A Quiet Mind

Today is May 5th. In years past I was a huge fan of celebrating Cinco de Mayo in the drunken, sloppy fashion that those of us in the United States think is the proper way to celebrate this Mexican national holiday. Who doesn't love chips, salsa and margaritas? When I left my office today I passed packed happy hours at various restaurants and went straight to my scheduled Reiki session. Most people will tell you that as you get older and more mature, you tend to party less. The fact that I chose to meditate after work tonight over heading out for a Mexican food feast doesn't have anything to do with maturity, it is strictly Lyme related!

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. This healing technique is based on the principle that the therapist can channel energy into the patient by means of touch, to activate the natural healing processes of the patients body and restore physical and emotional well-being. In a standard treatment Reiki energy flows from the practitioners hands into the client. The client is usually laying on a massage table but treatments can also be given while the client is seated or even standing. The client remains fully clothed. The practitioner places her/his hands on or near the clients body in a series of hand positions. These include positions around the head and shoulders, the stomach, and feet. Other, more specific positions may be used based on the clients needs. Each position is held for three to ten minutes depending on how much Reiki the client needs at each position. The whole treatment usually lasts between 45 and 90 minutes.

In my last post, I mentioned the book "Why Can't I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme & Chronic Disease" by Richard I. Horowitz, MD. By the time I read about meditation in his book I had already gone to three sessions of Reiki per a friends suggestion. Over the years of talking with his patients, Dr. Horowitz has found that the pain and suffering associated with Lyme disease not only manifests as physical symptoms but also has a strong emotional component. He believes there are many health benefits of meditation and he encourages his patients to explore it in order to help teach the mind to be clear and relaxed. Being grounded in your body and aware of what you are experiencing, seeing, hearing, and so on can help you find peace in the midst of illness (I just summarized a chapter of a book here in a few sentences, but I am sure you get the picture).

I didn’t do any research about meditation or Reiki before I went to my first session. I wanted to go in there with an open mind about everything and not have any expectations. It is way to easy to read things like this, and have your mind made up about a new experience before you even try it. 

During my first session the Reiki Master explained Reiki and what she would be doing, and then I laid down on the massage table, closed my eyes and relaxed. For the majority of the time I listened to the sound machine (birds tweeting) and wondered what I was supposed to be thinking about. The only thing that really distracted me was my stomach and its never ending grumbling. The grumbling is a sign that the energy is flowing through your body. After my first session I was very relaxed and had one of the best nights sleep I've had in a long time. The next morning I woke up with boundless energy. It lasted for a whole week. People at work were telling me I was too cheerful during morning meetings and that I should cut back on my coffee. They looked less than thrilled when I informed them that I have been caffeine free for over two years. It really was the best week energy wise I have had since starting my Lyme disease treatment. While I haven't reached that same level of energy with my subsequent Reiki sessions (it probably has to do with all of my antibiotic changes and a few other issues that have recently presented themselves), I have been achieving great results and plan to continue doing it. In addition to leaving each appointment feeling relaxed and refreshed, and then benefiting from the renewed energy between sessions, here are a few interesting experiences I have had thus far:

• Tingling sensation in my hands and my feet like I get during my acupuncture treatments except this feeling of energy moving in my body is not caused by acupuncture needles
• One evening as I was laying on the massage table with my eyes closed wondering about whether or not I was thinking to much during Reiki, my body achieved a new level of relaxation and it felt like I melted into the table. My hands and feet became tingly and a sensation like a wave of water rushed from the top of my head all the way  through my feet taking my thoughts with it. I spent the remainder of the Reiki session trying to remember what I was thinking about before my thoughts got swept away through the bottoms of my feet
• Extreme warmth in my hands and feet/cold hands and feet 
• The feeling of pins and needles in my arms and legs
• Restlessness which causes me to move around a lot on the table 
• The feeling of electricity shooting through my arms (a very pleasant feeling, not high voltage)
• The room has gotten lighter and darker like a lamp is swinging over head casting shadows around me, but there is no swinging lamp in the room

I have been doing Reiki for about two and a half months now. I still don't know what I am supposed to be thinking about or focusing on, but it all seems to be working for me. I always leave feeling incredibly relaxed and happy, and I have been able to be a lot more social with my increased energy.... but that is not to say that I am not still experiencing fatigue and exhaustion. It is a weird phenomenon. My energy level has increased but my body hasn't caught up to it yet.

I inadvertently meditated in my condo a few weeks ago. I was laying on my couch attempting to take a nap during the day and found myself getting annoyed with the amount of noise my upstairs neighbors were making. I told myself to relax and concentrate on my breathing. And then I drifted off into a very peaceful state. I was still aware of the noise, so I know I wasn't sleeping. I felt very calm and my body began to feel really light and free. And then my feet and hands started to tingle and I leapt off the couch full of excitement. I landed on my feet and said out loud to nobody, "Oh wow! I think I was meditating". And then I followed that up with "I think this is the opposite of what I was supposed to do".

As you can see I am still learning! With zero research done on the subject so far, I feel like great things are on the horizon in terms of meditating and my health since I have been responding so well to the Reiki.