Reiki & PTSD

How Reiki can help when working with PTSD

Reiki, simply stated, calms and stills the spirit of the person. It can promote relaxation from the outside in and remind the body how it feels to be calm again. The act of sharing Reiki can also remind the body that physical touch can be nurturing and therapeutic. Reiki promotes inner peace and calm. When the spirit self has been calmed and quieted, the physical healings of the body can begin.

During the fight or flight response, emotions are often buried in an attempt to assist the man or woman through the traumatic experience. Oftentimes, emotions can get trapped and stored in the body as cellular memory. Through deep relaxation and calming of the spirit, those trapped or buried emotions and trauma can be gently released.

It is important to remember that Reiki heals at the soul or spirit level, thus we can never predict the man or womans experience or outcome. Trusting and following the energy will always take us where we need to go and address what they need most in that moment.

Reiki and PTSD

Reiki students and practitioners often ask me “what is the protocol for” or “how should I work with a someone with …”? My answer is always that you follow the energy. When a some one comes to you, no matter what the diagnosis or condition is, you treat them as a human being first. People are not their diagnosis or their condition. Understanding the condition or having guidelines can help (see working with PTSD Guidelines), but the most important thing to know when giving Reiki is that it acts on priority. This means that it gives them what they most need at that moment in time….not what we think they need. The men or women may need physical relaxation, emotional calming, mind clearing, etc. They may need to release old traumas. We don’t know and should not assume we know what they need. Let them and their own energy guide you and show you what they need.