A massage fully clothed? Ok I’m game to try it. A massage without physical contact? What?

Today I found myself in just such an experience. The first time I had heard the word ‘reiki’ was probably a couple of years ago but it’s taken me this long to actually get off my bum and make an appointment to see what it was all about.

From what I had thought about reiki, I knew about the being fully clothed part, however I was thinking there would be at least some light physical contact at some point of the massage but clearly not the case (at least in today’s session).It looked and felt more like a Jedi-master massage if you ask me.

I was blessed enough to find Laura- who I am considering my new reiki practicioner-as my experience was definitely one I’d like to repeat. From the minute she opened the door, her warm and caring vibe and beautiful smiled ushered me into a piece of a new world of energy medicine.

In the past year I’ve delved into the world of energy healing through other modalities so I was anxious to see how this compared. My previous experiences have all been long distance via Skype, so I was eager to see what this was all about in person. Laura did tell me today though that does long-distance reiki as well over the phone which is absolutely amazing to me. I am still baffled by how all this energy works and continue to grow more and more intrigued by it.

Cozy and fully clothed on a massage table, Laura told me to let her know if and when I was feeling anything starting to happen as we started. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and relaxed into it. Her still hands hovered above my belly and as she started to slowly swirl them around I felt an instant warming sensation starting under my belly button that spread down into my abdomen.

It was warm and comforting-I compare it to a warm heating pad placed just above the skin. I immediately was a believer, as I hoped I would indeed be after the session.

What happened next was awesome. The more warmth that surged through my body and the more relaxed I became, powerful flashes of light started darting around within my closed eyelids. I can only describe it as if I were walking out of a limo with a blindfold on only to be greeted by a thousand paparazzi clicking away. Pop! Pop pop pop!!!

It was as if I couldn’t stop this rapid eye movement that was full of colors exploding everywhere-a full fireworks show just for me!!! Probably one of the strangest sensations I have ever experienced.

Not stressful in any way, shape or form-just very interesting. After the intense popping simmered down, I repeatedly saw what looked like the shape of a sun-the center a dark rose color and the rays that grew out from it were the prettiest lovely buttery yellow. It brought me instant happiness.

Laura asked me if I had anything specific that was challenging me health-wise and I mentioned to her that the liver/gallbladder area has been a concern of mine for some time now. She moved her hands beautifully to the liver area and within seconds I could feel the energy flooding those organs-gently massaging the inside of my body.

I experienced my liver gently pulsating with the new energy that was directed to that specific organ- similar to an experience I had had with the work of Chris Kehler in the past months. It was amazing to watch what energy backed with intention was capable of accomplishing.

She then explained to me that the energy is basically removing any blocks within the body, so the healing effects would be felt throughout the body, not just to specific organs alone.

Then what happened for the next half hour was nothing short of a much needed nap session-very similar to every experience I have had on the Biomat in our home. Both of these experiences have the magic of putting me right into dream land, and the comfort is incredible.

When my 45 minute session was finished, Laura was kind enough to give Justin a 5 minute trial of what I had just just experienced, and he quickly was ushered into the same hypnotic state but without the flashes of color, which he was hoping to experience as well. I told him maybe next time, as this was just a small taste of what I had experienced.

The healing effects were subtle but strong-as it’s been 5 hours since our appointment and my stomach is continually gurgling and settling into a calmer state than it has been as of late. For this I am thankful and pleased to report that my first reiki experience was a success.

This past year has opened my eyes up to so many things that I never would’ve dreamed existed. Like most people-we do things the way we were brought up for the most part-so sometimes finding out that there are other options out there is like discovering a new planet that exists right in your own backyard-so close yet completely new territory. I am thankful that I have been exposed to a small bit of this new planet and am curious to see where it takes me as life unfolds.

Since my experience today was fabulous, I’ll take a fully clothed, Jedi-style massage any day…I think Luke Skywalker would be proud.