The Monadnock Region has recently become a hotbed for the practice of reiki.
Reiki is a Japanese technique that is done through the “laying on of hands” and is based on the belief that everyone has an energy within them that affects their health, both physical and mental, according to the Reiki Organization’s official website. Reiki promotes healing and relaxation.
Carol Cleary, a reiki practitioner at Shakti Healing Arts in Peterborough, describes reiki and reiki sessions in a simple way.
“Basically what reiki does is move energy within your body,” Cleary said. “The energy comes from spirit to me [the practitioner] to you and aligns your chakras. It’s not quite massage; it’s hands-on but it’s not pushing on your body. It puts your body into balance.”
To reiki practitioners, chakras are energy centers within the body. While there are many chakras within the body, there are seven major ones. During a reiki session, the practitioner applies pressure to the chakras that go down the body from the top of the head down to the feet then back up the body. Some reiki only does the front of the body, but other reiki has the individual flip over and reiki is done up and down again on the back.
Today, reiki is gaining attention in the public eye and more people are attending sessions.
“I think it’s the time of alternative healing. I think people are more open to it now,” Cleary said.
In the Monadnock Region, several local practices have popped up within the few years. Just in downtown Peterborough, there’s Shakti; right up Main Street is Shining Spiral Healing Arts. Optimism Plus Reiki Center for Wellness and Healing opened in 2016 in Fitzwilliam. Brianna Graves and Ivor Edmonds plan to open a practice called Saga in Dublin this summer. And in Temple, Barbara Thorngren has recently opened the Avalon Healing Arts Barn Studio.
“It’s great that it is becoming of more interest,” Thorngren said.
She said is thrilled reiki and other alternative treatments such as essential oils are becoming more integrated into healthcare, from reducing pain caused by Lyme disease to reducing everyday stress.
“In reiki level one you are taught how to do reiki on yourself,” Thorngren said, which is great. “It’s like having a first aid kit in your hands.”
Thorngren studied under reiki master teacher Libby Barnett of Wilton, who is the longest practicing reiki master practitioner and teacher on the East Coast, starting in 1995 to become a reiki practitioner at level one. She soon after returned to her to train for level two and eventually to become a reiki master.
Over the years, Thorngren has seen public awareness of reiki shift, she said. Back in the 1990s, you could only learn about reiki through a trained master, which would cost you about $10,000, and sharing reiki knowledge outside of that type of training was forbidden.
“It was so different,” Thorngren said. “Of course, the internet back then was not what it is today and in reiki, level two we are gifted symbols that we consider sacred that we use with our hands and in the air and on our clients. Those symbols were considered very sacred.”
However, keeping reiki symbols secret conflicted with the reiki goals, which include healing yourself and healing the plant, but also reiki practitioners share the goal of spreading reiki and its healing to all. Keeping reiki practices secret and cost prohibitive went against this goal.
“A number of reiki masters broke with the ranks and started writing and sharing in books for the first time reiki symbols,” Thorngren said. “And it was crazy, I remember a number of years looking up, online, reiki symbols and being shocked to find them.”
While Thorngren isn’t on board with some current reiki trends such as reiki healing sessions given over the phone she understands the idea behind phone healing sessions is that reiki is a universal life energy so it doesn’t have to conform to the same time and space restrictions as other treatments, she said.
“I took an online reiki course just to see how it was done. … I like being in the same room as my clients and as a teacher being in the same room as my students,” Thorngren said, adding she is also not opposed to these types of training or sessions. “For those who are housebound that must be a good thing.”
After 20 plus years of practice, Thorngren said, performing reiki on herself and her surroundings has become a part of her everyday life and how she faces challenges.
“Just about every situation you can imagine I use reiki,” Thorngren said.
She even uses reiki on her farm animals that she said add a compete of healing to the reiki sessions in her Temple healing arts studio.
“My dog loves it. My cat hates it. The chickens have liked it and I’ve yet to see about the ducks, they are new to the farm,” Thorngren said.
Cleary does reiki on herself every morning before she even gets out of bed. She attributes this practice to her healthy blood pressure level.
Linda Garvey, a licensed massage therapist at Keene Integrative Massage, said that she uses reiki with her clients who have a difficult time relaxing on the massage table.
“I had a young man come in, probably 25, and he came to me for a specific condition. I’ve been doing cupping for him. He has a hard time getting relaxed on the table. He ended up getting our package deal so you get an add-on and he’s been trying to do different modalities with that. When I did the reiki for him, he had never had reiki before and he reported to me that he was able to relax a lot quicker on the table,” Garvey said.
Garvey said this may be why reiki has gained some popularity recently as it becomes integrated into other forms of alternative healing like massage. Also, people who are interested in other forms of energy practices, like tai chi or qigong, often take an interest in Reiki as well.
Garvey also said that it is reported surgery patients who have reiki done on them have faster healing times. Many nurses in the healthcare industry also use reiki.
“Here’s the thing we’re taught – the reiki will shine no matter what,” Garvey said. “It’s nice to begin the session with reiki just to put your hands on the person and feel their energy flow. I can definitely feel the energy blockages with people.”
Garvey also wants to stress how reiki can do no harm. Whether or not people believe in its healing ability, it cannot hurt you.
Whatever the reason may be for reiki gaining traction in mainstream culture, those who practice it believe in its relaxation and healing elements.
“It relaxes and it calms your body,” Cleary said. “Some people come just for relaxation. People when they’re in emotional distress, their bodies are all tense. Reiki will help smooth the chakras out. Basically, I would say it’s an energy clearing.”
Ben Conant and Meghan Pierce contributed to this story.