Reiki, Medicine & Self-Care with Pamela Miles

During my interview for The Daily Beast article on Reiki for kids, the journalist asked, “What kind of parent is interested in Reiki for kids?”

She was wondering if this were a New York City phenomenon.

“What kind of parent is interested in Reiki for kids?” I parroted back to her. “Every parent who has had a positive Reiki experience.”

And even parents with no Reiki experience often attend my First degree Reiki classes hoping they can help their children.

Why Reiki for kids?

Parents seek Reiki for kids for many different reasons. Some parents want to relieve their kids’ anxiety. Others seek to improve their children’s behavior and focus. And sometimes parents need to support their children as they address a serious medical diagnosis.

Reiki practice can help in all those situations, and many others.

How can that be? Because it doesn’t address the symptom, behavior or medical condition directly the way conventional medicine does.

Instead, Reiki practice gently encourages the child’s system to find its unique balance from within. As the child’s system becomes more balanced, his or her self-healing mechanisms engage and function optimally.

In that way, by supporting balance from within, Reiki practice supports the child’s overall well-being.

Arranging Reiki for kids

The most seamless way to introduce Reiki practice, especially a young child, is for you, the parent or caregiver, to learn First degree Reiki practice and practice on yourself everyday.

Please consider this, one of my most repeated sentences: the care of the child (family, patient, fill in the blank) begins with the care of the caregiver. Another way of expressing that is the wisdom we occasionally see on t-shirts:  “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”

Seriously, anchoring yourself in your well-being every day — many times a day if needed — has a direct and profound affect on your child’s well-being. And as time allows, you can also practice Reiki on child (make sure you learn how in your Reiki training).

Or do you have a friend who practices Reiki? Is your child comfortable with that person?

If you take your child to a Reiki professional, be sure to thoroughly investigate that person’s qualifications. People doesn’t realize that Reiki certificates don’t guarantee any level or depth of training. Practitioners can get training online and decide that’s enough to be a professional (it isn’t). Or they can make their own certificates.

Professional Reiki for kids

Read the Reiki professional’s website carefully and thoroughly to get details of her training and experience. Don’t be shy to grill him on any details that are unclear. A Reiki practitioner who balks at your questioning is not one to trust with your child. A qualified Reiki professional will appreciate your concern and respond with relevant facts so you can make your own informed choice. And if she doesn’t, look elsewhere.

The most important question to ask a Reiki practitioner is whether he or she practices daily self Reiki. Daily, as in every day.

You only want to entrust your child (and yourself) to a professional who values Reiki practice enough to rely on it to support her own happiness and health.

No class or certificate can replace the understanding that develops as we practice hands-on self Reiki every day over time. Ideally the professional will also receive treatment from other Reiki practitioners. That helps professionals be more sensitive to the needs of clients, and to appreciate the profound inner support that unfolds in response to Reiki practice.

That’s such an important and overlooked point that it bears restating. Reiki professionals cannot appreciate how profoundly this gentle practice can support your child’s system in finding its own unique balance unless they have a strong foundation of daily self Reiki. Without that foundation, they are more likely to be intrusive and even judgmental.

Keep in mind that unlike other spiritual healthcare professionals, Reiki practitioners rarely have training in ethics and clinical arts.

Teaching Reiki for kids

Kids who are old enough to choose to learn to practice Reiki are probably old enough to learn to practice. It’s important that it’s not just something their parents want, but something they want.

Depending on his age and temperament, Your child might be able to join an adult class. If not, ask about children’s training. I have also trained families.

Reiki for children is not one-size-fits-all. Find a teacher who understands that, who offers you guidance and options until you find a good fit for you and your child.

Do you and your child already practice Reiki, or has your child benefited from Reiki treatment? Please share your story in a comment below to inspire others.

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This content was originally published here.