AUBURN - A lot of people could use more energy in their daily lives. Especially those people who take care of a loved one who has issues with mental health.
Jill Connor / The Citizen
Linda Reyes, of Union Springs, holds a crystal in one hand and a stone in the other as Joe Johnson, a Reiki master teacher, speaks with her about the power of energy flow that stones can have on a person at the Reiki demonstration held last week at Auburn Memorial Hospital.
Linda Reyes, of Union Springs, holds a crystal in one hand and a stone in the other as Joe Johnson, a Reiki master teacher, speaks with her about the power of energy flow that stones can have on a person at the Reiki demonstration held last week at Auburn Memorial Hospital.
But according to practitioners of Reiki, energy is everywhere. And some of those practitioners are helping a local group harness that energy to improve the health of their minds, bodies and spirits.
About 15 people attended a local caregiver group through the National Alliance on Mental Illness last week to experience aspects of Reiki. The Japanese tradition uses what its masters describe as an unseen life force energy to help treat stress, alleviate pain and bring balance to the body.
Local Reiki masters Joseph and Linda Johnson offered hands-on sessions of touch-based healing methods. They also demonstrated how energy can be harnessed and used through stones and essential oils in the Reiki practice.
“Everything has energy. We're serving as a sort of channel or vessel,” Joseph Johnson said during the session at Auburn Memorial Hospital.
During the demonstrations, the Johnsons specifically pointed to Reiki as a way to work on emotional and physical stress, as well as increase energy and self-awareness. These are the types of aspects of personal health that people rarely focus on when they are taking care of loved ones, local NAMI president Terri Wasilenko said.
While the NAMI group organizes various programs for its members and the community, only recently has the local chapter of the organization focused on exploring alternatives to feeling better, Wasilenko said.
“When all of your energies are focused on helping and advocating for a loved one, you are kind of lost in the middle of it all,” she said. “But if I am not strong inside, what can I give?”
Reiki is a hands-on form of natural healing in which a practitioner channels energy to the recipient. Using techniques closer to meditation than massage, the practitioner treats a person by placing hands on various locations from the head to the feet.
Wasilenko described the treatment as very “grounding and calm” for people who are open to the concept.
Joseph Johnson pointed out that these techniques are not meant to replace standard medical care. Reiki is a complementary way to help relax and balance one's self, not a cure for cancer, he said.
“It can do different things for different
people, and it can do different things for the same people at different times,” he added.
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net
About 15 people attended a local caregiver group through the National Alliance on Mental Illness last week to experience aspects of Reiki. The Japanese tradition uses what its masters describe as an unseen life force energy to help treat stress, alleviate pain and bring balance to the body.
Local Reiki masters Joseph and Linda Johnson offered hands-on sessions of touch-based healing methods. They also demonstrated how energy can be harnessed and used through stones and essential oils in the Reiki practice.
“Everything has energy. We're serving as a sort of channel or vessel,” Joseph Johnson said during the session at Auburn Memorial Hospital.
During the demonstrations, the Johnsons specifically pointed to Reiki as a way to work on emotional and physical stress, as well as increase energy and self-awareness. These are the types of aspects of personal health that people rarely focus on when they are taking care of loved ones, local NAMI president Terri Wasilenko said.
While the NAMI group organizes various programs for its members and the community, only recently has the local chapter of the organization focused on exploring alternatives to feeling better, Wasilenko said.
“When all of your energies are focused on helping and advocating for a loved one, you are kind of lost in the middle of it all,” she said. “But if I am not strong inside, what can I give?”
Reiki is a hands-on form of natural healing in which a practitioner channels energy to the recipient. Using techniques closer to meditation than massage, the practitioner treats a person by placing hands on various locations from the head to the feet.
Wasilenko described the treatment as very “grounding and calm” for people who are open to the concept.
Joseph Johnson pointed out that these techniques are not meant to replace standard medical care. Reiki is a complementary way to help relax and balance one's self, not a cure for cancer, he said.
“It can do different things for different
people, and it can do different things for the same people at different times,” he added.
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net
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