The house of yoga can be entered through many doors. What is important is that we end up in roughly the same place.
Arguing about my Yoga practice is correct and your yoga is not according to Patanjali Yoga is immaterial in this Kaliyug. Whoever makes more money in selling whatever way they feel like is the best. Others will not make money, keep correcting the one who goes for a kill, and be left behind in this rat race for material benefits.
Hurry up! If you feel like that you can sell it better, you better go for it.
Don’t worry about Patanjali. He gave GNU license for his Hatha Yoga Pradipika.
My massage therapist uses crystals and reiki in her energy work. I dislike how you use energy work as something good but any body else who uses in ways you disagree with is discredited because of scientific reasons, yet the general population of science would disagree with almost all yoga/energy work etc and think that you are indeed full of new age fluff. I dont agree with them and it does seem to be changing, ever so slowly.
The thing about placebo in cases of things like this is that it also takes into account the group of people who are doing something else but science does not know they should include it (because they do not know the patient is doing it or htat it is an important part of their life) and hte limitations of what modern science can measure or the limitations on what is measured do to research budgets ideologies and methodologies. If you do not beleive in something from the start it is easy to not measure something important in the experiment because you do not see any connection to something else. Like diet studies who only measure phsyical activity and calories/nutrition but do not take into account how happy someone is in general or how much stress is in their life. Until recently that was pretty normal. The disease of “stress” is somewhat new.
Visualization is probably the most powerful tool people can have. Even if it just keeps you in a positive mood which most doctors will provide is important to recovery from a lot of diseases. It also allows you to see things much easier that are affecting your. For instance, if I am visualizing me being well after a sinus infection I can visualize and almost feel what breathing was like before. I also notice when my breathing gets better or worse and can tell what was really helping me. Crystals certainly have a lot of energy from the world, they have been used a long time. Do they really help me heal, I dont know. If someone else beleives they do and it helps her to help me, do I care if the crystal was just a placebo? Not a chance.
Go to a massage and concentrate on sending your energy to that area and you get so much more results. Breathe into the area etc. Most crystal exersizes link a crystal to a certain area of hte body. They then concentrate on that crystal and that area. Should it work without a crystal. Sure. If they think it helps them more with a crystal why should I care? I own a few crystals, mostly because I think they are pretty. I do think having them to concentrate on is helpful in me focusing. Not sure if they help me other wise, but I do not care if they do or do not.
I beleive that the people of quantum yoga, as most people who have a specific type of yoga they like, really beleive htat it is more beneficial for them. Probably because it is. For them. Is it necessarily best for everyone. No. Nothing is best for everyone. But they are not promising anything from their type of yoga htat other types of yoga do not provide at the same time. That most yoga practitioners do not claim to be aspiring to acheive. Marketing is all about offering a specific product to a specific user in a way that use will want the product. All yoga is offered this way. Some people enjoy Ashtanga, some enjoy Bikram, some enjoy sitting in savasana for an hour and some people will never set foot on a mat but are very committed to a non asana practice. Most do a mix of al lof the above. If this place can offer something to someone in a way that helps them see what they need to reach self realization, that does not make hte result any less. So no, I do not think that I am being irresponsible. I do think it is irresponsible to just read a website and judge an entire group of people. In fact, I think it is irresponsible to judge and entire group of people in general. People who own studios need to pay rent. Is it any more wrong than opening a shoe shop for someone who is really passionate about shoes or foot health? Is it wrong for them to sell what they think works the best? No. If it doesnt work for you dont buy it. If it doesnt work for anyone, no one will buy it and they go under. That is what business is. Not yoga. Do I not go to Bikram because I do not like his business techniques. Yes. Others dont have a problem with it, their choice. I also dont shop at certain grocery stores becaus I disagree with them, but I dont judge others who do shop there.
It mostly seems your definition of fluff is wht you think it is and what is not fluff is also what you think it is. A lot of people think OBE are all fluff.
