You may have heard of the Earth's electromagnetic field, also known as its biofield(1). The biofield is now widely understood by scientists to be a unifying field of information and energy. The Earth's electromagnetic field, for example, is read by birds for migration purposes using a protein in their eyes (2). Plant photosynthesis is also governed by this coherence-inducing biofield.
Just like the Earth, each person has an electromagnetic field around them. It's called the human biofield. What's more, the emerging sphere of biofield science is revealing (3) that these energetic fields also exist at the cellular level, and are especially pronounced around internal transmitters of information, such as hormones.
Reiki practitioners are gifted with a sensitivity to imbalances in these fields, and also trained to be an "energy conduit" to help heal and rebalance them. In fact, practitioners of Reiki place their hands in the same spots as the body's endocrine glands (4). These glands are hormone producers that play a vital role in regulating mind-body wellness.
All of this groundbreaking science recently prompted the International Association of Reiki Professionals to ask the question, "Has Physics Caught Up with Reiki?" (5)
What Reiki does is use touch and healing energy to help you relax, unwind, and release stress. The goal is to create a flow of well-balanced energy throughout your body that's supportive of your body's own ability to heal. "Rei" and "ki" actually are Japanese words meaning "universal" and "vital life force", and the practice was founded by a Buddhist monk named Mikao Usui (6) in the early 20th century to help bring ancient medical practices back into the modern world.
According to the Cleveland Clinic (7), Reiki is a complementary therapy that can be used in combination with standard treatments prescribed by healthcare professionals. This is because it's been shown to help improve feelings of wellbeing, peace, and health.
When you go into a Reiki session, you'll typically lay on a table or recline in a chair with soft music playing just as you would when you get a massage, but with all your clothes on.
Your Reiki healer will discuss what to expect from the session and may ask if you're feeling any discomfort or stress in any particular area of your body. You can use this opportunity to talk about any emotional, spiritual, or physical problems you may be dealing with.
The session will begin with your practitioner placing their hands lightly on your body or just above it, and you can let them know which of the two you prefer. Typically, they'll start this laying of hands at the top of your head or bottom of your feet and move up or down your body. The hand placement (8) sites include:
The amount of time spent on each site can depend on the level of energy healing needed in each spot. After your session is over, usually after about 60-90 minutes, it's recommended to drink lots of water and take at least a few minutes away from the hustle and bustle of your day to relax quietly in contemplation.
There have been a growing number of studies done on the benefits of reiki for your physical and mental health. This biofield healing practice has been shown to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (9) and may help with (10):
Because it may assist with symptoms that are common to so many different health problems, Reiki has broad potential as a complementary therapy for numerous conditions (12) such as arthritis, cancer, endocrine disorders, heart disease, emphysema, drug and alcohol addiction, and post-surgical healing. It's even been shown to assist in bolstering key immune system markers, including white blood cell count.
In addition to the benefits listed above, there have been a number of studies (13) showing the positive effects of Reiki on anxiety symptoms. For example, post-operative hysterectomy patients (14) showed reduced pain and anxiety after Reiki treatment. Likewise, patients undergoing knee surgery (15) had significantly lower levels of anxiety and pain than those who only received standard care.
Post-surgery care isn't the only place that Reiki has been documented to help people better manage their anxiety. One small 2019 study (16) tracked Reiki's effect on mental health and found it reduced anxiety symptoms in three out of four participants. A somewhat larger study (17) of 40 college students with anxiety, depression, or both revealed that Reiki therapy significantly improved the mood of participants with high anxiety even five weeks post-therapy.
Reiki is gaining traction in the medical community and is now being used at a growing number (18) of hospitals, clinics, and health associations to help heart, cancer, post-surgical, and many other patients to have better health outcomes. The therapy is considered safe for all ages, including those in pediatric care, and is even used by nurses for self-care.
Because Reiki is not a medication, it has no interactions with prescribed or over-the-counter medications. Some people who have a Reiki session have reported mild symptoms (19) such as excess tiredness, headaches, nausea, and weakness. Others mention discomfort and anxiety during the session due to being unable to relax.
CBD is an abbreviation for Cannabidiol, a cannabinoid which is a compound found in the cannabis plant. More specifically in the hemp plant which has the largest CBD amounts available for extracted and processed to create consumable products. It mainly targets the "master oversight" Endocannabinoid System (ECS), (20) which is responsible for properly regulating a whole host of health-balancing processes in the body, including:
There are a whole host of studies done and being done on the benefits of this compound and it’s effects, we will not go into too much depth on these in this blog but please feel free to read more on the subject through some of our other blogs.
We already mentioned that reiki hand placements (21) target the endocrine system, where information-transmitting hormones are produced.
