The Reiki Cafe 

I have reiki 1 in my hands and plan on going for Reiki 2 at the end of April. I've been having panic attacks and daily anxiety. Won't go into all the medical help I've been getting but this morning I felt pretty panicky so I layed in bed and did reiki on myself and felt a bit better. Less panicky anyway. I do reiki every night before bed also.
I feel like I need more. I'm going in on Sunday for a reiki master to do a treatment on me.
Does anyone else here have panic attacks or daily anxiety and have you found reiki has helped. I don't want to take these daily drugs for this issue but right now, I have no choice. The attacks are that bad - to the point of not being able to function - they make me so sick.
Thanks for listening.

Honey.....If you need to take the meds, by all means take them. The Reiki may help you and I truly hope it does. I am a Reiki Master and I think that it is fantastic to take this anxiety of yours and conquer it! You are taking the right steps by doing the self-reiki on yourself. What level are you? Panic and anxiety are real issues for you. Just acknowledgment in itself seems to be a great start for you.

Namaste
Healing Hands

I'm only level 1 Reiki. I go for my Reiki 2 at the end or April. Ihave an appointment tomorrow with a master to treat me as well for extra help.
The panic attacks and anxiety are really bad right now these days for some reason. I just wish I didn't have to take meds but, hopefully it's not forever.

Dear dolphin01,

Reiki attunement can have side effects that newbies often don't hear about. Attunement often brings up healing issues that one has been 'back burner-ing', ignoring completely or managing just enough to get by in life prior to Reiki.

Anxiety is buggering thing. I know it's hard. It's like the very pent energy of it makes one want to chase away the most very healing force : grounding mind / body relaxation.

The last thing pent nervous energy wants to do is relax. It's afraid to relax because then it will cease to exists. You can start seeing it as not being you but a small cog in the greater architecture that is you. After that it becomes easier to see it for what it is and begin to let it go. It usually takes some emotional work to get there.

I know it's hard to do relaxing practice when one's inner energy is at such high idle rate. But I would revisit those efforts. I would highly suggest finding an easy yoga class that focuses on breathing and relaxation. There are easy yoga poses that are very effective at clearing ungrounded nervous energy so the breathing and mediation practice work soo much better.

Namaste,
Michael

very interesting and thank you for responding about this. So, I'm not crazy thinking that this happened after my attunement?
When I do my own reiki sessions and I NEED two a day, I feel calm and much better.
Can you explain a bit more what you mean about emotional work? I would really like to find a yoga class. I will check into it. I think you're right tho about this being a back burner because I've always (for as long as I can remember) had a bit of anxiety. It got worse when I was forced to do something that was uncomfortable OR new to me. And I forced myself to just not deal with it. And I've gotten along until now. Now, it's like I'm FORCED to deal with it. I just don't know how or what to do. When I have a panic attack, I feel like I'm completely losing it and I curl up in a ball because i don't know what to do - other than take one of my drugs that was prescribed.
I don't want to be on drugs the rest of my life. I am seeing a therapist who deals with anxiety and it helps just to talk about the things in my life that scare me.
do you think Reiki 2 will help me or make the anxiety even worse? If it could get any worse LOL.
Like I said, I'm going in tomorrow for a reiki treatment by a very good person. I feel like I'm being drawn to this right now - for a healing treatment by someone else, other than me.

Dear dolphin01,

By the term emotional work I meant the type of effort that you are already putting forth to identify and get a handle on this challenging issue.

With the Reiki 2 thing I would not advocate for that now. You have enough on your desk. My humble take is that you very well might find relief in pursuing the Mind / Body exercises that we touched on earlier.

You are sensitive and at this point that might feel more like a heavy boat anchor instead of being an asset. Through asana, breathing and meditation exercises you would be well on your way to getting a grip on that out of control sensation.

I believe that it is very close within your reach for you to turn the tables on this cog or dynamic within you. As you bravely learn techniques to breathe thru it i think that you might find it to be an ally part of you and no longer an adversary.

namaste,
Michael

Otoharo!

No one else can say, but I recommend that you not take other reiki classes. Reiki is helping you deal with stuff you need to deal with., Trust reiki. Be reiki as much as you can, for instance, keep a hand on yourself all the time. Your belly, or your chest. Reiki I is the one to deal with what you have.

About how to deal with stuff. I had so much stuff it took me from 1957 up to about 2002 to deal with it. I literally cried days on end. walking down the street, I would be silently weeping. However, crying can be a smoke screen to keep one from dealing directly with what is the matter. I had therapy five years.

Reiki's effect is the upchuck of all this. It is up to you to look at it, own it, even say it outloud. Then feel yourself release it. You have no further need for it. Tell your guide what you are doing so you have someone private to share with. You will get thoughts back.

Release the fear as soon as you are able. Talk about it here unless you want to keep it private. Ego controls all of us through fear.

