By Celeste Pichette, RHA Therapist

Receiving a Reiki session is a helpful tool to have in your holistic well-being toolkit.
I would often be asked the simple question, “What is Reiki?” and I’d launch into this
explanation:
Reiki is a relaxing hands-on energy practice that promotes balance on all levels.
The subtle Reiki vibrations pass through the hands of the practitioner to be
directed by the needs of the recipient encouraging healing and overall well-being.
Treatments are known to bring calm and balance to the body and the energy that
mobilizes the body’s own natural healing mechanisms.  
The word Reiki is Japanese for Universal Life Energy. Ray means universal and
refers to spiritual energy. Ki means the vital life force that flows through all that is
alive. A session provides the opportunity for the recipient to tap into and receive
the balancing benefits of that energy through the trained Reiki professional.
This usually resulted in a deer in the headlights look and no further conversation or
booking of appointments! It is a textbook description based on the metaphysical
understanding of energy. For some, this a bit too much woo-woo mumbo jumbo!
So let’s look at Reiki more pragmatically from each level of your holistic well-being and
the benefits you might experience from a Reiki session.
On the physical level, the calm and quiet setting of a Reiki session allows your body to
slow down, relax, and be still. During this time your nervous system responds by shifting
out of the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight), into the parasympathetic
nervous system (rest and digest).
The marvel of the human body is that it is designed to heal itself given the proper
conditions. A Reiki session is set up with those conditions. Pamela Miles, Reiki Master
and author of Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide, states “I’ve been collaborating with
conventional medicine since the ’90s, and what we know, without making you believe

any odd theories, is that the touch of a Reiki practitioner’s hands, through an unknown
mechanism, seems to remind the receiver’s system of its own capacity to self-heal.”
On a mental level, a Reiki session helps quiet the inner chatter. The never ending To Do
list or the negative self-talk that can cause self-doubt or lack of worthiness moves to the
back ground of your mind. This allows your mind the opportunity to release unwanted
stress, worry, lack, and other negative thought forms. Over time these thought forms
create a physical heaviness. Common feedback from a Reiki recipient is “I feel lighter”.
On an emotional level, a Reiki session can help shift the focus of your feelings. By
scheduling a Reiki session, you are choosing an hour of self-care. Not an easy task in
today’s busy world. This act puts you in a space to receive the care, kindness, and love
coming through the hands of the trained Reiki professional. These positive emotions
help to flush out and can replace negative feelings such as doubt, fear, anxiety, etc.
As the body stills, the mind quiets and loving kindness enters, you as the Reiki recipient
are consciously creating the space to connect with your soul which is the spiritual
benefit of Reiki. From the place of soul connection you have the opportunity to
objectively observe what is out of balance and receive guidance to come back into
homeostasis.
One of my earliest clients described Reiki as “a massage for the soul”. I couldn’t agree
more.

Celeste Pichette is a Reiki and Pranic Healing trained professional and author of
Conscious Choices: What I Choose to BE as I Create Me. She is available for
appointments at RHA on Tuesday and occasionally on Thursday or Friday.
She resides in Macomb Township and participates in the weekly Tuesday evening
meditation and conversation groups at RHA. Follow her on FB at Being Using Divinity.
The print version of her book can be purchased at RHA or online at Amazon. The ebook version is
available at Smashwords and other e-reader platforms like Barnes and Noble, Apple, and Overdrive.