Reiki for Self-love
Reiki for self-love is a topic very close to my heart.
My journey with self-love, and the incredible role Reiki has played in this are the reasons I launched Wholeheartedly You.
And I’m filled with gratitude and love to be able to share the gift of Reiki with anyone also trying to find their way back to their true self, given the shifts within Reiki can create.
This blog explains how Reiki can support your self-love and healing journey, based on my own experiences and that of many of my clients.
To learn more about how a Reiki healing treatment works, see here.
With love,
Katie x
If you’re struggling with self-love
If you’re struggling to like, let alone love yourself, then it’s likely this is manifesting in your life in multiple ways. Self-doubt, low confidence, low self-esteem, procrastinating, people pleasing, depression, addiction, isolation, unhealthy habits, unhealthy relationships, and it goes on.
You may feel lost and confused.
You may not know who you really are, what you want to do with your life, or how to truly connect with or spend time with yourself.
You may spend most of your time trapped in your mind, dealing with self-critical thoughts, overanalysing and procrastinating, which you may barely even notice as this is so ingrained and habitual.
You may struggle to follow the callings of your heart because your doubts and fears restrict you, or they make the journey so much more painful than it needs to be. You may not even know what these callings sound like.
The large majority of the above I can relate to, and I know how it feels.
I also know how it feels when the very real shifts start to happen, shifts from within from a place of knowing, trust, compassion, lightness and love.
You’re no doubt powering through as best you can, and there is incredible strength and beauty in that. But it doesn’t have to be so hard.
Why Reiki healing for your self-love journey?
Reiki is a holistic and completely natural form of complementary therapy that works with the energy system within us all. It is a beautiful way to rest, relax, quieten the internal noise, ease emotional pain and reconnect you with your heart – with your inner wisdom and the true you – the you beyond your worries and fears, emotional pain, self-doubt and overthinking mind.
It’s a beautiful gift, which you wholeheartedly deserve.
Energy is the fundamental building block of all matter, including all sentient beings. As we go through life, through different experiences, pain, trauma, and illnesses, and carry worry, anger, and fear in our hearts and minds, the natural flow of energy within can become strained and imbalanced. This can have an impact on our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing – and ultimately on our ability to get to know, and learn to love and connect with ourselves.
During a Reiki treatment, a Reiki practitioner will guide Reiki (“universal life force energy”) into your body and the energy system within. I like to think of a treatment as a rejuvenating energy boost, albeit one that is very gentle, helping to restore the natural flow of energy. As a result, our innate healing abilities are activated, and we become more harmonised and balanced on all levels – emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.
Here are some of the ways Reiki can support your journey to self-love:
- The simple act of organising a Reiki treatment – of doing something loving, caring and nurturing for yourself – is a beautiful gesture of self-love.
Just like every single soul on this planet, you too deserve rest and relaxation, to stop and simply be. Proactively taking care of yourself sends a message to the deepest parts of you: that you are worthy and deserving of love.
Be mindful of any thoughts or feelings that arise at the idea of dong something tender and loving for yourself. Get curious about any resistance, in whatever form it takes. Why might the resistance be there? Where does it come from? For example, feelings of guilt or shame, thinking you are undeserving of love. Notice your resistance, acknowledge it, send the part of you feeling undeserving some love, even if you don’t fully understand it yet, and take a step forward.
- A Reiki treatment can help your body, mind and soul to relax deeply, and can become a beautiful part of your on-going self-care ritual.
Reiki can help you to enter a deeply relaxed state by releasing tension from the body, bringing about a deep sense of calm. Especially valuable if you’re going through a particularly difficult time, and are highly anxious, stressed or feeling low. During a treatment, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, responsible for the body’s rest response (the opposite of our sympathetic nervous system responsible for our “fight or flight” response). This can be hugely beneficial and restorative for mind, body and soul, helping our innate healing abilities to kick-in.
Reiki doesn’t have to be for the more challenging times. Regular Reiki treatments can also be part of our on-going self-care, so we support ourselves on all levels. With a calmer body, heart and mind, we can truly rest and rediscover more ease in life.
- A Reiki treatment can help you to feel held, supported and loved.
As your energy system is replenished with energy during a Reiki treatment, and you enter a deeply relaxed state, it’s likely you will feel contented and supported – as if you’re receiving a hug from within.
What’s more, I care deeply about creating a safe, sacred space for my clients, in which you can open up, if you want to, about what has bought you to Reiki. That said, I know that sometimes we don’t want to speak and it can be hard to find the words. This is precious time for you, without obligation, expectation or pressure. I will hold space for you no matter what.
