The Art of Healing

Reiki Office Hours: Frequently Asked Questions about Reiki

• Charlyce Davis • Season 6 • Episode 2

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Please join me for Reiki Medicine Office hours.  I am answering common questions concerning Reiki and Energy Medicine.
During this episode, we discuss:
Anxiety-we discuss changes in the mind, brain, body, and hormones that occur as a consequence of anxiety.  

Common physical symptoms after a Reiki Attunement or Reiki Healing Session:
https://healingartshealthandwellness.com/2021/10/06/7-things-that-happen-after-reiki-attunement/

Learn more about Reiki Healing with Dr. Charlyce here:
Reiki with Dr. Charlyce 
https://healingartshealthandwellness.com/reiki-care-with-dr-charlyce/

A Brief History of Reiki:
We discuss the origins of the healing art Reiki.  Learn more about Reiki with my free resource Reiki 101
https://healingartshealthandwellness.aweb.page/p/a15e7693-70ef-4886-a570-cbd6c0b67011


Join me and Kathy Harmon-Luber for our healing program (for free!) here:
Vibrational Healing-Healing the Heart Chakra
https://healingartshealthandwellness.aweb.page/p/bfd182f7-b456-4ce8-b743-f21fcbd630d8

Welcome to the Art of Healing Podcast community.  This podcast is devoted to helping you find what works on your journey to health and wellness.  This podcast is devoted to providing information on many healing modalities.  Learn more about:

  • Reiki
  • Functional Medicine
  • Meditation
  • Energy Healing

and more!

Learn more about Dr. Charlyce here. 

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Speaker 1:

Welcome back to the Art of Feeling podcast. This is Charlize, and thank you, as always, for joining me for this episode. I wanted to start this here off by answering questions that I've had from listeners, from blog post readers. So, in the vein of what we had done last week, which was frequently asked questions, and those were from my medical practice, these are questions that pertain more to Reiki into energy medicine. So this is office hours for Reiki and energy medicine.

Speaker 1:

First, I'd like to get started with a few announcements. I am so happy to announce that I have been working for the past year on transitioning from my practice, which was a hospital owned clinic, into working for myself. So there's two things to announce, which one I think you'll probably know, which is my Ethnal Medical Medicine practice that is now available to people across multiple states. So I'm so happy that now my membership's up and it's rolling and, in addition to the monthly memberships and the visits that can be scheduled with me, I plan to have some programs that are self guided, that you can just get started on your own, and hopefully to get going some group programs later on. I am also happy to announce that my Reiki practice is open, so I've had it for a while but I couldn't really say too much because for one I really need to finish up working where I was and get everything closed and working okay there. My Reiki practice is either with me in person, which you'll get the details if you book with me through my website, or you can work with me through a distance Reiki session. Distance Reiki is a great way to get a Reiki session in the comfort of your own home. It can be done by phone, by text, or we just agree upon a time and we just do it. So I'm so happy that I'll be able to offer that now and I'll include the links to my schedule in the show notes.

Speaker 1:

I'd like to share my advice from my patients that are dealing with anxiety. Anxiety actually is one of my favorite topics because it's both an energy medicine topic and it's both a medical topic, it's a psychological topic, even a spiritual topic. So when you're suffering from anxiety, there's two forms which there's the anxiety attachment, which you are overwhelmed with panic, dread, a sense of doom, with physical symptoms that go with it, and then there's a more chronic, more indolent type, which we'll call generalized anxiety disorder. Several podcasts back I had done an episode of what happens when you have an anxiety attack. So I'd like to revisit that briefly.

Speaker 1:

So when you have an anxiety attack, it's an episode in which a thought or stimulus gets the brain fired up. This is how I explain to my patients. So the thought or stimulus takes over the brain and the upper brain, which is responsible for conscious thought, begins to recycle that thought, and whether what comes around it is true or not, its importance grows and becomes even more severe, until the point that the brain begins to believe what was a little worry is not a big worry. As the higher brain the part of the brain that generates conscious thought as well as planning, is circulating this thought, it begins to communicate with what I call the lower brain, also called the lizard brains, the hypothalamus and the brain stem that something's really wrong, and so those parts of the brain correspondingly respond. Those are the parts of the brain that have control over the endocrine system, the glands, and so they begin to communicate through initially the hypothalamus, then to the brain stem and then to the spinal cord, through the vagus nerve as well, or the body, to prepare itself for an attack. So the signal is primarily in the heart, as well as the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands begin to prepare themselves to start to make large amounts of stress hormones, particularly for an immediate threat.