Thanks lotus girl. And btw, I have a friend who is really good at reiki and if I am not feeling well on my mat in class an she is next to me I have to tell her to stop because I start sweating. I would recommend anyone who does not beleive in it to go up and feel the heat emenating from somones hand before and after a reiki session. It is crazy. I beleive in what I can feel and see and experience. Is a large part of it all in my head? I am more of a kant kind of person and beleive it is ALL in my head. Does that make it any more and less real than what is in anyone elses head, probably not.
My massage therapist uses crystals and reiki in her energy work. I dislike how you use energy work as something good but any body else who uses in ways you disagree with is discredited because of scientific reasons, yet the general population of science would disagree with almost all yoga/energy work etc and think that you are indeed full of new age fluff. I dont agree with them and it does seem to be changing, ever so slowly.
Many massage therapists do. There is just no reliable evidence that any of this stuff works. People use therapies like Reiki, crystals and other new-age things because of belief and for them it acts as a placebo.
Energy work in terms of Yoga are actual physical exercises like asanas, bandhas, pranayama which are specifically designed to improve the flow of energy in your body(especially pranayama) which the Yogi devised through trial and error observation of their bodies. They did not have the modern diagnostic tools we have today. But we do indeed have many clinical studies that support Yoga does this. In modern scientific language we do not use Yogic words like chakras, nadis/meridians, we use words like endocrine glands, parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system, which roughly correspond to their Yogic equivalents and for practical purposes are far more detailed.
While Yoga is based on hard science, Reiki, EFT and crystal healing are not. There is no evidence they work any better than a placebo. If there is, please show me and I will review it. In any case why would anybody want to do something that is not demonstrated to work as opposed to something that has been demonstrated to work over and over again?
The thing about placebo in cases of things like this is that it also takes into account the group of people who are doing something else but science does not know they should include it (because they do not know the patient is doing it or htat it is an important part of their life) and hte limitations of what modern science can measure or the limitations on what is measured do to research budgets ideologies and methodologies. If you do not beleive in something from the start it is easy to not measure something important in the experiment because you do not see any connection to something else. Like diet studies who only measure phsyical activity and calories/nutrition but do not take into account how happy someone is in general or how much stress is in their life. Until recently that was pretty normal. The disease of “stress” is somewhat new.
Indeed, there are many limitations to our current scientific methodologies and frameworks, but we are making progress by designing even more better experiments and approaches, and as a result of which our knowledge is growing. Science is not perfect, but it is a lot better than the alternative methods like belief and speculation. This fine point many people who express anti-scientific in order to advance religious views do not understand. Ok, so we do not know absolutely how the universe came into being, but the big bang theory is our best yet explanation for how it came into being, supported by a great body of empirical evidence. We also know how did it not come into being: it was not created in 7 days 
In short science is our best means of collecting reliable and valid knowledge. It is not perfect, but it a lot better than any other methods we know.
Visualization is probably the most powerful tool people can have. Even if it just keeps you in a positive mood which most doctors will provide is important to recovery from a lot of diseases. It also allows you to see things much easier that are affecting your. For instance, if I am visualizing me being well after a sinus infection I can visualize and almost feel what breathing was like before. I also notice when my breathing gets better or worse and can tell what was really helping me. Crystals certainly have a lot of energy from the world, they have been used a long time. Do they really help me heal, I dont know. If someone else beleives they do and it helps her to help me, do I care if the crystal was just a placebo? Not a chance.
I have nothing against visualization. It is a great preview tool to give one an idea of different possibilities before we actually make those possibilities real with actions. What I do have a problem with is new-age pseudoscientfic approaches to visualization that merely visualizing an outcome will make it real. That is magical thinking. If you want to make something real, you have to act.
The attitude that you don’t care whether the crystals are working or not is unfortunate. Why would you use something if you don’t know if it works or not? Would you take a pill if the doctor said, "I don’t know if it works, but take it anyway’ Would you fly in a plane if the pilot said, “I don’t know if the plane is working or not, but lets fly it anyway” If one is rational, one would do something which has been shown to work, and not that which has not been shown to work.
