Benefits of Reiki
Reiki is the ultimate in stress reduction.
Energy cleansing, Reiki seems to wash away tension.
You relax, your body can return to its natural state of wellbeing.
A Reiki session can feel like a good night's sleep, from which you awaken refreshed and rejuvenated. Even your face looks younger, the lines of care diminished.
Who Needs Stress Reduction?
Everyone who has experienced stress needs stress reduction. Stress reduction promotes Wellness. In nature, relaxation automatically follows stimulation. The rabbit is chased, escapes, jumps up and literally shakes off the experience. What happens in nature, however, does not happen automatically for modern people. We respond to stressful situations and then often stay in the state of stress.
Stress response stimulators may be as ordinary as a loud noise or as challenging as a job crisis or an injury. PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is an extreme form of this syndrome needing special medical and/or psychological attention. For most, simply entering a relaxed state can shift the body from stress to normal balance. Relaxation supports the immune system, allowing your body to defend and heal you. Stress impacts body and even brain functions by focusing all energy systems on survival. Relaxation allows the body and brain to focus on other tasks, including creativity and enjoyment.
In particular, a possible connection to stress reduction and increased cardiovascular health was recently described. The BBC reported that a new study suggests that reducing stress reduces your heart attack risk. The study, published in the Lancet, found that those with higher activity in the amygdala were more likely to develop cardiovascular disease - and sooner than others. (The amygdala is the part of the brain that prepares you for fight or flight, becoming activated by strong emotional reactions.) The researchers suggest that the amygdala signals to the bone marrow to produce extra white blood cells, which in turn act on the arteries causing them to become inflamed. This can then cause heart attacks, angina and strokes. It found that those who reported the highest levels of stress had the highest levels of amygdala activity and more evidence of inflammation in their blood and arteries. Stress could be as important a risk factor as smoking and high blood pressure, and heart experts said at-risk patients should be helped to manage stress. Dr Ahmed Tawakol, lead author and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said: "Eventually, chronic stress could be treated as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is routinely screened for and effectively managed like other major cardiovascular disease risk factors… Reducing stress could produce benefits that extend beyond an improved sense of psychological wellbeing… Our results provide a unique insight into how stress may lead to cardiovascular disease."**
Although widely respected as a "complementary" therapy, Reiki should not be considered as an alternative to traditional medical intervention. Scientific research into the benefits of Reiki have been inconclusive, partly due to the difficulty of separating out the "placebo" effect. That is, the "healing" feeling that clients perceive cannot be accurately identified as coming directly from Reiki. Clients do, however, report Reiki as being beneficial, especially regarding general well being, relaxation and stress and tension related issues.
Reiki sessions and classes with Carolyn Campora are available by appointment.
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* BBC News. "Brain Activity 'Key in Stress Link to Heart Disease'" BBC News: Health, January 12, 2017, on-line edition, http://www.bbc.com/news/health-38584975