Reiki: A hands-off, hands-on alternative therapy
Rosemary Hyde, Reiki Master, poses for a portrait in her home in Ogden on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
Rosemary Hyde, Reiki Master, poses for a portrait in her home in Ogden on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
Different stones Rosemary Hyde uses during her Reiki sessions.
Rosemary Hyde works on Renee Gushen during a Reiki session at her home in Ogden on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
Rosemary Hyde works on Renee Gushen during a Reiki session at her home in Ogden on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
Essential Oils that Rosemary Hyde uses during her Reiki sessions at her home in Ogden.
Decor at the home of Reiki Master Rosemary Hyde in Ogden.
Renee Gushen smiles after a Reiki session with Rosemary Hyde on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
Decor at the home of Reiki Master Rosemary Hyde in Ogden.
Rosemary Hyde, Reiki Master, poses for a portrait in her home in Ogden on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
Rosemary Hyde works on Renee Gushen during a Reiki session at her home in Ogden on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
Rosemary Hyde works on Renee Gushen during a Reiki session at her home in Ogden on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
Rosemary Hyde works on Renee Gushen during a Reiki session at her home in Ogden on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
Decor at the home of Reiki Master Rosemary Hyde in Ogden.
A diffuser at the home of Reiki Master Rosemary Hyde in Ogden.
For 100 years, practitioners of reiki have said they provide spiritual or energy healing through a method of holding the hands above the body to balance the energy field, or life force.
Though reiki’s ability to heal physical ailments is often met with skepticism — and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services reports no conclusive proof of benefits — followers claim that reiki produces a feeling of calm and well-being that is a form of healing in itself.
Mikao Usui started the practice of reiki in Japan in 1915 after studying the philosophies of numerous healing methods.
Ogden resident Rosemary Hyde was introduced at a farmers market in Salt Lake City, meeting a reiki master offering mini energy and massage treatments.
“It interested me and I tried it,” she said. “My mom had died recently and (during the treatment) I started bawling. She stopped and taught me some techniques for grounding and feeling at peace.”
The experience was comforting to Hyde who recalls, “I hadn’t cried a lot about my mom. I had little kids and I was busy.”
She summed up the absence of grieving as “manning up.” In other words, her masculine side was dominating, and she believes the session helped bring her back in balance.
“It gave me permission to let the feminine part come into play. We all have masculine and feminine energy in us. The idea with many practices is to be in balance and not just be one way or the other,” she said.
After that, she was inspired to complete the training to become a reiki master teacher, a decision she says changed her life.
For the past seven years, Hyde has given treatments to friends and family.
“The idea is calling upon guardian angels, God or the universe, whatever you believe in, to balance the chi or life force of the body,” she explained. “Often, it is done placing your hands above the body. I like to put my hands on people because I think people are not touched enough.
“Just like getting a massage works out the tension or tight spots of the muscles, or when you go to a chiropractor they get the tight spots out of the spine, this is like working out the tight spots of the energy field.”
KERA WILLIAMS
Rosemary Hyde works on Renee Gushen during a Reiki session at her home in Ogden on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
Hyde sees a lot of overlap between the numerous types of energy work, as well as relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation or massage.
“All of these practices have a belief in a life force. Chi is the life force we are dealing with in reiki. In yoga, the term ‘namaste’ means the divinity in me honors the divinity in you as we move toward enlightenment and peace. In yoga, you ground into the floor and think about roots. With reiki, you are thinking upward to heaven and calling on a higher source,” she said.
According to Hyde, anyone can perform reiki with the proper training.
“We all have the energy. The difference is that I have had some attunements to teach me how to guide it. We are all connected to heaven and Earth. We all have the tools. If you think about it, we naturally use our hands to comfort a child or connect with a pet,” she said.
Not mainstream
Over the past decade, alternative methods of finding inner peace and harmony, such as reiki, have been finding their way into mainstream society.
Hyde has seen a major increase in demand for reiki since she began practicing.
Reiki is offered in local spas. For example, New Image Day Spa, in Washington Terrace, offers reiki treatments alone or in conjunction with traditional massage as a means of stress reduction and relaxation. Sessions range from 30 minutes for $55, on up to two hours for $145.
