Reiki Journal: My first in-person client

My first in-person client was a family friend's husband. He had been experiencing a lot of neck pain that he couldn't seem to relieve despite all of his varied efforts. He knew nothing of Reiki, but he told me he was open. I did my best to describe Reiki over the phone but I could tell he still didn't really get. I have to admit I was nervous in explaining it. How do you explain how a non-physical force positively affects the physical world? I didn't know the "how", I just knew it worked. Nonetheless, he continued to emphasize that he was willing to try it and was open. He was an ideal first client and as nervous as I was to know that I would be putting my hands all over the body of someone's husband, I knew there were no mistakes. We set our appointment and I promptly began my celebratory dance after we hung up.

Our appointment was set in the evening. I had set up the living room as a welcoming healing room. My Reiki table was dressed with a fresh sheet, I burned incense, Reikied the room, and charged my crystal grids. I still was very anxious for his arrival, so I Reikied myself, meditated, spoke to my guides, ate some food, and took a shower. By the time he came in, I was ready. I used my phone as a timer. We scheduled an hour long session for $40. We first began with what some call psychic surgery. In this technique, I use rhythmic breathing and funny movements to remove any blocks that may be present. It is a great way to clear the auric field and prepare the client to open and receive Reiki. It is also pretty fun to do due to the dramatic movements that I end up making. After I was finished I asked him to lay down and relax.

When I was taught Reiki, both the client and the practitioner remained silent throughout the session but he was very talkative. Maybe he was nervous, well I think we were both nervous as we listen to our stomachs bubble and sing. Instead of encouraging silence, I went with it. Why not? He was a great conversationalist, so am I, and I felt the energy flowing through my hands so I knew it wasn't impeding the work we were doing. It became interesting because as I moved in different sections in his body, the topic of our conversation changed and as he finished speaking about the various subjects I would feel guided to go to a different part of his body. I did more listening and focusing on my work than speaking, but I made sure to stay engaged with him. Even though I knew he came for neck problems, I found it interesting that the first place I felt guided to go was to his feet. His neck was one of the last places I went.

As it is said and experienced, whenever you give a Reiki session, you also receive one. I definitely got a great session. Even though he didn't know much about Reiki, he was a very spiritually conscious person. I found that as he opened up, a lot of what he was releasing was great wisdom for me to learn from. An hour is a long time with a stranger, so I found the more I was open to him the faster the time went by. After I left his neck, I noticed there was still 15 minutes left. I scanned his body again and once again I was at his feet. I felt the energy flowing through my hands stronger than before. It came as a shock because I assumed that it would be winding down, but I went with it. In this way, Reiki is always teaching the practitioner. From his feet I went to his hip and then I felt strong guidance to go to his other hip. He expressed that he experienced a hip injury in his youth. As I was at his hip, he asked me how did I know where to go. That was when I really started to open up. As I spoke, I felt a great amount of wisdom flow through me and color my words. I listened carefully as I spoke. The energy continued to flow strongly and I found tears wetting my cheeks. My heart was wide open. I truly didn't know why I was crying as I wasn't said. In many ways I felt I was crying for him, helping him to release pent up emotions. The session ended as the tears dried.

He got off the table and said he felt like a brand new man. To both of our surprise, all of his neck pain was gone. We exchanged hugs and thank yous and he gave me a tip. After he left, my excitement exploded. I danced, jumped, and ran around the house full of energy. I was in a state of complete elation and gratitude.