Go to a massage and concentrate on sending your energy to that area and you get so much more results. Breathe into the area etc. Most crystal exersizes link a crystal to a certain area of hte body. They then concentrate on that crystal and that area. Should it work without a crystal. Sure. If they think it helps them more with a crystal why should I care? I own a few crystals, mostly because I think they are pretty. I do think having them to concentrate on is helpful in me focusing. Not sure if they help me other wise, but I do not care if they do or do not.
This is hokey thinking. If the crystal is adding nothing to the process, it is unnecessary. Why should we treat adults like children to get them to do something - it’s like getting a child to eat his spinach by saying, “If you eat spinach you will become like Pop-eye” If somebody will not do anything unless we give them pretty crystals to focus on, then they are obviously no better than children in maturity. I don’t think we should encourage people to be immature.
beleive that the people of quantum yoga, as most people who have a specific type of yoga they like, really beleive htat it is more beneficial for them. Probably because it is. For them. Is it necessarily best for everyone. No. Nothing is best for everyone. But they are not promising anything from their type of yoga htat other types of yoga do not provide at the same time. That most yoga practitioners do not claim to be aspiring to acheive. Marketing is all about offering a specific product to a specific user in a way that use will want the product. All yoga is offered this way. Some people enjoy Ashtanga, some enjoy Bikram, some enjoy sitting in savasana for an hour and some people will never set foot on a mat but are very committed to a non asana practice. Most do a mix of al lof the above. If this place can offer something to someone in a way that helps them see what they need to reach self realization, that does not make hte result any less. So no, I do not think that I am being irresponsible. I do think it is irresponsible to just read a website and judge an entire group of people. In fact, I think it is irresponsible to judge and entire group of people in general. People who own studios need to pay rent. Is it any more wrong than opening a shoe shop for someone who is really passionate about shoes or foot health? Is it wrong for them to sell what they think works the best? No. If it doesnt work for you dont buy it. If it doesnt work for anyone, no one will buy it and they go under. That is what business is. Not yoga. Do I not go to Bikram because I do not like his business techniques. Yes. Others dont have a problem with it, their choice. I also dont shop at certain grocery stores becaus I disagree with them, but I dont judge others who do shop there.
Again, this is hokey thinking. It is what is called sophistry in philosophy. The term comes from a type of thinking in ancient Greece where people would measure truth by their own yardstick. So everybody just did what they wanted to do and believed what they wanted to. The philosophical and subsequently the scientific method was developed to show that this is not true, there is such thing as a valid or invalid belief or valid and invalid action. It is due to this kind of new thinking we were finally able to make progress in the sciences.
The kind of thinking you evince in this quote is like a regression to pre-scientific thinking and hence antithetical to progress.
I am certainly not going to allow people to believe and do whatever they want if I don’t think it is valid. I am going to exercise my right to free speech and make it known with reasons for why I think it is invalid. If there is any validity in what I say the truth will win out. This is why the scientific method eventually wins out over religion and speculation, because it is based on hard evidence that no rational person can deny.
Quantum Yoga makes several claims to being special and hence its own brand of Yoga, but its claim to being special have nothing to do with the reasons it gives for being special: it is based on Ayurveda and quantum physics. It merely uses these as gimmicks to sell its brand of Yoga. In actual fact quantum Yoga is just a sequence of asanas. There is nothing new in it. It is all derivative stuff.
It makes you think why are so many people creating their own brand of Yoga? I mean I understand the reasons to create your own brand if you genuinely have something new to offer, but when you don’t, and are just rehashing already existing brands, that is obviously just for ones own business interests.
As a consumer of Yoga we also have a duty of ethic as a consumer. Why should we consume something that is so blatantly unethical? We should not encourage this practice by companies like Quantum Yoga of encouraging psedo scientific and hokey thinking, using quantum physics and Ayurveda as gimmicks to sell its product, and treating a serious science of health as just business.
This is hokey thinking. If the crystal is adding nothing to the process, it is unnecessary. Why should we treat adults like children to get them to do something - it’s like getting a child to eat his spinach by saying, “If you eat spinach you will become like Pop-eye” If somebody will not do anything unless we give them pretty crystals to focus on, then they are obviously no better than children in maturity. I don’t think we should encourage people to be immature.
