Healing Crisis
After a session with a Reiki practitioner, a person may go through a healing process in which energy is released from the physical, emotional, mental or spiritual levels. As this energy is being channeled, it must travel through and be released from our system as blockages are removed and patterns dissolved.
This healing process can sometimes cause uncomfortable symptoms that are actually part of the recovery process. This is sometimes called a ‘healing crisis‘ by some, but is actually a normal part of the healing process as we enter a more deeply healed state. The length of a healing crisis can be a few hours up to a few days.
When healing takes place, our system will start operating on a higher level of efficiency and begin releasing stored toxins that tend to accumulate in various tissues of the body. When this occurs, toxins enter the blood stream and then are eliminated through the skin, by the longs, liver, kidneys and bowel. This can cause these physical symptoms listed below.
At the same time, when weak or sick organs start heal and different parts of the body go through a period of adjustment, organs will start adjusting to the new, healthier way of functioning.
Extract from How Hawayo Takata Practiced and Taught Reiki, by Marianne Streich
Takata welcomed healing reactions because “the reaction shows whether the healing is moving forward.” (Brown, 92) According to Haberly, Takata taught that chronic conditions requiring long-term treatment are more likely to be accompanied by reactions that release toxins. If injuries are quickly treated they are not as likely to produce reactions. (Haberly, 55)
After a treatment, especially one for a chronic condition, Takata expected the client to experience a “healing reaction.”
This was a release of toxins by the body and could take the form of gastrointestinal upset, flu-like symptoms, headache, or in some instances an intensification of the condition itself. (Haberly, 69).
In their book Hand to Hand, John Harvey Gray and Lourdes Gray write that:
“Takata called reactions ‘bloodless surgery.’ Thus after a Reiki treatment or series of treatments, the client may develop a fever, discharge mucus, have a bout of diarrhea, or in some other way react to the infusion of healing energy by expelling or changing the energy patterns that have been causing disease or discomfort”
According to John Harvey Gray and Lourdes Gray, reactions to a healing treatment occur for either or both of two principal reasons:
– Elimination of toxic substances. The Reiki energy is helping the cells expelling toxins, but these ‘give a final kick‘ leaving the system.
– The person’s system, or an organ within the system, may be unable to retain the Reiki energy. If the person has had a problem for a long time, even for years, the system is so stressed and weak that it cannot make use of the energy and even seems to weaken further.
In both cases above, John Harvey Gray and Lourdes Gray suggest to give/receive up to three more complete Reiki treatments, one each day for three days.
Physical Reactions
The following are some of the physical symptoms that people have reported after a Reiki treatment:
– Stomach aches
– Flu-like symptoms
– Aches and pains
– Muscle contraction
– Fatigue
– Slight fever
– Headaches
– Sore throat
– Diarrhea
Healing Beyond Our Physical Body
Healing can also take place on higher levels affecting emotions and the mind. When deep-rooted emotional patterns are dissolved, some people may become mentally and emotionally vulnerable; nothing seems to go right for them and they find it difficult to function in the life they previously had.
The following are some of the emotional/mental symptoms that people have reported after a Reiki treatment:
– Mental overstimulation
– Feeling emotionally and mentally vulnerable
– Anxiety
– Emotional swings: from grief and despair to expansiveness and bliss and back again
– Extended laughing or crying
– Feelings of anger, sadness, loss, fear
Spiritual Healing
Healing can also affect one’s spiritual life and some people’s lives may actually fall apart.
Spiritually, there’s a sense of separating from what was known and understood, and landing in a void or chasm of uncertainty, feeling disconnected from Source.
This higher level healing can manifest in various ways and can bring about changes in the way one’s life is organised. This sometimes manifest as an increase in the pace of life, difficulties with others including negative feelings that have not been experienced in a long time. Some of these feelings may related to events that happened in the past with family, friends or others.
The Healing Process
Healing crises are generally not memory-based, with recall of past trauma or experience informing the process. Without available context, the individual may feel adrift and unable to make sense of the spectrum of symptoms and emotions.
The removal of energy patterns leaves voids that are filled with light, which raises the vibration of the receiver. Regular healing allows the light to work deeply with the voids resulting from the release of blockages, triggering a process of vibratory rate increase that allows the release of further blockages, bringing further evolution.
The receiver of the healing gets into a cycle that may last many months before things settle down and more conformable emotional and mental life re-emerges.
We are complex holistic beings and all parts of ourselves are connected. When healing takes place in one area of our life, this can affect all other areas to a greater or lesser extent. Sometimes a major reorganisation of our lives is required.
Benefits Of Healing
It’s not a regular occurrence, but when it happens, the practitioner needs to be notified. With an energy modality, chakra- and aura-based clearing and infusing protocols may be appropriate to ease and regulate energy flow.
Some practitioners are able to treat remotely, so the client can rest in the comfort of home while energy is balanced and integrated.
However, it is important to say that a healing crisis does not always happen, but when it does, it is important to understand what is happening so that we can support ourselves as we go through it. After things settle down, it will be clear to us what improvements have been made. We will feel much better and life will be healthier.
How To Navigate A Healing Crisis
Things to bear in mind if you are moving through a healing crisis after a Reiki healing treatment:
– Remember that deep and powerful energy work is taking place in your physical, emotional and mental aspects. Your spiritual self initiated this process because you reached a point where you were ready to evolve, shift, and heal. By making a conscious decision to use your free will, and giving permission to receive healing, you have activated and unlocked your own power. You are now releasing anything that no longer served you.
– As the healing process unfolds, your energy and body integrate, providing you with new insights and levels of conscious awareness.
– Healing is not a rational process, it cannot be understood by your mind as it may be unable to process what has occurred. It may lean toward thinking that something is wrong. Trust that everything will work out.
– Do your best to be present to what is occurring and make notes of anything relevant that will certainly help you in your personal and spiritual journey.
– Allow your body to do what it needs to do, without interfere. Dialogue with your body, and let it know that it can release, let go, and integrate without pain syndromes.
– Emotions may come to the surface and you may feel emotionally vulnerable. The emotional may be rooted in the past, in places, events, and interactions. The healing crisis is releasing residual emotion. Allow your emotions to move through without judging them or digging deep to determine the event or experience that might be behind the feelings.
– Consider that you may need extra support as you go through the healing crisis. Reach out to your nearest and dearest connections. Be compassionate with yourself and look for compassion and care from close friends and family as you move through the process. Let your Reiki practitioner know that you need extra support.
– If a reasonable period has passed and you still feel as though you’re not fully integrated, make an appointment with your practitioner to balance and regulate your energy so you can ground into who you are now.
– Be gentle with yourself. Validate your astonishing ability to heal, evolve, release, and let go.
Practical Advice:
– Drink plenty of clean water to facilitate the passing of toxins
– Eat nourishing foods
– Connect to nature
– Take time for yourself
– Rest, take naps when needed
– Self-care and self-nurturing are really important, particularly if you are going through a healing crisis
Giancarlo is a fully qualified Hypnotherapist and Past Life Regression Therapist. He is a registered with the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council, the Federation of Holistic Therapists, the Spiritual Regression Therapy Association and the General Hypnotherapy Register. Read more.
