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No 29 | June - July 2010
EUROGROANS Spotlight Cultural Istanbul The Veil by Any Other Name MUSLIM MARRIAGES
What’s Law Got to Do With It?
REIKIING IT Health and the Human Body
LIVING Health & the Human Body
Reikiing it Alternative ways to charge your batteries Forget jogging along busy and noisy smog-laden streets, or submitting your weary parts to pummelling by unfamiliar and probably unwelcome manipulative hands and feet. Reiki lets you renew yourself in the privacy of your own self, as Michele Bresson discovers
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veryone knows that the nearest we come to considering the healing properties of palms is when we hear good tidings while having our palms ‘read’ by a mate — or a charlatan. But palms can heal, too, or that is what advocates and practitioners of reiki would have us believe. Reiki translates in Japanese roughly as universal life energy, yet most popular dictionaries do not even list the word, which is odd, since reiki is now recognised worldwide as a system of alternative or complementary healing with its origins in Japan. In substance, however, health gurus point out that reiki as an ancient form of hands-on healing is not specific to Japan and has existed in a generic form in many different cultures for thousands of years before it was rediscovered in the 1800s by Dr Mikao Usui, a Buddhist theologian. There certainly are stories of reiki-type healing in both the Middle East and Europe. The fact that Usui developed his healing system from ancient Buddhist teachings indicates origins in South Asia, where Buddhism began. There are links, too, between various miracles related in religious texts and reiki-like experiences.
Palm Power Reiki is all about palms — Power Palms, that is. You submit yourself to a reiki master of your choice — but not in the way you would if you chose to have reflexology in its myriad variations. As in most reflexology sessions, a
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Gaetano Vivo: A holistic approach to those receiving reiki treatment
reiki session involves lying flat on a high table — about the same height as your DIY wall-papering table but sturdier — and on your back. Variations on the receiving position are not unknown, such as sitting in a chair while your reiki master delivers the treatment standing behind you (see photos). Unlike in reflexology, undressing is not required and certainly not recommended but when I mentioned this to a friend, her reply was: why not? wouldn’t lying naked increase the effect of the Power Palms? Alas, the experts are discreetly quiet on this one. Unlike reflexology, reiki is non-
June / July 2010
invasive — that is, if you don’t consider the energy transmission in the same category as physical pummelling. In the former, as soon as your therapist is ready, he or she will twist and turn you in ways that you thought was impossible, certainly unthinkable. In the latter, you lie (or sit) and wait. What do you feel? That depends on the effectiveness, skill and Palm Power of your reiki master. A good reiki master will have you aglow with positive energy within minutes. A bad one will leave you … well, feeling cheated. Luckily there are mostly good reiki masters about, and for a good reason, too. A
Where are your chakras? Experts will differ on almost anything, but below is the order of the body chakras most people agree on ➲ ➊ Root Chakra. Behind the pubic bone, base of the spine, tailbone or coccyx ➋ Reproductive organs ➌ Solar plexus, also called abdominal brain ➍ Heart ➎ Throat ➏ Central cavity of the brain, centred above the eyebrows, also called the Third Eye ➐ Crown/top of the head
reiki blast is nothing if not subtle, but when it gets going the effect becomes apparent on the state of our your mind, body and spirit (if you believe in having one yourself). Reiki involves the practitioner laying hands on or over the subject’s body to channel ki, the Japanese version of the Chinese term qi or chi, the energy present in every living thing including, in case you didn’t know it, you. London-based Gaetano Vivo, who has written a book on the subject and is an active practitioner of the artful therapy, says reiki suits everyone, whatever their age or medical condition, as experience of the energy can reduce stress, heart rate and blood pressure, boost the body’s immune system and help your general well-being where there is physical or emotional injury. Gaetano Vivo says reiki is a good aid when dealing with depression, emotional problems, even pain, and can ‘assist’ with the management of chronic insomnia or migraine, even asthma. He points out that reiki works
as a supplement to other therapeutic or medical treatments and techniques to facilitate recovery and relieve side effects. Reiki is not a diagnostic therapy, and a good and conscientious reiki practitioner will not deign to tell you what is wrong with you. So, how does Gaetano Vivo do it? He told MEE in a recent conversation he reads the subject’s aura — the electromagnetic field that surrounds every living organism — and balances the chakras, the flower- or wheel-like vortices which, according to traditional Asian medicine, are believed to exist on the surface of the body. Seven major chakras or energy centres are generally believed to exist within the subtle body [See inset, above left].