To expand further on this point. We find that Yoga today is being marketed in all kinds of ways to make it seem hip and happening, Yoga concerts, Naked Yoga, Yoga vacations, Yoga merchandise and by marketing Yoga as an exercise and stress busting program Yoga gains mass appeal, to the point where it is even being done in Churches. The most popular brands of Yoga in the West are of course the ones that focus predominately on asanas, such as Power Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga and Bikram Yoga.
But all of this is deception, because they are not actually telling people straight up what Yoga is: It is a science of self-realization. It is a serious spiritual discipline for people who are seeking to realize their true self, to attain total liberation, enlightenment, freedom. It is an entire philosophy and way of life. It is not just asanas. It is definitely not a physical exercise or stress busting program.
Matter-consciousness dualism is not just an optional belief in Yoga. It is the fundamental assumption Yoga is based on. It is why one does Yoga and why Yoga works. If one does not accept this basic assumption, then they are not yogis i.e. somebody on the path of Yoga. Period. Just doing asanas does not make a yogi. It is the goal of Yoga which makes one a yogi. If you are seeking self-realization you are by definition a yogi.
[QUOTE=Surya Deva;73867]
Matter-consciousness dualism is not just an optional belief in Yoga. It
is the fundamental assumption Yoga is based on. It is why one does Yoga
and why Yoga works. If one does not accept this basic assumption, then
they are not yogis i.e. somebody on the path of Yoga. Period. Just doing
asanas does not make a yogi. It is the goal of Yoga which makes one a
yogi. If you are seeking self-realization you are by definition a
yogi.[/QUOTE]
Do you have any idea how pretentious, self-righteous and intolerant this
sounds? Just saying “Period.” with regard to yoga is laughable at best.
Wake up to the world, it’s complex, diverse and in flux.
So what if people do some asanas, feel better and call it yoga? Not
everyone wants to be enlightened or cares about it. I sure don’t. So
what if they come to yoga through brand X or Y?
I don’t expect anything from my practice other than calm and health.
I wrote a long post but realized it is pointless, the only thing I am countering is for everyones benefit.
I beleive in yoga but am not a dualist but still beleive in and strive towards self realization. I just do not beleive in a strict dualist theme because I beleive that we separate realities into the metaphysical and physical worlds because we cannot grasp they can exist at the same time. That my soul and my body exist in the same place at the same time in the same realm. There are a lot of yogis, buddhas and a whole branch of hinduism that do not beleive in dualism. You do not get to validate what is true and not in a world you can only see from your own very limited perspective.
“I am certainly not going to allow people to believe and do whatever they want if I don’t think it is valid.”
And here is the deal, why there is no point in debating with you. You do not get to determine what people believe. You do not allow or disallow it. You do not get to determine what is valid in other people’s lives. I believe you will never reach complete self awareness until you disattach yourself from this idea. I think you can not be attached to this and connect completely to your metaphyiscal being/self/deity (whatever form of dualism you practice). I wish you luck on your journey.
[QUOTE=zafu;73868]Do you have any idea how pretentious, self-righteous and intolerant this
sounds? Just saying “Period.” with regard to yoga is laughable at best.
Wake up to the world, it’s complex, diverse and in flux.
So what if people do some asanas, feel better and call it yoga? Not
everyone wants to be enlightened or cares about it. I sure don’t. So
what if they come to yoga through brand X or Y?
I don’t expect anything from my practice other than calm and health.[/QUOTE]
That is fine, I just don’t recognize what you are doing as Yoga. I know what Yoga is and what you are doing is not Yoga.
Wishing you the best of health 
I beleive in yoga but am not a dualist but still beleive in and strive towards self realization. I just do not beleive in a strict dualist theme because I beleive that we separate realities into the metaphysical and physical worlds because we cannot grasp they can exist at the same time. That my soul and my body exist in the same place at the same time in the same realm. There are a lot of yogis, buddhas and a whole branch of hinduism that do not beleive in dualism. You do not get to validate what is true and not in a world you can only see from your own very limited perspective.
