Pain is commonly understood as an unpleasant physical sensation caused due to an illness or injury. While there are many ways to categorize pain, the easiest would be to understand it either as acute or chronic pain.
Acute pain is that sensation which comes without any warning and is usually for a short duration; chronic pain, however, though not very intense, is for a longer duration caused primarily as a result of a damaged nerve. In most cases, the two are accompanied by an illness or is the stress caused due to a damaged tissue, muscle, or organ. Given the nature of the two, chronic pain is more debilitating as it lasts longer, thereby causing anxiety and emotional distress.
One can easily imagine the discomfort and the state of mind of those who have to cope with chronic pain. Most studies have also shown how a mind under this kind of stress unwittingly resists treatment and prolongs the pain. Be it a migraine or dull ache in any part of the body, chronic pain is a cause for concern and needs immediate attention.
So, what are the major causes of physical pain?
Largely, pain is often classified by the kind of damage that initially triggers it and is either:
- Caused due to tissue damage which is called nociceptive; or
- Caused due to nerve damage which is called neuropathic.
There is a third category called psychogenic pain which is triggered as a result of psychological factors. Often pain has a physical origin which gets prolonged by psychological factors, such as fear, anxiety, stress, or depression.
How does it Work?
Reiki, a new-age healing modality, is helpful in dealing with pain as the essential energy flow is restored in the body during sessions. This unblocking is critical as it helps reduce physical tension and pain. Premised on the belief that Reiki draws energy from its surroundings, a light touch is used to beam positive rays into the body. This healing energy, as it flows from the practitioner to the patient, it enhances the durability of the biofield—also understood as energy body. With the positive flow, blocked channels open up and the body is restored to its state of physical and mental well-being.
Healing Chronic Pain with Reiki
The International Journal of Behavioral Medicine has acknowledged the effectiveness of Reiki, essentially a treatment of biofields, which has been used to relieve chronic pain in patients across age groups. These studies affirm how once the biofields have been worked upon there has been a drastic improvement in the intensity of pain. Cancer patients and patients with abdominal hysterectomies who have taken Reiki treatment have said they have felt lower levels of stress and anxiety during treatment. Those who are terminally ill and are under hospice also benefit from this as it improves their quality of life by reducing the pain of chemotherapy. Additionally, because it has no side effects and uses a very light touch, mostly by positioning the hands over the afflicted area, those who are not comfortable with physical contact find this immensely helpful.
Given these advantages it is no surprise that Reiki is being offered as a treatment option in many hospitals and nursing homes around the world. Reiki helps in relaxing the body’s muscles which in turn helps in reducing pain. For any healing to take place, it is essential that the energy flow is restored. As we all know, the mind and body are connected and stress in either part can and will impact the other. Easing emotional stress is just as important as easing physical pain. Is it not a fact that those who have anger issues are often patients of high blood pressure? Similarly, people who suffer from severe migraines are often stressed and anxious. In other words, when the body’s energy flow is disrupted, the resulting energy imbalance causes a number of illnesses.
The mind–body connect: Mobilizing the healing powers of Karuna Reiki
Understood as compassionate action, Karuna Reiki evolved out of Usui and Tibetan Reiki. It arose from a basic desire to know and seek that which is waiting to be uncovered. In this regard, a Reiki master must see oneself as a vehicle or a conduit through which others can come to a similar understanding and awareness. For those who use this as an added technique, toning and chanting during sessions add special emphasis to the healing that one receives. Allowing oneself to truly channel Reiki through sound current, most effectively observed in chanting, dramatically improves the overall quality of one’s life and invites powerful healing energy. Using this technique can open up higher channels of consciousness and can help us in receiving help through new, more powerful ways.
Healing through Sound
The healing power of a sweet melody is known to us all. Reiki as a healing modality uses Japanese Kanji characters as symbols, wherein each symbol functions as a key to activate a specific frequency of energy which reduces stress and generates relaxation and healing. By intoning these sounds, the symbols through which energy is channeled, it is possible to replicate the effect of these symbols. Chanting, perhaps the oldest form of healing is one of the strongest manifestations of channeling powerful healing energy by using voice. Considered to be future of new-age healing, using sound for relieving stress is an effective and easy way of dealing with stress.