Everyone experiences reiki in their own way. Some have a profound experience, others have an experience that is so gentle, it feels like nothing is happening, but there is always something happening.
Rather than trying to tell you all the things that might happen, allow me to explain, generally, how a session runs. The most important thing for you to do is to simply be and allow yourself to be open to whatever might happen.
Before your visit, you will receive a couple of forms and a link to a chakra test to help focus what you would like to work on before arriving for your reiki session. When you arrive we will sit together and talk through these forms before your session. Sometimes this brings up other things that would be better suited to work on during our session. We can be very flexible in what to work on together.
Next we will get you comfortable in the reiki space. Unlike other modalities, such as massage, you will remain fully clothed during the session.
The room will be calm and relatively dark. We have a shared office space so the building can be noisy at times, or there may be smells that waft under the door. To minimize these distractions, I use a sound machine and a chakra meditation, or even a fan. If you become chilled, or tend to run cold, we can use a blanket and/or turn on the bed warmer (I’ve been told it’s heavenly). Most of the session is in relative silence. If something brings you out of your relaxed state, simply aknowledge it, and let it go. Let yourself go back to that place of peace and calm. You may hear me moving around you, placing and replacing stones. For the most part, I am hands off. I may place my hands on your head, shoulders, ankles or feet. Some people feel sensations even though I’m not physically touching them, this is not unusual. If at any time you feel discomfort or have a question, it’s ok to say something.
Sessions begin with an invocation. Reiki is not associated with any religion, however, we recognize that there are entities larger than ourselves that may assist during the session. The invocation welcomes and invites them into the session. It also sets the tone and formalizes the start of the session.
Next I begin scanning your body. This is done by holding my hands above your body, feeling for where the energies are, how they are moving. Then crystals are placed along your chakras first, then more as needed if there is a particular concern or feeling in any other part of the body. Sometimes they slip off or fall off the table during the session. If this happens, I will simply put them back, no worries.
Almost everyone relaxes enough to fall asleep for at least some of the time. Not only is this ok, it’s encouraged. The more relaxed you are, the more you will be receptive to allowing your energies shift and balance. Again, if something bring you out of this state, aknowledge it, and go back to your place of solitude.
I will gently bring you back out of your deep relaxation or sleep as the session ends. You only need to follow my prompts. While you come back into yourself, we will talk a bit about what you felt during the session while leaving the grounding stones in place. After a few minutes I will invite you to sit up, and drink some water.
Occasionally a client will have a profound moment during the session and may need to pause or to end the session earlier than expected. That’s ok. In this instance we stay in the room, maybe turn up the lights a bit, keep the grounding stones in place and talk through the moment.
During this exit discussion we’ll check in with how you feel. Most everyone feels some sort of shift, more relaxed, calm, less tired, less anxious, more grounded, some even report less pain or discomfort than they felt before.
You will receive a post session suggestion sheet or sheets by email to continue to work through the things that we discussed and worked on during your session.
I hope this gives you a better idea of what to expect during your first reiki session. Hope to see you soon!
~Angela