Yoga is based on Samkhya, which is a dualist philosophy. Samkhya dualism is based on matter and consciousness dualism, in terms of Yoga that is the basic distinction between the observer and the observed. In Yoga the observed is the entire field of body and mind and this why all the tools we use in Yoga are about simply watching the field of the body and the mind, such as observing sensations in the body, observing the breath, observing thoughts and feelings.
The reason Yoga works is when we observe the field of the body and mind, we are able to dissociate ourselves from them because we realize it is not us. This is why in Yoga we can release traumas, blockages, emotions and thought patterns. It would be the opposite of Yoga to maintain that you are identical with them.
Vedanta is a non-dualist philosophy, because it says everything is the one singular Brahman i.e., it only admits of consciousness and nothing else. But in even Vedanta there is a matter-consciousness dualism at the relative and practical level of life. Hence why Vedanta makes use of Yoga practices.
The difference between the two philosophies is while Yoga accepts two real substances consciousness and matter; Vedanta accepts only one real substance and considers matter an illusion. Which ontology is correct is irrelevant, at the practical level both accept matter-consciousness dualism.
And here is the deal, why there is no point in debating with you. You do not get to determine what people believe. You do not allow or disallow it. You do not get to determine what is valid in other people’s lives. I believe you will never reach complete self awareness until you disattach yourself from this idea. I think you can not be attached to this and connect completely to your metaphyiscal being/self/deity (whatever form of dualism you practice). I wish you luck on your journey.
I never said I am going to determine what other people believe. You can believer whatever you want. I am free to state what I think about what you believe, and if I think it is wrong, I will let you know We cannot live in a world where everybody is allowed to believe in whatever they want. If somebody wants to believe that murder is perfectly OK, then I am afraid not many are going to allow them to have that belief. Likewise, if somebody wants to believe the moon is made out of cream cheese. Again, most people will not allow this belief.
Whatever your belief, be prepared to have it tested. Not everybody is politically correct and will leave your belief unchallenged. If you believe Reiki works, then be prepared to have the belief challenged.
[QUOTE=Surya Deva;73880]Yoga is based on Samkhya, which is a dualist philosophy. Samkhya dualism is based on matter and consciousness dualism, in terms of Yoga that is the basic distinction between the observer and the observed. In Yoga the observed is the entire field of body and mind and this why all the tools we use in Yoga are about simply watching the field of the body and the mind, such as observing sensations in the body, observing the breath, observing thoughts and feelings.
The reason Yoga works is when we observe the field of the body and mind, we are able to dissociate ourselves from them because we realize it is not us. This is why in Yoga we can release traumas, blockages, emotions and thought patterns. It would be the opposite of Yoga to maintain that you are identical with them.
Vedanta is a non-dualist philosophy, because it says everything is the one singular Brahman i.e., it only admits of consciousness and nothing else. But in even Vedanta there is a matter-consciousness dualism at the relative and practical level of life. Hence why Vedanta makes use of Yoga practices.
The difference between the two philosophies is while Yoga accepts two real substances consciousness and matter; Vedanta accepts only one real substance and considers matter an illusion. Which ontology is correct is irrelevant, at the practical level both accept matter-consciousness dualism.
I never said I am going to determine what other people believe. You can believer whatever you want. I am free to state what I think about what you believe, and if I think it is wrong, I will let you know We cannot live in a world where everybody is allowed to believe in whatever they want. If somebody wants to believe that murder is perfectly OK, then I am afraid not many are going to allow them to have that belief. Likewise, if somebody wants to believe the moon is made out of cream cheese. Again, most people will not allow this belief.
Whatever your belief, be prepared to have it tested. Not everybody is politically correct and will leave your belief unchallenged. If you believe Reiki works, then be prepared to have the belief challenged.[/QUOTE]
To be challenged you have to accept it. I do not accept your challenge and I can let go of that. Have a nice life.
To be challenged you have to accept it. I do not accept your challenge and I can let go of that. Have a nice life.
You do not have to accept my challenge. It only goes to show to me that you cannot rise to the challenge because your position is too weak.
Rest assured, I know my Yoga. So I know that those who practicing only asanas for their physical health are not yogis, no matter how much they insist they are
Please show me clinical trials that disprove Reiki.