Reiki.org claims that as many as 15 percent of traditional hospitals nationwide allow reiki masters to provide treatments to patients.
Ogden Regional Medical Center and Brigham City Hospital do not offer reiki treatments, but their parent hospital, St. Mark’s, does.
“We have two reiki masters if this is something patients are interested in. This ties into the great spiritual care we provide here,” said marketing coordinator Rachel King.
Ogden Regional Medical Center director of communications Craig Beilik said new initiatives often start at the larger hospitals and trickle down to the smaller ones over time. Neither McKay-Dee nor Davis Hospital offer reiki.
The Utah Surgical Center in West Valley City, also affiliated with St. Mark’s, mentions reiki on its website, likening it to therapeutic or healing touch. The site describes these as two types of noncontact energy healing popularized in the early 1970s and found today in hospices, hospital-based alternative health programs and intensive care units.
The surgical center does not offer reiki, but its website notes that, although there is little evidence to support whether or not reiki is an effective healing tool, the use of reiki is not discouraged since there are no known safety risks — as long as it is used in addition to, rather than instead of, standard medical care.
KERA WILLIAMS
Rosemary Hyde works on Renee Gushen during a Reiki session at her home in Ogden on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
Hyde believes that, much like mindful meditation, reiki can help people tune into their bodies.
“I think the proof is in the pudding. Peace and harmony and balance are invited when you do reiki and yoga and other modalities. You try it and see how it feels to you.”
She likes to think of it as a tool.
“Sometimes we know we are not handling things well, but we don’t know what to do. Talking to a counselor or meditating can help. Here is another way to help. Here is another option to feel better and take care of ourselves.”
What is a session like?
The atmosphere is prepared by dimming the lights and playing soft music or sounds of nature. Hyde likes light a fire or candles, using a diffuser for the air, running an indoor water feature and displaying beautiful rocks or pieces of the earth as part of her décor.
Hyde also likes using essential oils for the effect their scents can have on mood.
The person receiving the treatment relaxes, fully clothed, on a massage table. (This may vary if a person receives the treatment at a spa from a massage therapist.)
Traditional reiki is performed by holding the hands above the body with no physical contact. However, it is commonly combined with traditional massage. The receiver may request no touching based on personal preference.
It can be performed in silence, or there can be conversation. Hyde finds that sessions sometimes bring up emotions that people want to talk about. “When there is someone with you, you can experience things that you may be too sensitive to experience on your own. Reiki is a way of supporting someone who is trying to get through a hard time,” she said.
Topics that come up frequently are personal power, managing thoughts, not being a victim and taking control.
According to Hyde, people do not have to believe in the power of reiki or its principles to benefit. The only requirement is that they give verbal permission for her to enter their energy field.
KERA WILLIAMS
Rosemary Hyde works on Renee Gushen during a Reiki session at her home in Ogden on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hyde is sometimes asked if what she is doing is taking the place of a spiritual or priesthood blessing.
“I don’t feel like I am competing with spiritual blessings. I am asking for heavenly support,” she said. “It was a major paradigm shift for me when I learned reiki. I felt like a new person, more calm, more powerful. I feel like it is my duty to help there be joy where there is sorrow.”
Marissa Booth, of Ogden, believes that having a slow introduction helped her be more accepting of the practice. “I might not have been open to it right at first. But, I think because of the way I was introduced to it gradually, I didn’t have a knee-jerk reaction that most people hearing about it for the first time would.”
Booth finds it difficult to explain to friends who ask her about her experiences with reiki. “Most people ask — you are going to do what? Is it a massage? My dad still doesn’t understand and has reservations about it. It is something you have to experience to understand,” she said.
For about two years, she has visited Hyde for monthly sessions, and Booth says it helps her deal with her anxiety as well as life transitions.
“When I show up to my appointment, she asks me what my intention of being there is and what I want to get out of the appointment. She checks in with what is going on in my life, what I am struggling with and what I feel good about.
“It works with whatever your belief system is. I believe in Heavenly Father and that I can pray to him. It is kind of like we are praying together and working through this and we will see the silver lining. Having another person who can help you see that helps because sometimes you can’t see past your own problems. She helps put things into perspective,” Booth said.