Reiki is a method of healing that a growing number of people swear by. The actual practice of reiki involves gentle touch and hand movements, with the participant lying on a table and the healer focusing on certain areas to use energy to heal.
Those who partake tell us that the ancient therapy enhances the body's own innate ability to heal itself, and praise the practise for its mental, spiritual, emotional and physical benefits.
Patricia Loughlin has been practicing reiki for over 25 years and started her journey during the breakup of her marriage, which saw her experiencing low levels of confidence and high anxiety and stress.
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Patricia decided to try reiki at the time and felt "wave after wave" of healing as the practitioner placed their hands on her chakras (energy centres on the body).
While some people swear by reiki and others are more sceptical, I was somewhere in the middle. I hadn't thought long about reiki at all so perhaps I was entering Patricia's ambient Foxrock reiki shed with the right open mind.
Patricia herself is a warm presence, a soft spoken woman who you instantly feel safe around. When she begins to speak about reiki and healing in general, her caring and tender character really comes out, letting me know that there was no better woman for the job of performing my first reiki session.
After an inquisitive chat about reiki, its history and its benefits, it was time to lie down on the table and for Patricia to work her magic.
She covered me in a blanket and as the slow, relaxing music set the mood, she placed crystals on each of my seven chakras, which she explained all had different meanings.
The goal was to clear my chakras of 'blocks', which are each said to manifest themselves in different ways. For example, a block in my crown chakra may make me narrow minded or stubborn. Meanwhile a block in my throat chakra might manifest itself in problems in the mouth area, or in conversations and verbal interactions (such as speaking without thinking and gossiping).
My eyes were shut and Patricia started the process, first placing her hands on my head. Admittedly, it took me a while to relax fully and I found my mind wander quite a bit. But a bit of patience saw me drift into a deep meditative state.
As Patricia placed her hands on my various chakras, I get deeper and deeper into a state of relaxation and even felt the odd twitch and tingle in various parts of my body, something Patricia told me would likely happen due to flows of energy.
The more relaxed I got, the more I began to lose my sense of time. I could have been on the table for 10, 15, 20 or even 30 minutes, but I had no idea how long it actually was until after.
Perhaps the most notable sensation during the session was how light I felt in the areas upon which Patricia had worked on. By the end, I felt as light as a feather.
While testimonies of reiki include people becoming overwhelmed with emotion and feeling almost biblical benefits, my experience was a more relaxed, meditative one. Being on the table allowed me to fully switch off for around 20 minutes which has benefits of its own.
I did feel tangible, physical befits including a much better sleep that night and a general increase in relaxation for the days following.
A die-hard cynic will tell you it was a simple placebo effect that I was feeling. What I know is that I was significantly more relaxed leaving Patricia than I was when I arrived at her door. What I also know is that I fell into a deep meditative state while on the table and felt the occasional unexpected sensation during the session.
Would I recommend reiki? If anxiety and stress are things that you struggle to grapple with, I would strongly recommend it. The relaxation I felt during the session was something I rarely get to feel, and it was by far the benefit I was profoundly grateful for after leaving.
To book a reiki healing session with Patricia, you can visit reikiinireland.com.
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