Sure.
Wiki: Reiki
Scientific research
The proposed mechanism for Reiki energy is hypothetical as the existence of the ki or “life force” energy used in this method has not been proven scientifically.[4][114]
A 2008 systematic review of randomised clinical trials assessing the evidence basis of Reiki concluded that efficacy had not been demonstrated for any condition.[4] Nine studies fit the inclusion criteria; a modified Jadad score of methodological quality was used, taking into account the difficulty of blinding practitioners. Non-randomised studies were excluded, as the potential for intentional or unintentional bias in such studies is large, rendering the results un-interpretable. Overall, the methodological quality of the evidence base was poor as most of the studies suffered from flaws such as small sample size, inadequate study design and poor reporting, with even high-ranking studies failing fully to control for placebo effects."[4] As trials with such flaws are known to be likely to show exaggerated treatment effects, there is insufficient evidence to indicate that Reiki is effective as sole or adjuvant therapy for any medical condition, or that it has any benefits beyond possible placebo effects.[4][115] Placebo trials of Reiki are complicated by the difficulty of designing a realistic placebo,[116] although subsequent trials with adequate placebo or sham controls have shown no difference between the procedure and the control groups.[4]
A 2009 review in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that “the serious methodological and reporting limitations of limited existing Reiki studies preclude a definitive conclusion on its effectiveness.”[117]
Further more, the benefits that have been identified in Reiki are due to the relaxation response a session of Reiki offers, the combination of deep relaxation and the belief of having somebody deeply care for you elicits a feeling of deep relaxation, which is of course beneficial. The previous studies on Reiki which have discovered positive healing effects of Reiki have been measuring this relaxation response. However, recent more advanced studies have found that there is no difference between a placebo, sham and a Reiki session. Thus it makes no difference whether the Reiki practictioner is ‘attuned’ or ‘not attuned’ whether they draw Japanese symbols or cartoons. This is all just fluff added onto a very legitimate scientific process of relaxation.
?symbols or cartoons.
:rolleyes:
Surya deva:
Does this mean you dont believe in healing at all, that someone can transfer his prana to another or take someones blocked energy and work it in him self?
OR do you mean only “reiki” here?
This reminds me of this scene from an old popular TV series. I invite you to unleash your inner ‘Lisas’ at the ‘Rosses’ in the world.
[QUOTE=fakeyogis;73901]Surya deva:
Does this mean you dont believe in healing at all, that someone can transfer his prana to another or take someones blocked energy and work it in him self?
OR do you mean only “reiki” here?[/QUOTE]
I only mean the healing modality of Reiki, I think it is perfectly possible that one can transfer their prana to another, as I believe in every other siddhi Patanjali describes. However, these abilities are very rare and far between and can only be done by very advanced yogis. Which are, as you know yourself, very rare.
However, in Reiki anybody who has paid for an ‘attunement’ can claim to have healing powers. In reality attaining the ability to not only master your own prana but to be able to direct prana to others requires years, if not decades of Yoga practice.
You see my gripe is not with any specifics like self-realization, chakras or even crystals for that matter, my gripe is with the new-age misappropriation of it. Yes, Yoga when practiced fully and regularly with sincerity, will bring you to self-realization, but it will take years of dedicated practice. Not a few hours a day of asanas. In like manner yes chakras are very crucial energetic structures in your body, and by working directly on them you can cure any disease. However, this will take a combination of asanas, mudras, bandhas, kriyas and pranayama sustained over a long time. Instead you hear new age clap trap like to treat a throat issue like hyperthyroidism imagine blue energy entering your throat chakra and chant, “blueeeeee” and wear a crystal like tourqouise. I am not kidding, this is exactly what I was told.
New-age fluff mongers take a good idea, such as quantum physics, Ayurveda or Yoga and dumb it down ridiculously to the point where it no longer has any meaning or value.
@SD. Thought you’d find this interesting.