Holistic approach Gaetano Vivo says his approach involves ‘very deep’ channelling of the subject’s reiki energy, leading to faster results in terms of well-being and health. He points out that, as reiki takes a holistic approach and each person receiving the treatment is different and unique, the treatment of an individual may be longer or shorter than that recommended for another individual. Likewise, each of the positions adopted or recommended for a recipient of reiki can potentially correspond to a different chakra energy gateway, given that there are seven of them! The practitioner is likely to touch chakra points on the head and the torso, legs and feet. As the session proceeds it is
common for the subject to feel different sensations that can range from coolness or warmth to tingling, numbness or pressure. These sensations occur, Gaetano Vivo explains, as the reiki energy restores balance within the body, mind and spirit. Everyone experiences reiki in a different way, he says. But is it safe? Gaetano Vivo assures us that reiki is completely safe but, as with all complementary treatments, the greatest benefits are derived when some minimum guidelines are followed: w Wear loose clothing when receiving reiki; w Let your reiki practitioner know of any existing medical conditions; w Resist the temptation, while feeling good afterwards, to binge on food and drink. Gaetano Vivo warns that after therapy you may not just feel relaxed but also sleepy (good to know when driving or even getting on your bike). Some people may experience minor headache and/or increased thirst, and it is common to feel slightly more emotional than normal. However, he points out, as reiki is a holistic treatment each person’s response may be different and can range from a very strong and profound reaction through to one that is very subtle. ©MEE
Web links
Gaetano Vivo www.gaetanovivo.com/uk The Reiki Association UK www.reikiassociation. org.uk Japan Holistic Reiki Association www.japan-reiki. org/english.html Reiki Training, USA www reiki.org | www.meenet.info
June / July 2010
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Austria: Andreas Huber, Vienna. Layr Wuestenhagen, Vienna Belgium: Office Baroque, Antwerp. *Elisa Platteau, Bruxelles China: *Platform China, Beijing France: Bugada & Cargnel, Paris. *Carlos Cardenas, Paris. Chez Valentin, Paris. Lucile Corty, Paris. *Gaudel de Stampa, Paris. Schleicher + Lange, Paris Germany: Sandra Bürgel, Berlin. *Chert, Berlin. Circus, Berlin. Croy Nielsen, Berlin. Karin Guenther, Hamburg. Tanya Leighton, Berlin. *Lüttgenmeijer, Berlin. Peres Projects, Berlin/Los Angeles. Micky Schubert, Berlin. Sommer & Kohl, Berlin. *Supportico Lopez, Berlin Great Britain: Ancient and Modern, London. Sorcha Dallas, Glasgow. Fortescue Avenue/Jonathan Viner, London. Carl Freedman, London. Herald St., London. Hotel, London. *Limoncello, London. Mary Mary, Glasgow Greece: Loraini Alimantiri Gazonrouge, Athens Hungary: Kisterem, Budapest Ireland: Mother’s Tankstation, Dublin Italy: *Fluxia, Milan. Fonti, Naples. Francesca Minini, Milan Lithuania: Tulips & Roses, Vilnius Mexico: *Labor, Mexico D.F. Netherlands: Wilfried Lentz, Rotterdam. Juliette Jongma, Amsterdam. Martin van Zomeren, Amsterdam. Zinger, Amsterdam Norway: Lautom, Oslo Poland: lokal 30, Warsaw. Raster, Warsaw Romania: Andreiana Mihail, Bucharest. Plan B, Cluj/Berlin Spain: NoguerasBlanchard, Barcelona Sweden: *Johan Berggren, Malmö. Elastic, Malmö Switzerland: BolteLang, Zurich. Claudia Groeflin, Zurich. *Karma International, Zurich Turkey: Rodeo, Istanbul USA: *Altman Siegel, San Francisco. Bureau, New York. Elizabeth Dee, New York. Foxy Production, New York. James Fuentes, New York. Harris Lieberman, New York. Overduin and Kite, Los Angeles. Daniel Reich, New York. Taxter & Spengemann, New York. Wallspace, New York.
June 15–20, 2010
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