I have to chuckle when I say this. Xaris asked me what is the fear. I did not have fear. Several times at different intervals she asked this, then she asked What is the terror. Boy! The top of my head popped off! so i can feel for you.

finality

dolphin,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- I have to agree with Michael (also that Reiki 2 can wait)

- to learn to breathe in a controlled and relaxed mannner at will (asanas that move the prana, for example), is to learn to restore balance

- panic is certainly a sign of imbalance

- I have a balancing pranayama I am willing to share with you when you feel able to commit to doing the practice every day (it is both brief and simple) - it is not a substitute for taking up yoga, for example, but can facilitate any healing work you undertake for yourself

- just let me know and we can discuss (either here or via E-mail)

- but, I re-iterate, you must be ready to do the practice every day (and for more than just a few days)

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

dolphin 01,

Like you, I suffered from panic and anxiety attacks for some time and was taking medication.

If the problem has worsened of late, it could be that you may need to consider meds as a short term help for your condition.

I was attuned to Reiki in the middle of all these problems and found it to be a tremendous help. I experienced no issues following my first and subsequent attunements and my Reiki Master put this down to my having practiced T'ai Chi for many years - my body was accustomed to handling the energy.

I would advise you to give yourself self-Reiki regularly and to put your plans to take Reiki 2 on hold for the time being - I feel you will instinctively know when you are ready.

Might I also suggest you consider taking up T'ai Chi or Chi Kung. The mindfulness required by the form and exercises will have a wonderfully calming yet energising effect( if that doesn't sound too contradictory.)

Once learned, the Yang Long Form, for example, takes roughly 15 minutes from start to finish and if you can put that small amount of time aside daily, the benefits can be quite startling, particularly in stress or anxiety related situations.

Good luck and take care

Brian

How long ago was your attunement to Level One?

2 months ago

Reiki is a journey that you find will help you with a multitude of things. It is a period of deep spiritual cleansing. Throughout your experience you will find alot of growth. This is mentally and physically. With each attunement you have to make sure that you are ready on all levels. If this is the spiritual journey that you are meant to follow just take your time. It the reiki is not going anywhere.

Namaste
Healing Hands

Greetings

I do have plenty of experience when it comes to panic attacks, due to my PTSD i have them quite frequently. One thing I find is that when having them my body tenses up( some spots more than others),that leads me to the following: body and energy are very much tied together take some time to notice that when you are relaxed your body is too, there a lot less tension in your muscles. Doing a full self healing session when you have the time specially while you are having a panic attack can be of great aid on learning to let the energy attached to the panic move through our system and as a form of progressive relaxation, mind you this prices is not always easy. Another thing that really helped me was massage, I had plenty of panic attacks in massage school while someone was working on me, and having a safe environment in which I could learn to relax my body and hence my mind really helped me to learn how to work through my panic, is really all about learning to relax on all levels, sometimes the fear wont go away fully but you will be able to better function despite the panic.

I hope this helps at least a little.

RD
RMT

I once went to a bio energy healer. During the course of the treatments, I began to relax muscles that I didn't know were tense.
I find that when I'm in a combative mood, say, my shoulders tense up. And then I get headaches.

So, body and emotion are linked, from my experiences anyway.
or like the song goes, 'free your mind, and the rest will follow'
Same with emotion, I think.

Rock on.

Thank you for sharing, Reikidragon. Sounds like you've been doing the hard work. I attempt to explain the "viscious cycle" to my folks....pain/anxiety/stress.....we unconsciously tighten our whole body up...muscles lose their flexibility....we breathe less...less oxygen is getting to the places that are now closed off....we hurt more and sometimes even panic....and the cycle continues...not a fault...just part of the sympathetic-parsympathetic reaction..inbred in us since the beginning of time. All that you talked about are ways to break that viscious cycle or not let it get worse or even begin. Hard work....well done.

you are SO RIGHT when you talk about the body tensing. When I start to feel panicky, I think, "ok, what is my body doing and where??" I find that I'm tensing my stomach muscles without even realizing it, along with my side muscles near my rib cage. I then make a note of it and let it go - let it all hang and relax and my stomach upset goes away and my ribs stop hurting.
Sometimes this takes care of it and sometimes not - it all depends.
IF I have the time, I will go and give myself a full body reiki session and that really helps. All the tension goes away.
I have a person to go to to get massages, I just have not done it but maybe I will next week sometime.
Right now I'm not working outside the home. I think it worked out that way for a reason too. I'm on a journey to healing. I'm feeling better as each week goes by. I have my bad days but not as often as I was. Every once in a while I need to take one of my anti panic pills but not as often. I see this as progress.
I'm not only working with Reiki but other things as well. As some of you know, ever since I was attuned to Reiki 1, my anxiety and panic attacks have hit the roof. I feel like someone (my guardian angels/guides) are telling me, You NEED to take care of this and deal with it now because we are not going to let you keep ignoring it. Since I have not been ignoring it, it seems to have improved. Slowly but indeed - improved.

I am glad I was of some sort of help, and yes like other said when it comes to panic attacks they tend to be bit of a vicious cycle thanks to the mind body connection. learning to relax helps, Reiki loving and gentle. when i have a panic attack and I can do Reiki on myself I can feel the emotion and energy thats attached to the fear/anxiety flow down and out of my body as I work my way down my body from the head positions.

A lot of things sort of hit the roof when I got my attunments and even now when I work on myself, aspects of my own healing I need to work on just seem to surface and life just seem to become more conducive to that healing, I think that that is just the nature of Reiki and healing in general.