More Doctors Recommend Reiki
In an article entitled “Reiki: Hype or Help” which appeared in “Discovery Health,” Therese Droste writes about Neurosurgeon Clinton Miller, a former skeptic turned believer. After experiencing a Reiki session, Miller said, “I went from high personal excitation to feeling like I was floating in the ether.” Like Dr. Oz, Miller now prescribes Reiki for his patients.
Then there is cardiologist Dr. Stephen Sinatra, who is also the head of the New England Heart Center in Manchester. Sinatra recommends Reiki to patients when he thinks that an energy blockage is preventing a patient from healing.
Says Droste in her article: “Many healthcare professionals and others are beginning to incorporate Reiki in their treatment of illnesses ranging from asthma to cancer to depression. Reiki sessions are being used for pain management, to accelerate recovery from surgery and reduce medication side effects.”
POPULAR TOPICS
Reiki as Complimentary and Alternative Medicine
Reiki and Cancer
What Happens in a Reiki Treatment?
Such acceptance from the medical profession is supported by personal experience, feedback from patients and more importantly, by various research studies.
Pre and Post Surgery Reiki
In April 1999, the Journal of Nursing Care Quality published an article by Patricia and Kristan Alandydy on the effects of Reiki on surgical patients. Eight hundred and seventy patients confined at the Columbia/HCA Portsmouth Regional Hospital in Portsmouth, New Hampshire were asked to participate. All the participants were given 15 minutes pre- and post-surgery Reiki treatments. As a result of the Reiki treatments, there was less use of pain medications, shorter length of hospital confinement and increased patient satisfaction.
The effects of Reiki on Alzheimer’s disease have also been explored. An empirical study was conducted, which aimed at exploring the efficacy of Reiki in improving memory and behavior deficiencies in patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease. This quasi-experimental study showed that “Reiki treatments show promise for improving certain behavior and memory problems in patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease.”
A paper presented by Mary Ann La Torre, Wardell DW, Engebretson J., at Universtity of Texas Houston Health Science Center in Houston, Texas explored the biological effects of Reiki. The aim of the study was “to test a framework of relaxation or stress reduction as a mechanism of touch therapy (TT).” The study was conducted in 1996 and 23 healthy subjects were asked to participate. It was intended to be a close examination of select physiological and biochemical effects after 30 minutes of Reiki, which was considered a form of touch therapy.
The biological markers that were related to stress-reduction response included: state of anxiety, salivary IgA and cortisol levels, blood pressure, galvanic skin response (GSR), muscle tension and skin temperature. Biological marker levels were measured before and after the 30-minute Reiki sessions. Test results showed that anxiety was significantly reduced. Skin temperature increased and electromygraph decreased during the treatment, although the before and after changes were not significant. It was concluded that the “findings suggest both biochemical and physiological changes in the direction of relaxation.”
Reiki as Biofield Therapy
According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), Reiki falls under the category of Energy Medicine. It is considered part of a number of healing modalities categorized as “Biofield Therapies which are intended to affect energy fields that purportedly surround and penetrate the human body.”
Reiki is now proving to be very useful in hospices, nursing homes and hospitals. The number of hospitals offering Reiki is increasing. It is now offered in several other hospitals such as Mercy Hospital in Portland, Maine, Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Hawaii, Center for Integrative Medicine at George Washington University Hospital, Tucson Medical Center in Arizona, California Pacific Medical Center, Portsmouth Regional Hospital in New Hampshire, Marin General Hospital in California, University of Michigan Hospital, Foote Hospital in Michigan.
Indeed, Reiki has come a long way since the time it was first introduced in Japan by Mikao Usui -a Japanese spiritual seeker who called it a “natural method of healing.”
Read more at Suite101: Medical Community Embraces Reiki | Suite101.com http://rosannacrogacion.suite101.com/medical-community-embraces-reiki-a225370#ixzz1ukDXa3Aw
You have misunderstood Reiki:
However, in Reiki anybody who has paid for an ‘attunement’ can claim to have healing powers. In reality attaining the ability to not only master your own prana but to be able to direct prana to others requires years, if not decades of Yoga practice.
