called Reiki. The visitor is a Reiki practitioner from Hampstead. Ms. Smith's shoulder pain and anxiety decreases significantly as her body accelerates in healing itself from the 40 minute Reiki session. The Reiki practitioner moves on and makes his rounds to another resident. At 2:30 Ms. Smith wakes up from her rest. For the first time in three weeks, the resident is visibly relaxed and can move her arm without complaint.

What is Reiki?

     A complementary non-invasive medicine, Reiki is done with the patient fully clothed and in any position the patient finds most comfortable. Over 30,000 nurses and doctors in hospitals around the country are practicing Reiki today. It is notable that more and more Baltimore area hospitals now offer Complementary and Alternative Medicine clinics as an adjunct to conventional medicine. Reiki treatment takes about an hour and is done by gently resting the hands on various energy points of the body. The effects of Reiki treatments are reduced pain, anxiety, stress, and an overall feeling of relaxation and wellness. Reiki is very effective in treating chronic and acute illness or injury.

     Reiki is an ancient healing art, which can be learned by anyone, even children, with the proper training by a Reiki Master. Reiki is a Japanese word meaning universal life energy. In the U.S., Reiki is considered a form of Biofield Medicine involving a system that uses subtle energy fields in and around the body for medical purposes.

     The space around us is filled with energy. We feel it when we go out on a sunny day or a rainy cloudy day. In Reiki, energy is concentrated and used by the body to heal itself, through stimulation of the immune system.

Reiki at Long View

     Long View Nursing Home first offered Reiki as a complimentary medicine to the residents in the Alzheimer's Unit in 1999. The results show that it calms residents, reduces pain and irritability, assists with sleep, and most important of all provides a loving human touch to residents that so desperately need it.

     Community volunteers provide Reiki treatment to meet the needs of the residents. Hopefully by 2005, Long View will offer a Reiki Training program to teach Reiki to interested staff, family members and freinds of residents.

How Long View's Reiki Training can help at home

     Caring for someone at home can be very stressful. In order to provide that care, it is important for you to remain healthy. Stress is the leading cause of illness and fatique. A Reiki treatment provides relief of stress and pain for both the practitioner and the one being treated. You can learn Reiki in one 8-hour session and come home that evening to give treatment. Apply Reiki in the morning to get both of you off to a relaxing stress-free day. Reiki treatment at bedtime provides a very relaxing effect that creates a restful deep sleep.

     Hospitals now use Reiki to aid patient relaxation and to decrease recovery time from injury, ilness or surgery. One of the best benefits of Reiki is that you can do self-treatments as often as necessary. A self-treatment can be done at any time to reduce stress, anxiety and to stop sleepless nights. This is one method to improve your own health. As a caregiver, it offers you a technique of care that will reduce stress, pain and reduce anxiety in the person.