The Challenge of Being Healthy

Tidying my office last week, I came across a definition of health as:

•         Good functioning of organ with flow rather than congestion
•         Energy to do what you want in life
•         Not being limited by pain
•         Feeling positive 
•         A state of balance in body, mind and spirit
•         State of resilience

I find this a really good definition and can recognise that I have felt like this.  However, I find that
being in a healthy state like this is a daily challenge!  We humans are so good at challenging our bodies, minds and spirits with things that cause imbalance, such as poor nutrition, exposure to toxins, negative thinking, stress and disconnection from Nature.  One of the things I observed when nursing my mother was the way her body had an amazing ability to try to maintain healthy balance, even when her cancer was very advanced.  In her last weeks of life, she even managed to fight off an infection.  This showed me that given the right support, our bodies, minds and spirits are constantly trying to achieve and maintain balance, if we allow them. 

Covid-19 has made most of us more aware of the challenge to stay healthy and that certain conditions of poor health make further illness more likely.  Many people are struggling with Long Covid which, as with many other health conditions, requires rest for recovery.

I have been exploring rest deeply in the past months, having been completely exhausted in body, mind and soul.  With my body still preferring to be in a ‘fight or flight’ state than a ‘rest and digest’ phase I have not found it easy relax or rest.  Deepening the connection to my spiritual self has been the key to this.  Also, self-care is one of the things we often don’t prioritise in the belief that the needs of others should come first.  I am experiencing the truth of the teaching that without that self-care we end up not being able to help anyone.  It is no accident that self-Reiki, which is restful, quiet and reconnects with body and soul, is the foundation of our practice.

I hope soon to restore my health, so that I will feel more positive, resilient and have the energy to do what I want in life, which is to support others in having all the benefits of being healthy.  I am doing what I feel able to do, gently and gradually.  It’s not easy to take this time because although I know it is necessary, there is so much I want to do!  I am grateful for the Reiki healing I have received to help my recovery so far.

With my sabbatical over, I am making a phased return to work.  It has been good to have time to catch up on some projects that have been waiting for a space like this, including creating the e-book ‘Musings of a Reiki Master’, having my Professional Reiki Practitioner Course verified through The Reiki Association and completing my Nutrition Coaching course.  I do not feel ready to return to face-to-face teaching or treatments yet, but am starting with a few online mentoring sessions and preparing for further teaching later in the year. 

So I have a few more things to offer you this month…

Wishing you good health.

Needing To Pause

Life can be constantly busy and this can become overwhelming.  One of the beautiful gifts I have received from my Reiki practice is a way to pause.

I have learned that pauses are necessary for my well being.  For example last month 3 lovely Reiki friends died, all kind generous people, none of whom were old.  Reiki has taught me that when faced with loss like

Gwen, one of my lovely friends who died recently

this I move through the grief more easily when I pause and allow time to feel the sadness and ponder the memories.

There is a well known saying "Keep calm and carry on" which is a typically English approach to challenging situations.  Perhaps this is why so many of us ignore things that are difficult in our lives and, rather than give ourselves time to allow the feelings, 'carry on regardless'.  However what Reiki teaches me is that those feelings don't disappear because I ignore them.  They are still there and if I don't deal with them may become overwhelming at an inappropriate moment or cause imbalance that results in physical illness.

I know that when I used to go down with the flu it was usually because there was something I was ignoring.  Keeping something out of mind is stressful, which depletes the immune system and makes me more vulnerable to illness.  The resulting flu is nature's way of giving me an enforced pause!

What I try to do these days is to avoid this sort of collapse by making space for pauses in my life, dealing with the causes of difficult feelings if there's something that needs to change, or simply allowing things to be as they are if it isn't.  Pauses are also important for the integration of something new I'm learning.  When I learn a new song I know it will work it's way into my memory after I stop singing it.

Reiki practice offers several ways of having a pause.  For those initiated into Reiki the self treatment can be a daily pause: at the start of the day it can be a useful way of not rushing headlong into everything that I need to do.  Instead I pause, reflect and tune in to my body.  During this time I can become aware of intuitions about what nutritional needs my body has.  A self treatment during the working day is a good way to pause and become calm before carrying on!  As Leonardo De Vinci said: "Every now and then go away and have a little relaxation. For when you come back to your work your judgement will be surer."

Receiving a Reiki treatment from someone else (whether or not you are initiated into Reiki) is also a wonderful way to pause for a while from a busy life.  Like the Japanese Tea Ceremony - where "participants withdraw from the stresses of daily life to the peaceful setting of a special tea room" - a Reiki treatment offers time out where the recipient can experience a state of peaceful relaxation.   In the gentle hands of a good practitioner, you are held in a time of non-doing, a pause from responsibilities, a time to see what is really going on and to let go of what is not helpful.