Reiki is not mastering your prana or guiding prana. You do not use your energy to heal, nor do you take energy. Reiki is guided by a power much greater than the practitioner. Reiki guides itself rather than requiring the direction of the practitioner. The Reiki I practice is directly handed down from teacher to student. It is the traditional Usui System of Natural Healing. It is a technique that promotes stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. In yoga, breath work and asana can be used to heal the body. Research any asana and it will give you a detailed list of physical and emotional ailments that it can address/cure. Reiki is much the same in that Rei (God Consciousness) guides the life force to areas where there is restriction in the flow of energy. When energy is reduced, you are more vulnerable to illness. Reiki helps to free blockages to allow the Chi, Prana, etc to flow freely. When the body/mind is more relaxed, it can heal. Reiki promotes this healing.
You sited Wiki when I asked you for clinical trials that disproved Reiki. What you neglected to address was the first line:
The proposed mechanism for Reiki energy is hypothetical as the existence of the ki or “life force” energy used in this method has not been proven scientifically.[4][114]
Is this not the same life force as Prana in yoga? So, if you follow your own logic, you would also have to dispute Yoga.
If you really research, you will find more and more in the medical community incorporating Reiki as part of a holistic treatment of disease/illness. The more recent studies on Reiki have shown this. If you look to dispute, you will always find something to back your argument, right or wrong. If I look for Planet X (Nibiru) I’ll find lots of sites that tout its existence, pictures and all. If you are only looking for validation of your belief that it exists, you only search to prove your point. I see that there are studies out there that cannot prove Reiki works. Most of these studies are older like the one you sited from 2008.
Stress causes illness. That we know. When we can reduce stress we can achieve a healthier state by allowing the body to heal itself.
The biological markers that were related to stress-reduction response included: state of anxiety, salivary IgA and cortisol levels, blood pressure, galvanic skin response (GSR), muscle tension and skin temperature. Biological marker levels were measured before and after the 30-minute Reiki sessions. Test results showed that anxiety was significantly reduced. Skin temperature increased and electromygraph decreased during the treatment, although the before and after changes were not significant. It was concluded that the “findings suggest both biochemical and physiological changes in the direction of relaxation.”
Stress causes illness. That we know. When we can reduce stress we can achieve a healthier state by allowing the body to heal itself.
Lg, I do not doubt the studies you have cited. What I doubt is your interpretation of the studies. Yes, Reiki is good for stress and studies have indeed demonstrated the efficacy of Reiki in being able to reduce stress. However, the real question is what is really causing this phenomenon of stress reduction to happen, is it:
- The universal god-consciousness energy that those practitioners who have been attuned to receive and work with this energy by drawing magical symbols into the air
or is it
- The deep relaxation one experiences during a session by lying down, with relaxing music, and having somebody massage you, touch you or deeply care for you for an hour.
We can make predictions based on this: If it is 1 then we will find that if we set up a randomized-controlled experiment with a group using Reiki, a group using pretend Reiki and a group just using normal relaxation there will be a statistically significant difference. Now that is exactly the experiment that was set up in 2008 did. What was found in the experiment that there was no statistically significant difference between the three groups. The pretend or sham Reiki was just as effective as the Reiki group.
Thus from the actual experimental evidence we can only conclude that 2 is the correct explanation. It is simply the deep relaxation one experiences during a Reiki session that brings about the stress reduction effects. The beliefs of Reiki are irrelevant, it makes no difference whether the practictioner is attuned or not attuned, whether they draw the symbols or not.
The relaxation response takes place during any kind of relaxing activity: deep relaxation, Yoga Nidra, Yoga asanas, meditation or listening to soothing music. There is nothing magical, supernatural about the process. Modalities like Reiki basically appropriate a very legitimate and proven scientific process and add fluff to it to sell their product. In the same way so many Yoga brands appropriate a very legitimate and ancient mind-body practice, add their own fluff to it and then sell it as their product.
As consumers of these products we have a duty of ethic not encourage such practices. It is like not consuming pirate ware, products which have been test on animal or involve animal cruelty, or stuff which has been made in sweat shops. We should say NO to products like 'Quantum Yoga, Secret, Law of attraction, Reiki, crystal healing" etc Let us be responsible, rational and mature consumers.