and alternative medicine (often called alternative medicine used herbal supplements The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine …
Reiki Energy Medicine: Enhancing the Healing Process
by Alice Moore, RN, BS, Reiki Master Hartford Hospital Deptof Integrative Medicine, Hartford, CT
With increasing frequency and confidence, we speak of Energy Medicine also known as energy work as if it was a new form of therapy for our patients ailments Not so Thousands of years ago ancient cultures understood intuitively what scientific research and practitioners world-wide are confirming today about the flow or lack of flow of energy in the body and, how the use of energy therapies can enhance the healing process As well known medical surveys report approximately 50 of the American public using some form of complementary or alternative therapy, energy work is among the ten most frequently used Research has shown that these therapies often called mind-body-spirit techniques can help decrease anxiety, diminish pain, strengthen the immune system, and accelerate healing, whether by simply inducing the relaxation response and reversing
the stress response and subsequent impacts on the body, illness, and disease or, by more complex mechanisms When patients choose these options, there is often a greater sense of participation in healing and restoration of health and, patient satisfaction is often increased in the process It was with this understanding that Womens Health Services at Hartford Hospital in collaboration with Alice Moore, RN, BS, Reiki Master and Volunteer Services began to integrate Reiki healing touch one of the most well known forms of energy work on the inpatient gynecological surgical unit in 1997 Patients have been very pleased to be offered an option that is so relaxing and helps decrease their anxiety as well as their discomfort Comments from patient satisfaction questionnaires include I am so grateful for the pain relief and peacefulness I felt after the Reiki session, Reiki was the highlight of my day and I am so thankful to the volunteers, and I would highly recommend this program I feel the
Reiki and guided imagery helped me recover faster After the tremendous success of this program, the formal Integrative Medicine Program under the direction of Dr Molly Punzo, MD was developed in 2000 incorporating Reiki Pilot Programs as well as Massage, Guided Imagery, Acupuncture, and Art for Healing on the Cardiology, Orthopedic, Oncology, and Palliative Care units, as well as in the outpatient Cancer Center During the pilot phase, outcome measurements were obtained from patients rating their anxiety and pain pre and post Reiki sessions After analysis by the Quality Management Department, the results not only showed a decrease in anxiety and pain, but a statistically significant decrease regardless of specialty area see following diagram: Reiki Outcomes
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This was also in line with JACHOs recent focus on offering non-medicinal options for relief of anxiety and pain More formal research is currently being proposed Reiki has become an integral part of the traditional medical care
on these previous pilot units utilizing approximately 60 Reiki Volunteers trained and validated by the hospital As the word spreads, and as the program is being expanded to other areas of the hospital, the Dept of Integrative Medicine also receives a growing number of special requests daily As mentioned before, although Reiki is relatively new to many of us, it is an ancient hands-on relaxation and healing technique dating back several thousands of years, rediscovered in Japan in the 1920s Here are some of the most frequently asked questions: What is Reiki? Reiki is a Japanese hands-on technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing It is based on the concept that everything in the universe is made up of energy and this life force energy that flows all around us is drawn in by the body nourishing the cells, organs, and glands This same energy also radiates from the body and is called the human energy field When ones energy is depleted, imbalanced, or the flow
is restricted by stress and holding, injury, illness, etc, one is more susceptible to discomfort, further illness, and disease as with restrictions of the circulatory and nervous systems When ones energy is restored, free-flowing, or balanced, one is more likely to feel relaxed and the bodys own innate healing abilities are jump-started and utilized for healing According to research done as early as 1930 by Dr Harold Burr from Yale, disease imbalances can be detected in the energy field before symptoms and can be altered by altering the vibrational frequency of the energy field This was not well accepted at that time but is becoming more widely recognized What does Reiki feel like? Although Reiki is hands-on, unlike massage, it is administered through a softer touch rather than a deeper pressure While the patient is seated or lying down and fully clothed, the practitioners hands are placed along energy centers and pathways on the head, neck, chest, abdomen, legs, and feet similar to
those used by acupuncturists As energy is transferred to the body, the patient may feel warmth, coolness, gentle tingling, or just deep relaxation For those in the final stages of life, it can also provide a more peaceful transition What are the benefits? Research on various types of energy work has shown that, in addition to deep relaxation, there can be a reduction in muscle tension and pain, accelerated wound healing, and a greater sense of health and wellbeing It is useful during illness, after injuries, pre and post-op, as well as for health promotion The patient does not need to believe in the process but only needs to be receptive to experience benefits Who can learn? Anyone can learn - the ability to tap into the universal life-force energy is not dependent on intellectual capacity or belief, only a desire to offer comfort Hands on healing techniques are often approached with a spiritual perspective and yet, based on basic physiology, can be approached very neutrally The human