When I first started having Reiki treatments, beyond how the treatment itself made me feel, being able to speak with my wonderful Reiki Master helped me to feel seen, heard and supported in an incredible way. This experience inspired me to want to offer the same for others going through a difficult time. - A Reiki healing treatment is a beautiful way to honour yourself wherever you’re at – exactly as you are in that moment.
Maybe you’re in the throws of some heavy inner turmoil, or you’re at a serious low point. Maybe you’re learning to lean into self-compassion. Maybe you’re having a stronger moment. Maybe you’re feeling exasperated, but determined. Whatever is happening and wherever you’re at, putting aside time for a Reiki treatment can help you to honour the now as it is, to honour you as you are. To surrender to it all, and rest despite it all. To let go of the striving, and simply be. This is something I often feel called to say to my clients before we begin their first Reiki treatment (although it’s relevant to every treatment)… be proud of yourself, send yourself love and appreciation for being here, honour this moment and yourself right now exactly as you are, even if in general, you’re not where you want to be. Sometimes, until we truly hit pause, and honour where we are, it can be difficult to make a change, to take steps forward. A Reiki treatment can be a safe space to do this. To cherish ourselves fully, right here, right now.
- A Reiki treatment can help to deepen your healing, and your connection with yourself.
By replenishing the incredible energy system within, Reiki can help to heal by nurturing balance and harmony on all levels – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. To heal is to make whole and Reiki works on the entirety of your being i.e. the whole. When we’re energetically balanced and energy flows through us more freely, we’re more likely to have clarity, to feel grounded, inspired and motivated, energised and open, to give and receive love, to be in touch with our intuition, and to live life led by our “highest self”.
In the calm, stillness and space a Reiki treatment creates, our connection to ourselves can be strengthened, our consciousness expands beyond our thinking mind and feeling body, we cultivate new levels of awareness and connection, so we can begin to be ourselves, wholeheartedly.
Regular Reiki treatments can also help us to release things no longer serving us, which we become more aware of as we connect with our true self more deeply. This could be unhealthy habits or thought patterns. These shifts may happen naturally almost without noticing them, or may require a little more conscious attention over time once we’re sign-posted to what may need to be released. Either way, in aligning us with the natural flow of life, and with our true self, we may feel called to let go of certain things in our life and Reiki can support us to do this.
Sometimes, during or in the hours or days after a Reiki treatment, you may experience “side-effects” of the energy cleansing and harmonising. This may include tiredness, a headache, cold-like symptoms, or emotions and feelings arising. This is called a cleansing or healing process – your body’s natural healing response to Reiki – and is quite normal. Reiki is balancing and harmonising your internal world, sending energy where it is needed which can help to create a release of more stagnant energy within.
In terms of emotions, allowing our emotions to be expressed can be a beautiful gesture of self-love and I encourage my clients to journal around anything that arises during or after a treatment; to get curious about the thoughts, feelings and emotions they experience, and to be incredibly gentle with themselves. I also advise my clients to reach out to me if they need to talk or have questions, and of course speaking with a friend, loved one or trained professional can help if they are struggling. It’s very normal and natural to need some support and guidance during times of healing. Reiki is never doing harm, and is always working for what is called our “highest good”, but that doesn’t mean an emotional release isn’t uncomfortable in moments.
In general, learning to notice or observe our feelings, and express our emotions in a healthy way, can be an essential part of our healing journey. Suppressing emotions can take its toll on our wellbeing, including our physical health. Mindfulness practices, grounding techniques, movement classes and talking therapies can be effective ways to support yourself with releasing suppressed or repressed emotions.
If you’re interested in learning more about mindfulness, see here.
Emotions are energy in motion. If they are not expressed, the energy is repressed. As energy it has to go somewhere. Emotional energy moves us, as does all energy… To deny emotion is to deny the ground and vital energy of our life.
John Bradshaw
Consciously deciding you are ready to embrace self-love and your healing can help a Reiki treatment to be even more effective. Deciding you are ready to heal deeply and learn to love yourself means you send a message to your subconscious to open up for healing.
Important note: Reiki is a form of complementary therapy and should not be used as a substitute for the consultation of a doctor, physician or a psychotherapist. Reiki complements (rather than substitutes) other types of medical and therapeutic treatments. If you are concerned about your mental wellbeing, please reach out to a friend or relative, or your doctor who can support you to access services.
Please don’t suffer alone. You can find a number of helplines and listening services here:
- UK helplines and services: www.mind.org.uk
- Outside the UK: www.befrienders.org – select your country (top right) to see a list of lines/services