Speaker 1:

After the stimulus is coming for so long, the adrenal glands will start to get confused if they keep getting a signal that something bad's happening, but it never does. So one of those thoughts might come through, might get that whole cycle fired up, and then suddenly the adrenal glands will release large quantities of stress hormones, including cortisol, adenolone, norepinephrine. So there's times that we need those and those are actually really good to make, especially if we're trying to run or fight or something like that. But if that happens and you're relaxing or you're like the meeting or driving into work and nothing's happened, it's extremely disruptive because physiologically your body responds with dilated pupils, sweating, nausea, maybe other tummy troubles because blood's diverted away from the digestive tract and this cluster of symptoms is coming together roughly to create what we call an anxiety attack. In addition to those things, your heart rate will go up, so you'll have palpitations and of course, if you measure your heart rate during that time, heart rate's even higher, blood pressure's probably higher. All of those things come together to create the discomfort of an anxiety attack.

Speaker 1:

So it is possible to learn to work with your body, but in the throes of it you really can't do that. You really have to let it pass, and best you can offer yourself is self-compassion, because it's not that you would choose to go through that. It's just the way your brain has trained itself to deal with the external environment. Both of those are related and treating those can be similar and, depending on your background, what you've been through, the key with managing and treating anxiety is diligence. Whatever you're doing, you'll have to do it every day and to some extent you'll have to have faith that it'll work.

Speaker 1:

So I notice with my patients that have anxiety. It is very hard to convince them that staying in therapy, staying on the medications, as well as continuing to do whatever energy medicine technique they've chosen or opted in being at yoga, meditation, mindfulness, daily walks you have to keep at it, even if you feel that it's not working. That was one of my reasons for writing my book 21-day meditation journey and my online course 21-day meditation challenge is that for those that are needing meditation the most, they often struggle with trying to get it done. They just don't feel it. They cannot get their mind to settle and so if they can stick to it for 21 days, they'll feel the benefit. I did for myself when I first dealt with anxiety and had to find a way to calm it. But the effect is not immediate. So it is an element of having some faith, keeping at it, learning to train your mind and your body to face the world differently, learning to engage your breath so that you can understand when you're starting to breathe rapidly, when you're starting to drive the anxiety thoughts, and then learning how to unwind those, and soon that can become a habit. So if you're someone who is living with anxiety, I'll offer both my book and my course as simple places to start. You can add those to your toolbox. But of course, you really should be working with a professional, because the thing with anxiety is, although someone can tell you what it is when you're in it, it's hard to talk yourself out of it. So, working with a therapist, with a psychiatrist, with your primary care doctor, to make sure that if you need to be on medication or, if you're on medication, if they need to be adjusted.

Speaker 1:

Recently someone asked me where did Reiki come from? So Reiki is a healing modality that can be classified as energy medicine or maybe metaphysical practice. It originates from Japan and the story of Reiki starts in Japan with the original Reiki master, yusui, and what happened was he took a spiritual journey to Mount Kuroo-na, a mountain in Japan, and while there he was guided to fast and meditate for 21 days and through this process his energetic level was elevated, he was changed and wisdom was imparted to him from a higher source, of a healing modality that, used energy, could move energy and its channel by human. The story of Reiki is part handed down by verbal history and then part handed down by books, research text. So, as I give this history, this comes from my Reiki training, but I've discovered over the years that there's a lot of debate about the original origins of Reiki, but they agreed upon story for most Reiki practitioners is that Master Yusui discovered the healing modality on Mount Kuroo-na and once he finished his pilgrimage of 21 days and he hiked down the mountain, he soon discovered his ability to help others in suffering using this healing modality. By accident, he healed a young woman who was suffering from a dental infection by laying hands on her, and then there was another incident. Sorry, I can't remember what it was, but that's sort of the origin story.

Speaker 1:

I have seen a lot of posts in social media things saying that Reiki is ancient. I'm not really sure what we qualify as ancient, because a healing modality is around over a hundred years old. And then, of course, there's some texts and some healers that believe that it's a recycling of energy that humans already had, a recycling of knowledge that was just somehow lost throughout the eons of human existence. But many do feel that Reiki is a resurgence of the healing modality that Jesus Christ used during his healing when he was alive. Like with many healing traditions, the history is not always clear, but I can tell you that, being a Reiki practitioner and a Reiki recipient myself, that, wherever it came from, it really does help.