According to a recent review (22) in the Polish Journal of Endocrinology (Endrokrynologia Polska), there are numerous health-enhancing interactions between the body's endocrine system and its Endocannabinoid System via naturally produced cannabinoids – known as "endogenous cannabinoids" or "endocannabinoids" for short.
CBD works (23) by helping boost and support these endocannabinoids so they can effectively do their job of regulating your internal health processes. By relieving stress and helping you relax, Reiki may also help boost and support endocannabinoids. This is because chronic stress has been shown to deplete endocannabinoids. (24)
Because of their work targeting two similar (and interactive) systems that regulate chemicals, signals, and information to drive proper mind-body processes, Reiki and CBD might be thought of as powerful partners in creating homeostasis, or a balanced state of wellness in your body.
Reiki CBD combinations can help you relax before a session begins, and better integrate the flow of healing energy afterward.
This is because CBD, like Reiki, has been scientifically shown to help calm (25) the mind and body. CBD also may assist with stimulating (26) the emotional and memory processing centers of the brain to help you be aware and understand any feelings that may come up during your Reiki session.
To get a sustained flow of calm and focus both before and after your Reiki therapy, a lot of people turn to CBD edibles. This is because they're not only delicious and a wonderful consumption method, but their effects last longer than CBD oils taken sublingually (under the tongue) because of the digestion process they must undergo. Sublingual consumption methods results in quicker effect yet may last a shorter amount of time. Here are a few of our top Reiki-CBD combination recommendations:
In conclusion, Reiki is an ancient wellness and healing practice that has helped many people since the beginning, there are wonderful experienced practitioner in the US and around the world. The use of CBD in tandem with Reiki is showing to be an effective way to enhance the benefits. It is important to find an experience practician and using a high quality CBD product that is grown, extracted, processed and tested with best practices protocols, a company you can trust.
If you have questions about using CBD to complement Reiki therapy, contact us today and we'll help you find the best CBD products for your healing goals.
Physiology: A Framework for an Emerging Discipline”
Published: November 2015 Authors: Richard Hammerschlag,
PhD, Michael Levin, PhD, Rollin McCraty, PhD, Namuun Bat,
BA, John A. Ives, PhD, Susan K. Lutgendorf, PhD, and James
System” Published: April 8, 2021
Physics”
of Reiki 1865 - 1926”
Really Work?” Published: August 30, 2021
Hand Positions”
Than Placebo and Has Broad Potential as a Complementary
Health Therapy” Published: October 2017 Author: David E.
McManus, PhD
Forefront of Science, Technology, and Medicine”
pain and fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis”
Published: June 6, 2022 Authors: Kevser SevgiÜnal and
Aslan FundaÇetinkaya
Research” Author: William Lee Rand
Therapy on Pain and Anxiety in Adults: An In-Depth Literature
Review of Randomized Trials with Effect Size Calculations”
Published: February 28, 2014 Authors:Susan Thrane, RN,
MSN, OCN, Pre-doctoral Fellow and Susan M. Cohen, DSN,
APRN, FAAN
Research Shows” Published: May 17, 2016 Authors:
Medically reviewed by Scientific Advisory Board — Written by
Deborah Bier, PhD
“Effects of Reiki on Pain, Anxiety, and Blood Pressure in
Patients Undergoing Knee Replacement” Published: March/
April 2017 Authors: Baldwin, Ann Linda PhD; Vitale, Anne
PhD, APN, AHN-BC; Brownell, Elise PhD; Kryak, Elizabeth
DrNP, RN-BC; Rand, William
Reiki on Anxiety” Published: November 11, 2019 Authors:
Lindsay C. Webster, Janice Miner Holden, Dee C. Ray, Eric
Price and Tessa M. Hastings
Efficacy of Reiki at Benefitting Mood and Well-Being”
Published: March 27, 2011 Authors: Deborah Bowden,
Lorna Goddard, and John Gruzelier
“Reiki in the Clinical Setting is On The Rise”
Authors:Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph.D.,
MSN, R.N., IBCLC, AHN-BC, CHT — Written by Kirsten
Nunez
Endocrine System” Published: April 8, 2021
cannabinoids on the endocrine system” Published: 2018
Authors: Magdalena Borowska, Agata Czarnywojtek,
Nadia Sawicka-Gutaj, Kosma Woliński,
Przemysław Mikołajczak, Marek Ruchała
with your Body’s Endocannabinoid System”
Feeding of the Endocannabinoid System: A Systematic
Review of Potential Clinical Interventions that Upregulate the
Endocannabinoid System” Published: March 12, 2014
Authors: John M. McPartland, Geoffrey W. Guy, and
Cannabidiol help us Cope During Stressful Times”
Published: May 6, 2020 Author: Mary Biles
hippocampus” Published: August 9, 2020
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