As the Easter holiday approaches I wish you time for a pause, for reflection and for re-connection with yourself and those closest to you.

Take Care of Yourself

Like many kind and caring people I used to put myself last on the list of people to take care of.  However through my practice of Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki I've learned how important it is to take care of myself if I really want to serve others. 

I received my first lesson in this when I first encountered Reiki: I had sprained my ankle but instead of taking care of it and resting, I still went and limped through a tai chi class.  My teacher noticed I was struggling  and offered me Reiki.  Although the Reiki felt nice, it was not enough to encourage me take better care of myself.

My second lesson came when my father died suddenly: Reiki was offered to me again and, overwhelmed with grief and desperate for comfort, I accepted.  This time, after receiving a deep feeling of peace from the treatment that comforted me to my very soul, I began to learn to take care of myself by receiving more Reiki treatments.  This helped me to move through my grieving process.  I now see that at that time I was not good at caring for myself - because I didn't think I deserved it - so having someone else to support me who believed I was worth caring about was just what I needed.   Having received such a wonderful experience I chose to learn Reiki, so that I could help others experience the same.

However, my third lesson in self care was that learning Reiki also gave me the gift of healing for myself.  Initially I didn't bother too much about doing this: I was more focused on helping other people than helping myself.  Gradually, however, I began to understand that if I really wanted to benefit others I needed to treat myself.   I established the habit of giving myself a Reiki treatment most days and something began to change: I began to caring enough about myself to place my hands in the various positions to treat my whole being and this enhanced my ability to look after myself in other ways.

Self treatment gives me a daily opportunity to pay attention to what is going on in my body and mind.  Like mindfulness practice it helps calm my mind, but more than that it enables me to tap into the wisdom of my body and intuition.  Our bodies are so wise!  My fourth lesson, after some time of practising self treatment, was that my body sends me messages constantly about what is needed to keep me healthy.   So it was as a result of self treatment I became aware that  sugar was a problem for my body, which led to being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

My fifth lesson in self care was that when I listen to my intuition, my body's wisdom and am open to messages coming to me from various sources, it is possible to restore my health and vitality.  As a result I have been able to reverse my diabetes and remain in remission as a result I have more energy and vitality, to offer my service in the world. 

This greater well being from my self care also resulted in greater happiness and I have found that my joy has a positive effect on those around me.  When I learned Reiki all those years ago I never anticipated that the way to truly benefit others would comes from self care.

Self Care: Mindful Preparation

For many years taking care of myself was never high on my list of priorities, but learning Reiki brought me to the understanding that self care is worth spending time on.  At first I resisted this idea, being more interested in helping other people.  However Reiki would not let me persist in this! 

Eventually I surrendered to this simple practice of daily self care and it has had ripples that have affected the rest of my life.  Recently I saw that in fact the self care I had resisted is important for preparing myself to serve others.

Beginning most days with a self Reiki treatment I remain as present as possible as I hold my hands in each of the positions  – a mindfulness practice that helps me to begin the day centred and calm.  This has led me to be more aware of other aspects of self care as I go through life.

Being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes made me look more carefully at my diet and I now know that eating regularly and with protein at every meal helps me balance my blood glucose.  To achieve this requires mindfulness, however as it’s easy to get distracted and forget to eat.  It also requires preparation and planning to ensure I have the right kind of food to hand at the time I need to eat.  I know this can seem fussy and cranky to some people, but I’ve found that through balancing my blood glucose I have more energy and vitality (not to mention loosing 2 stone!).  What this means is that I can do more to serve others and do it better (more efficiently, more joyfully). 

I was recently selected by the British Lung Foundation to run one of their singing for lung health groups, which involved training in London.  In my previous state of health I think I would have struggled to achieve this and would have worried about whether I had the stamina to run the group every week.  Now I feel positive and excited about the prospect!  So improving my health and well being was good preparation to take on this new project.

Another aspect of my self care has been to improve my sleep.  I have Reiki to help me drift off

once I am in bed, but you won’t find me answering emails late at night unless I’m breaking my self care rules!  When I was less good at self care I’ve experienced poor sleep with all the predicted outcomes: irritability, higher stress levels, lack of co-ordination, reduced immunity, increased frequency of making mistakes etc.  Now I take more care to do and not do the things that will encourage good sleep – such as being in bed by 11pm when possible, not eating or drinking anything after 9pm and limiting carbohydrates in the evening.  As a result I sleep well most nights and have more energy to give my attention to planning and balancing my life, rather than struggling through the day, just longing for my bed!

So Reiki has taught me that self care requires mindfulness and is not something that comes last on the list of priorities, but is good preparation for living my life to the full, able to answer whatever Reiki asks of me each day!

