BY REBECCA YAKIMOWSKI
“Reiki is a holistic system of healing. Although Reiki Ho has often been connected to developing the physical healing ability, it's ultimate purpose is to enable one to reach complete relaxation. This is done through self-cleansing, self-development and self-empowerment through integrating Reiki into every aspect of our lives and translating the Reiki flow or state of consciousness into our every day reality.” Elyssa Matthews
My first experience with Reiki was when I was 8. It was summer in Saskatchewan & I was eating lunch on a patio with my parents when I was stung by a bee. Our waitress saw & came over asking if she could gently place her hands over where I had been stung to give me Reiki. Within seconds I calmed down.
My second experience with Reiki when I was 15. I never really understood what Reiki was but my mother practiced & being the high strung anxious kid I was as my restlessness amplified at night I would ask her if she could do ‘a little bit of her magic’ on me. She would stand at the foot of my bed & give me Reiki - it would help me sleep.
My third experience with Reiki was in my early 20’s. I was working at a busy night club & assigned a new girl to train. It was a conversation about Reiki that bonded us. This would be the soul sister I would backpack through South East Asia with, do my initial yoga teacher training with essentially initiating my career in the wellness industry & spiritual communities in Toronto. Upon coming home from that trip I began my personal Reiki practice journey.
So, what is Reiki? I get asked often & every time I struggle to find words. I know Reiki based on my experience with it but articulating the breadth of what this practice has come to mean to me is challenging.
Reiki is a practice - it’s intended to be experienced & embodied. The more you work with Reiki the more this energy runs through you & your life. It isn’t something you go to google read up on & understand. It’s not something you go to a weekend workshop & then do nothing with & expect for it to necessarily shift your life in a profound way. It’s a practice.
It’s the practice I return to because of how it continues to make me feel. I lean into Reiki to nurture myself & others. On days when I’m running around like a headless chicken it makes me feel like if for only ten minutes regardless of my life circumstances I’m ok, I’m connected, I’m home. Beyond that, Reiki opened up a meaningful conversation for me about the art of allowing. The practice connects me to a voice who holds me accountable to the sensitivity, softness & tenderness that resides within in a world trying to constantly diminish this part of me. This is the voice I trust to guide flow for my life & so a practice that keeps me better connected to this voice matters. The practice encourages consciousness & has functioned to strengthen my bond to my intuitive voice within.
Reiki continues to walk me through a range of self-reflection shifting how I choose to show up in this world. As I work with the practices & the energy of Reiki the more the practice has served to support & move me deep from the inside out. Like a friend or family member who brings out the best in you - Reiki does this for me which is why I have come to value it & am beyond excited to pass this lineage of practice along to my Chi Junky family. Rebecca
“Reiki Ho in essence is the practice of 'spreading the light of the great universe' over the earth on a daily basis. We do this by seeking to realize happiness for ourselves; contributing to the well-being of others and by seeking to harmonize ourselves with all existence.” Martin Stock
