Reiki: The Japanese Healing Therapy

The origins of Reiki start with Dr Usui of Japan, who discovered a natural system of healing evolving from his understanding of life and energy. "This is the Chi, of Chinese medicine", says therapist Patricia Staines, who carries out the therapy from her East Anglian home. "The therapist gently places her hands non-intrusively in a sequence of positions covering the whole body. Reiki helps by increasing the energy flow in the meridians and stimulating the body's own healing process". The patient, she says, often feels a heat or coolness emanating from the therapist's hands. Though often patients are so relaxed that they cannot tell exactly where the therapist is working. Many people feel that their understanding of themselves inscreases with each treatment.