When is a good time to receive Reiki treatment?

One of the things I discuss with my students is what time of day is the best time to do self Reiki treatment.  I have found for myself that it's a great way to start the day.  I'm not a morning

Reiki self treatment: a great way to start the day

person - or at least I used not to be.  Now that I start my day with a Reiki self treatment before I get up, I find I'm able to get up more easily!  Treating myself while I'm are still in bed helps to set the tone for the day: I begin in a calm and centred space instead of leaping out of bed into the maelstrom of the day unprepared and flustered!

However some people find that another time of day is better for them: to unwind after work or at the end of the day to help them sleep.  Several of my Reiki students who had sleep problems before learning Reiki  found self treatment very helpful.  It's great being able to give yourself Reiki if you are wakeful in the middle of the night.  Instead of lying there worrying about not being asleep you can relax and heal and many people find they fall asleep without trying.  In fact most of the students who do their Reiki treatment when they go to bed at the end of the day never finish the sequence of hand positions because they fall asleep after just a few positions!

The most important thing, I tell my students, is that you practice self treatment at some time during the day.

There's also the question of when is a good time to recieve a Reiki treatment from someone else.  Often people come for Reiki when there's a crisis of some kind in their life, whether it's health related or emotional.  Certainly I first recieved Reiki after the sudden death of my father and found it a very good time to receive it.  It brought great comfort and peace of mind.  So when there's an acute problem is a good time to receive Reiki.

However I continued to receive Reiki after the initial crisis had passed.   When you have a chronic problem that you want to change is another good time to receive Reiki.  Many people are very stoical and put up with things for a long time. However it's also possible that if you don't ignore it, you and Reiki can change what you are suffering with.  It can't necesarily cure a health problem, but can bring comfort, peace and a sense of acceptance that relieves the suffering. 

I'm often asked how often to receive treatment too.  Mrs Takata (who brought us Reiki from Japan) would treat people daily.  Few Reiki practitioners offer this these days, but certainly when I've received Reiki treatments daily for a period of days it has  been wonderful and often transformative.  Most people receive treatment weekly, fortnightly or monthly, which is fine.  What Takata also taught is that "a little Reiki is alway s better than none", so no matter what the frequency (or infrequency) of receiving Reiki it is beneficial. 

So in my experience any time is a good time to receive Reiki: whether it's you're daily practice or something that you receive occasionally.  The important thing is to receive Reiki sometimes!

Why Self Care is Important for World Peace!

One of the most important gifts I've received from Reiki is learning about self care. 

My favourite quote from the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh is "If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society will benefit from our peace."

Many of us long for greater peace, especially when there is violence like the recent attack in Tunisia.  In my experience the best way to achive this peace is through better self care.

When I'm not taking care of myself I'm more irritable and less tolerant, due to stress and tiredness.  Most of all I judge myself.  This has a negative impact on those around me and I then react to their negativity, creating a downward spiral that is far from peaceful.  If you have small children exhaustion may be unavoidable, but many of us tolerate a level of stress and ill health that simply isn't good for us or our community.  The Reiki Principles advise "Just for today do not anger" which could be interpreted to point towards self care, so that irritation and anger are less likely to arise.  Could there be a link between the amount of anger in the world and the lack of self care - the terrorist suicide bombers being the extreme example? 

Feeling more positive!

Over the years Reiki practice has helped me to judge myself less harshly, achieve better health and greater happiness.   I'm aware that being more peaceful benefits others, because I have seen the results in my family, friends and others I'm connected with.   Instead of being fearful, angry and resentful I bring more positive feelings of kindness and tolerance (not all the time, I'm still human!) which encourages more positive feelings in others.

So how does Reiki help with this? While filming the Reiki Council film introducing Reiki, I was fortunate to meet Dr Rosie Daniel of the Bristol Cancer Centre.  In her interview about Reiki she talked about how when your energy is low, your thoughts are often more negative and you can be less good at caring for yourself.  If you then judge yourself for not doing what you know you ought to, such as taking more exercise, this further depletes your energy. By receiving the energy of Reiki, your energy levels can be raised enough to begin to make some better self care decisions.  I'd also say that the effect of Reiki that many people experience (myself included) is a reduction in stress levels, better sleep and peace of mind, resulting in more positive thoughts and better self care decisions.

Self care also means having greater awareness and taking action, which isn't easy when you're exhausted and stressed.  However when you have a little more energy, or space in your head, it can be easier.  Making one small decision - to receive Reiki - can be a catalyst for improved self care in many forms.

The ability to serve others is greater when you have more vitality.  Taking care of yourself can therefore bring greater peace and well being to your family and community.  So instead of blaming yourself for a lack of self care, do something to improve the situation: get more sleep, change your diet or simply receive Reiki!