Autumn is unquestionably one of the most beautiful times of year. It’s also a time of transition from the joy and warmth of summer to the shorter and crisper days of autumn. A reasonably reflective season, which has become especially so for me. From mid-September to Guy Fawkes, I have an anniversary or a birthday of a loved one, now gone, pretty much every two weeks and I’m still adjusting to this new reality. The emotions which I live with can bubble up closer to the surface than I ideally wish them to be. At the start of September, I was feeling a little emotionally precarious and before I knew it, I was booking my first reiki session.

Why reiki?, you may ask! Being honest, for years I’ve heard mentions of it, but knew very little about it. However, a friend, who has experienced not insignificant emotional trauma has often referred to reiki as a treasure, in terms of emotional support and strength. This was exactly what I felt I was in need of. To put it simply, I needed to be bolstered up and patched together. I was emotionally drained and physically exhausted. But does reiki actually work?

Reiki is essentially a Japanese complementary therapy based on energy healing, with the belief being, life force energy flows through all of us. If this energy is low, we are more susceptible to illness and stress; when our energy levels are high, we feel happy and are more likely to be healthy. Reiki practitioners channel energy into you through touch. It’s a holistic treatment and so it addresses your mind, body, spirit and emotions. It can reduce stress and promote relaxation and healing and in doing so restores your physical and emotional wellbeing. Exactly, what I felt I was in need of.

When I turned up for my appointment at Mandala Flow, I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but I immediately felt comfortable and relaxed amongst the crystals and gem stones. Then there was Liz, the practitioner. What an amazingly kind, warm and generous person. The type of person you just feel really comfortable around. I explained why I was there and Liz warned me I could feel a little more emotional after reiki. Forget that, I was in tears before it even began! As I mentioned, I was in a highly emotional place!

I really can’t fully explain what happened during my first reiki session. Liz’s hands were comfortingly warm and worked their magic from my head to my toes. She told me to think of the good times with my mum and my brother during the treatment. Being honest, I found this so hard to do. For the first fifteen minutes at least, the tears just wouldn’t stop coming and my stomach churned. But as the treatment progressed, it was almost as if I was reconnecting with them and the tears stopped and before I knew it, I was flicking through memories like you would a photograph album. It was a deeply soothing, warming, tingling, spiritual and emotional hour. But it was equally steadying and strengthening. In an attempt to describe the effect reiki had on me, I would say the holes in my soul were healed, temporarily at least. I felt strong again, with the vulnerability I had been feeling, and hate, totally gone. In fact, I felt pretty much completely restored. A lot more like myself and how I want to feel.

One session has been enough for me to realise reiki is an incredibly restorative and calming treatment; a means to boost your inner strength whenever you need it. It really does work and it’s there for you when you need a pick-me-up for whatever reason at all, not just in times of grief. It truly is a treasure, that has to be tried to be believed. I’m so totally delighted to have discovered reiki…Liz, I’m coming back!