Speaker 1:

It is a healing modality that can be done hands on. It can be done hands off. It can also be done in the same room, or you can be in different rooms or different parts of the building or even different parts of the world. It's also a healing modality that's not just meant to be used on physical ailments or emotional suffering. It can be used as a wellness tool, a strategic tool. You can use it to help improve business, improve relationship or just improve life. I use it in as many aspects as I can in my life because it helps.

Speaker 1:

Several months ago I was reflecting on how I felt after I completed each level of my Reiki attunements. Even now, when I do retraining because I've learned from other healers and I've experienced it myself that doing training in Reiki again just to tune up your own energy that I often feel pretty differently afterwards, sometimes different in a good way. Most recently after completing a Reiki one attunement because I wanted to get my energy optimized as I prepare to start receiving more or assisting more Reiki clients, after a Reiki two attunement I actually contracted COVID. Now there were multiple circumstances that led to my immune system being suppressed, but I wasn't too surprised. In my article Seven Things that Can Happen After Reiki Attunement, I addressed some of those.

Speaker 1:

I've noticed that readers often will send back questions. One that comes back pretty commonly is is it normal to have back pain after a Reiki attunement? My answer from my own reading talking to other healers and then my own experience it is normal. It's not pleasant, but probably the way to see that is. Anytime we go through a change, a shift, something like that, there's probably could be side effects. What's probably happening after you have done your Reiki attunement, and this advice in the article is written mostly for those that were considering Reiki or were in the middle of their training or have just completed their training, but this advice could also apply to someone who's just received a Reiki session that, as your energy has been shifted and moved and stagnant energy has been cleared.

Speaker 1:

Just like with a physical condition, side effects are possible. So we as humans often can reference physical conditions much more easily, and one common condition I could think of is what if you had digestive issues where you were constipated for a long time, maybe because of diet stress or whatever? As you take steps to improve your digestion, such as making dietary changes or possibly getting some much-needed rest or returning home from a trip where you've been traveling, you might have a phase in which you have the opposite symptoms. So, whereas you were constipated, there may be a period of time where your body detoxes and you have diarrhea. So as I gave that example, I realized I picked the easiest example I could. I guess it's my medical background, but yeah. So after your Reiki attunement, it is possible that your energy is shifted, your vibration is higher, but you might be releasing things you were holding on to no longer need and, as a result, there could be physical consequences of this.

Speaker 1:

The advice that I offer for anyone who's experiencing uncomfortable physical sensations or emotional changes after a Reiki attunement or after a Reiki healing session is to spend several days being gentle to yourself, devoting many of your resources to self-care, and by doing this this will allow your energy healing or your attunement to be even more effective. So the question I had particular was back pain, and my advice I give is to focus on grounding, focus on doing restorative yoga to help the muscles relax and giving it time and just knowing that, although you have that uncomfortable physical sensation, it's a sign that you've made a shift, in that you're healing and after that phase has resolved, you can look forward to feeling better and stronger. If you have particular questions around Reiki, around healing energy, or if you have medical questions, particularly functional medicine questions, I would love to answer your question during the podcast, so in the show notes I'll put where you're able to reach me. You can send me a message through my website, you can send me a direct email and let me know if you want a shout out, if you want me to name you and to answer your question.

Speaker 1:

My hope is with this podcast, it's been such a blessing because it's allowed me to connect to people I would not have connected to in my everyday life, and also my hope is to deepen my connections with you as part of the community and to see where this goes. It's been very exciting stepping out. You might be aware that my background is a physician, so broadcasting on a public forum can feel weird at times. I'm used to working with people one-on-one, so as we move forward, I do hope to strengthen our connections with each other and really hope to open this platform so that we can communicate as a two-way street. So check your show notes for how to communicate with me if you have a particular question, and we will meet back in the next week or two.

Speaker 1:

I typically like to close out each month with a meditation or healing exercise, but I will probably directing all of us to the YouTube premiere of the vibrational healing that was created by Kathy Harmon-Luber and I as our monthly exercise. We work together creating a program to heal and open the heart chakra, and I think that this would be a great place to closing month of January, and I'll actually put the links for that program in the show notes as well. It's completely free. We've created resources to go with it, to download, and the goal of it is to open and heal the heart chakra for anything that you're needing to afford to invite more love into your life, to heal grief, to heal trauma. So check the show notes for that as well. All right, thank you so much. Bye, bye.

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Dr. Charlyce

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