| Reiki benefits for children, teens, and adults Reiki therapy is safe and non-invasive. It is being used to facilitate relaxation and recovery, decrease anxiety and treat pain in hospices, nursing homes, emergency rooms, operating rooms, organ transplantation care units, pediatric, neonatal and OB/GYN units.
According to Lawrence Palevsky, M.D., FAAP, former chief of pediatric acute care at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, one of the biggest issues for kids today is maintaining acceptable behavior while dealing with anxieties, fears, emotions, peer pressures, and educational pressures. In addition, the range of childhood ailments-ear infections, respiratory infections, asthma, and gastrointestinal upset-is extending to include many conditions that once plagued only adults, such as type 2(adult-onset) diabetes. Palevsky sees Reiki as a valuable part of care, one that can quietly address the emotional component of conditions such as asthma and irritable bowel syndrome whole empowering kids with another tool for self-regulation
ADD or ADHD
According to statistics released this year by the National Mental Health Association, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is the most common psychiatric condition, affecting millions of children, and estimated 5 percent to 10 percent of all children nationwide. Children with this diagnosis often demonstrate, among other things: inattentiveness, irritability, impulsivity, hyperactivity, social/emotional issues and defiance. Reiki can be very helpful with these issues. Of course, each situation is unique and a cure can not be promised, but practitioners have been reporting positive results using Reiki with behavior problems for quite a long time. Part of the key to this benefit regarding children with ADD or ADHD is the flexibility practitioners have regarding application. The practitioner can simply be in the same room with the child, offering the energy gently, without touching or even being near the child. Some practitioners just spend time with the child, playing, coloring….letting the child guide the action. As the child becomes more and more comfortable, and as the energy begins to work, changes can be made in how the child receives Reiki. Since Reiki works on all levels of the body - mental, emotional as well as physical, - the body will be able to use the energy to find balance in its own way. It will adjust to the moment, and important factor in dealing with these issues. Changes may come gradually, as is the case with Reiki and many other natural healing techniques. Often, it would be a wise choice for a parent to be trained in Reiki so the child can receive daily Reiki. (This document is Copyright 2004 by the Reiki Empowerment Group, all rights reserved).
Autism
Practitioners have also seen good results working and training children with Autism, Asperger's, and other developmental syndromes. The causes of autism are unknown, and much controversy surrounds it. Because Reiki is balancing, it can be of benefit regardless of the cause, and can provide soothing moments for parents and kids alike. Reiki helps children get rid of fear, worry and lack of interest. Children who learn Reiki benefit from empowerment as well as its centering effect.
| | Pregnancy and infant care Chronic stress during pregnancy has been linked to sleeping and feeding problems after the baby is born, as well as anxiety, symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, aggressiveness and behavioral problems as children grow. In addition, research has traced the roots of heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and other conditions to the womb, in ways that are separate from genetic influences, although maternal behavior also alters genes.
Reiki can be used to help improve the whole family's experience through pregnancy, delivery, and post-partum. It has been shown to be useful in dealing with pain, including labor pains during delivery, can reduce stress and anxiety post-partum, and provides partners a tool to participate more fully through providing care for mom and baby. Reiki can be provided by mom herself, her partner, and by health care professionals. Using Reiki on infants is a lot like caring for anyone else - anxiety, sleep problems, pain (gas, colic) all affect infants and Reiki can be used with no contraindications. Studies performed using Reiki with premature infants in an intensive care situation, promote bonding and well-being and are therefore an essential therapy for the benefit of parents, babies, and health care professionals.
Grieving process
Reiki can support the person who is dying and also loved ones by relieving the physical, emotional, and spiritual pain experienced at the end of life. Reiki’s effectiveness in end-of-life care is quickly noticed by hospice professionals, and many hospices now include Reiki. Reiki provides a quiet activity that family members can engage in together as they choose, bonding even more deeply as they support one another. Sometimes everyone, including the dying person and children gathers for a family training. Reiki silently connects each person to their own unique spirituality. It cleans and clears the emotions from being so draining and offers perspective along with offering relief during emotional distress and sorrow. Even young children can participate in Reiki and should. It gives them a way to address their own anxiety and sadness that they instinctively understand and enables them to connect with and contribute to the patient and other family members.
Cancer
Reiki is used by cancer patients for relief from the anxiety, pain, and fatigue that can accompany every stage of the illness and treatment, and to support recovery beyond the active treatment phase.
Reiki can reduce the relentless anxiety that stalks people awaiting diagnosis without interfering with the diagnostic process. After diagnosis, Reiki centers patients, enabling them to address treatment decisions with greater clarity. Reiki can help with side effects of treatment such as nausea and fatigue. Reiki is an invaluable support after treatment, when patients often feel abandoned once they are cut loose from their treatment schedule to dwell alone in a land between illness and wellness.
Heart disease
The heart is linked with the emotions and with spirit, and there is emerging research evidence to support this. The research suggests that anger can trigger a fatal arrhythmia or stroke in people at high risk. Other studies show that patients who have had heart attacks and are depressed are twice as likely to die or have a repeat attack.
People report feeling more centered and emotionally balanced, more able to let go of past hurts and resentments, once they start using Reiki. Not only is a lessening of depression commonly reported but also there are research data suggesting Reiki can have a lasting benefit for people with depression.
Senior citizens
Reiki helps seniors soothe anxiety, relieve pain, and sleep better. Many find Reiki to help them with side effects of medications. Depression in seniors is more prevalent than commonly realized. It is associated with conditions that occur more frequently among seniors, such as Parkinson’s disease, cancer, seizure disorder, diabetes, chronic lung disease, stoke, heart disease, sever pain, and with treatment for multiple diseases common in geriatric medicine. Seniors find Reiki helps side effects and many seniors using Reiki are able to reduce medications for anxiety or pain, under their doctors’ supervision. Reiki has also helps seniors shorten their recovery time, enabling them to regain mobility faster and decreasing the likelihood of lasting disability.
During medical intervention
Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madoran, found Reiki helpful in a study that required intravenous medication to be administered to autistic children, tots to teens. Insertion of the IV was problematic. The kids wouldn’t cooperate until a nurse gave them individual Reiki treatments. Twenty minutes into the treatments, while the nurse continued offering Reiki, the doctor quietly entered the room and quickly inserted the IVs. The kids barely noticed.
The material under benefits comes directly from, “Reiki a Comprehension Guide, by, Pamela Miles (2006).
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