I just had my first reiki treatment yesterday, and I was wondering about some things--
Well, first of all, I think that the Reiki Master I went to mixes Reiki with other therapeutic modalities, like foot reflexology and aura clearing/chakra clearing. This is the way the treatment went: I lay down on my back on a treatment table with a pillow under my head and a blanket over me. The reiki master started by massaging points on my feet and telling me which organs the sensitive spots correlated to. Then he made some motions above me with his hands, which I suppose was clearing my aura, like he was raking the air above my body from feet to head and shaking it off his hands. Then he sat down behind me for a long time, and it sounded like maybe he was mouthing words to himself, but I don't really know what he was doing. During this period, I started to feel cold and uncomfortable and I had to pee but I didn't know if I should disturb him or not. So finally he stood up and said he was going to clear my chakras. I said I needed to use the restroom, so I went. After I came back, I lay back down and asked for another blanket, since I really was freezing. Then he held his hand a few inches above my forehead, and wiggled his fingers slightly, then gradually drew his hand farther and farther out in slight circular motions until finally his arm was stretched almost all the way up. He did this several times at my brow chakra, then proceeded with my throat chakra and my other chakras as well. I still felt cold, and very tired, but I also felt at certain points some warmth in the core of my body, althought my hands and feet were still very cold. I may have dozed off towards the end of the treatment (the whole thing took about two hours), and afterwards, he told me that all my chakras had been blocked, so he had to clear each one of them, which is why it took so long. He also tried to get me to set up another appointment right away, which I didn't quite feel comfortable doing, because I was trying Reiki out for the first time just to try it out, and I wanted to see how I felt afterwards before deciding to continue with treatments or not. So then I paid him (his rate per session is 550 crowns, or about $30), and then left.
Afterwards, I was extremely tired, exhausted really. I bought a bottle of water (he told me to drink a lot of water after the treatment to flush out impurities that were stirred during the treatment) and went to have lunch w/ my friend who was the one who told me about her reiki master (she's going to have her second attunement soon). She told me I shouldn't shower for 24 hours after the treatment, which the reiki master i suppose forgot to tell me, and she asked me how i'd felt and if I'd seen anything during the treatment, like any visions or images.
I couldn't really remember at the time, but thinking back, I realize that I was extremely uncomfortable throughout the whole session, and that I kept thinking of situations where female patients were violated by male doctors or psychologists other practitioners during appointments. I don't know if it's just me, but I suspect the main reason I didn't feel comfortable during the session was because the reiki master was a male. I'm a young (25) female, and this could just be related to past personal issues I have and have nothing to do with the reiki master himself (he's an older male, probably about 50), but I think I simply felt uncomfortable being alone and in a rather vulnerable position with a strange man for two hours. I'd met him once before, and felt fine then, but that was with other people in the room, including my friend who told me about reiki.
Sorry this post is so long, but I want to know if this treatment was at all typical of a first reiki treatment session? I think the reiki master didn't even get to the reiki part of the treatment, since clearing my aura and chakras took a very long time. Is it typical for most reiki masters to combine different therapeutic methods with reiki? And I was also wondering if it's possible that all my chakras were closed because I was feeling uncomfortable, not just in the room, but with the reiki master himself? Also if all of my chakras were blocked before, but now they're cleared and opened, how do I keep them from getting blocked again?
I had a similar experience once while learning meditation. My yoga instructor (who is female), introduced me to her meditation teacher (who is, once again, male and probably about 50). I had one meditation lesson from bim in which we sat across from each other alone in a quiet room and meditated together (he told me to visualize first dark space and then stars like the universe and then a great light that got bigger and brighter until everything was light, and to chant om namah shivaya). the meditation itself was quite relaxing, but I didn't feel comfortable with the teacher himself, so I never went back.
Is it possible to have a bad "auric" or "chakrik" reaction with someone? Would it be better perhaps for me to only seek female practitioners of Reiki or mediation and the like? My yoga teacher (I also have started teaching with her) is female, and I feel completely comfortable with her. Is it unusual for me to feel uncomfortable with these men in these situations? I suppose it just seems quite personal to be giving and receiving energetic healing therapy, almost worse than going to a male gynecologist, because treatments like reiki deal with emotions, the mind, energy, and the spirit, as well as the body.
I'd really appreciate some thoughtful responses to this. The same reiki master is offering an attunement next Saturday, which I am considering taking part in, but I'm having trouble deciding whether I should. The other participants will be three other females, and my friend will also be there to translate, so my impression is that I probably wouldn't feel so uncomfortable there as in a private session with the reiki master.
Also I was wondering if having an attunement can be very disruptive in some way to your daily life, in terms of bringing up buried emotional issues or being very draining energetically.
Thanks in advance for your replies!