body is designed in such a way that whenever we touch someone with the intention of offering comfort, there is automatically an energy exchange Research and measurement of energy flow from a trained practitioners hands has shown that when the practitioner is in a meditative, healing state centered, relaxed, with clear intention, present for the patients highest good there is an even greater flow of energy Based on this concept of energy flow and intention, using the SQUID magnetometer, Dr John Zimmerman of the University of Colorado Medical School has been able to measure not only a difference in the vibrational frequency coming from the non-trained and trained practitioners hands, but from the
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trained practitioners, a range from 3 Hz to 30 Hz The most frequent measurement observed was 7-8 Hz the vibrational frequency found most often in nature in harmony and in the music that research has shown to be the most healing This research was also later confirmed in Japan This range of
frequencies correlates with the varying vibrational frequencies of healthy tissues and organs The range also incorporates the frequencies used in the electromagnetic treatment equipment now being used in traditional medicine to accelerate healing in bone, skin, etc see following diagram from Energy Medicine, a Scientific Basis by Dr James Oschman
Since energy flow in the body is not an easily understood or accepted concept, a personal experience or the ability to measure and document is certainly helpful, especially for the more skeptical mind In addition to the magnetometer, Kirilian photography a Russian discovery can help us see the energy emanating from the body, show us how it changes with stress, thoughts, emotions, etc, and as the following diagram conveys, specifically show the energy from the hand:
Although we are beginning to measure energy fields and energy transference, the mechanism for Reiki and other hands-on techniques is still uncertain Since the practitioners hands
are placed over the energy pathways used by acupuncturists, is there a release of endorphins as in acupuncture? Is there a release of nitric oxide since cells in which nitric oxide is produced are influenced by energy fields? Well have to wait and see Until recently, alternative and complementary therapies including energy work were felt to be too mysterious, confusing, and controversial to be approached scientifically Now science and energy practitioners are discovering similar results However, waiting for the research does not change the fact that patients are seeking healing options such as Reiki and giving us very positive feedback
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Being hospitalized is rarely a patients first choice However, having access to skilled physicians and staff, as well as the opportunity to integrate additional healing options such as Reiki Massage, Acupuncture, Guided Imagery, Art for Healing, etc into their care, can sometimes be life enhancing for our patients and help them feel calmer, more
comfortable, more empowered, and more in control during a very stressful time for them Although modern medicine has tended to focus more on the physical aspects of healing, we are coming full circle learning that healing is more holistic when we incorporate these mind, body, spirit techniques Jeffrey Migdon, MD in the Alternative Advisor very concisely summed it up by saying The face of healthcare is changingmoving toward a more open-minded view of nonconventional remediessome new, some long forgotten
References 1Barnett, Libby, and Chambers, Maggie Reiki Energy Medicine: Bringing Healing Touch into Home, Hospice, and Hospital Vermont: Healing Arts Press, 1996 2Benson, Herbert, MD The Relaxation Response New York: Avon Books, 1997 3Eisenberg, David, MD, et al Trends in Alternative Medicine Use in the United States, 1990-1997 Journal of the American Medical Association, 1997 4Gerber, Richard, MD Vibrational Medicine: New Choices for Healing Ourselves NM: Bear and Co Publishers, 1996
5Olson, Karin, RN Using Reiki to Manage Pain: A Preliminary Report Prevention and Controle en Cancerologie, 1997: 12 6Oschman, James, PhD Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis NY: Churchill Livingston, 2000 7Pert, Candice, PhD Molecules of Emotion: the Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine NY: Simon and Schuster, 1999 8Wetzel, M RN, MSN Reiki Healing: A Physiologic Perspective Journal of Holistic Nursing 1998: 47-53 9The Efficacy of Reiki hands-on Healing: Improvement in Spleen and Nervous System Function as Quantified by Electrodermal Screening Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 1997: 3 4 89
The Hartford Hospital Dept of Integrative Medicine is available for consultation and educational presentations For more information, call Marcia Rothwell, LMT, Program Coordinator at 860 5454444, email itherapies@harthosporg, or visit our website at wwwharthosporg/intmed Alice Moore, RN, BS, Reiki Master-Teacher a former ICU Nurse Manager, was involved in the initial development of
Hartford Hospitals Reiki Program, is currently the teacher and coordinator for the Integrative Medicine Dept, and can be reached at 860 545-4308 or aimoore@harthosporg She also has a private practice offering Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, Craniosacral Therapy, and Guided Imagery for surgery preparation
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Source:ecam.oxfordjournals.org
