I’ve been intrigued by Reiki for some time. Even though I’ve never received Reiki treatment personally, I know people who have really benefited from it so out of curiosity I went to a one day Reiki Tummo course conducted by Padmacahaya, the International Institute for Inner Study, to find out more.
So, what is reiki tummo?
Reiki, according to the booklet I was given, is “a technique to channel universal energy to yourself and others (human, animal, plantation). Rei translated from Japanese, means universal and Chi means vital energy.
Tummo is Tibetan for inner fire or kundalini — the hidden potential or power that is supposed to lie within us all at the base of our spines. You can learn more about kundalini energy here.
Reiki Tummo, according to Padmacahaya, is a practice that combines both these energies (reiki and kundalini). The reiki energy from the universe is said to be effective for improving your health and healing any wounds you may have and the kundalini is used to cleanse your energy body.
At the beginning of the workshop , Tim, our Reiki Tummo instructor said the most important thing to remember is to feel the energy of the heart. If we go away remembering nothing or we’re confused, then this is what we should remember.
Open heart meditation
The course began with several meditations focusing on the heart chakra in the centre of the chest. With eyes closed, we were told to relax, smile and place one of our hands on the heart chakra, then follow the feeling. Every now and again, we were told to hunch our shoulders up and stop smiling, then relax and start smiling again focusing again on the heart chakra. And I have to say, I could notice a distinct difference. Focusing on the heart chakra whilst smiling gave me a really warm feeling inside — I could feel energy of some sort expanding within me. And it felt nice to know, that I could do this at any moment.
It occurred to me afterwards that there was nothing mystical or strange about feeling this during the meditation — if you intend to feel good, you will, and in a way, this is what Reiki Tummo is all about — intention.
It was during the actual Reiki healing and Reiki attunement that I started to get a bit confused, despite asking lots of questions as we were going along. I understood that when you give Reiki treatment or you heal somebody using Reiki, you have to feel the warmth in your heart and really believe in what you’re doing — the intention to do a good job has to be there. In some respects, this reminded me of when people pray for others in need. What I didn’t understand, was how it works and why a person who would like to heal others using Reiki needs to be attuned by a Reiki master to do the healing.
What is Reiki attunement?
Everyone in the group received a five minute one-to-one Reiki attunement. In my head I was thinking, hmmmm so I’m an out of tune instrument? A Reiki attunement is supposed to connect your energy vibration with the divine Reiki energy which is all around us.
I would still like to know why someone else has to attune you to receive more of this energy. If it’s universal and surrounding us all already, why does someone else have to attune you to it. Are we not capable? If there are any Reiki practitioners reading this, do you have any answers?
If I’m honest, I didn’t really feel much during the Reiki attunement. Others who went before me came back into the room saying that they’d had this wonderful experience, but I felt much more in the initial heart meditation sessions. During the Reiki attunement, I sat on a chair with my eyes closed, whilst Tim, the instructor, opened my crown chakra, presumably with hand movements, but not actually touching my skin or head.
A few days on from the course I feel great, but who knows whether this is down to being attuned to receive more Reiki energy, my regular yoga and meditation practise, or just sheer coincidence, because it’s not that I didn’t feel great before hand either, so it’s difficult to tell.
Reiki Tummo group healing
I would never dismiss Reiki, but I also won’t blindly believe in anything either without reading up and experimenting with it first. I always think it’s important to ask lots of questions. And one thing I really struggled with was the group healing.
As a child I used to play, ‘light as a feather stiff as a board’ where one person would lie down on a table and everyone else would crowd around them and try to get them to levitate. The group healing session consisted of a similar set up. One person would lie on the table and the rest of us had to channel Reiki energy to this person using our hands.
Only, I wasn’t really sure what I was doing. I was wishing the person well and trying to feel as good as I could myself, whilst holding my hands above the person in different places. Tim kept telling us to synchronise our energies but I’m still not really sure what this meant. If we were all quiet, how do we know we’re all doing the same thing or syncing up — or does this literally mean, move your hands in time with the other people?
Strangely though, despite it not having any logical explanation, when I was lying down I did feel an quite an intense heat on my upper back and overall, I feel incredibly peaceful. Were the people around me really channelling Reiki energy to me? Was the placebo effect working on me? Or was it just nice to have a bunch of people crowded around you silently wishing you well? Again, it’s difficult to know. And then how do you explain the heat especially as others in the group also felt an intense, but pleasant heat in their upper backs or heads? One woman, who was lying down when I stood behind her head, said afterwards, that the experience was incredible and she felt so much energy in her head.
More thoughts on Reiki Tummo
I don’t think one day of learning about Reiki Tummo was enough, so I’ll have to set myself the task of reading up more about it. I want to believe that we all have the power as individuals to self heal because the energy is within us already, we just have to access it. I wonder if Reiki works because the Reiki master helps the patient to believe in him or herself that they can get better. Then again, I do also believe that you can give others energy or take it away with intention or not.
Overall, I’m pleased I did the course, and grateful that Tim was happy to answer my questions. He did say at one point that Reiki was not a toy and shouldn’t be played with. This was in response to me ‘why does a Reiki master have to attune someone to receive the energy? Can we not open our own crown chakras?’
Are you a Reiki practitioner? Have you ever received a Reiki treatment? If so, I’d love you to share your thoughts and experiences here. Does Reiki work for you? What specifically are you supposed to do when you heal someone other than feeling the intention and putting your hands close to the person? And why don’t people use Reiki symbols so much anymore?
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