If you’re tapped into the wellness industry, you’ll know that reiki has been enjoying a steady rise in popularity over the last few years – especially in Australia. But what is it? And why do so many people sing its praises? To find out, we spoke with Gold Coast holistic counsellor and founder of The Creation Space, Lynsey Tomkinson.
On a mission to discover her ‘soul purpose’, Lynsey started down a path she felt had been calling her for her whole life: counselling.
“I felt like I had been a lifelong counsellor, so I began my holistic counselling training,” Lynsey recalls. “Reiki was part of the course. I had no experience with it, it was totally new to me, but I fell in love. Now, with every session, I find that it restores me as much as it does my clients.”
Unlike traditional counselling, talk therapy is just one aspect of what Lynsey does as a holistic counsellor.
“We treat people as energetic beings,” she explains, “from a spiritual perspective. You can heal an injury or treat a sickness, but there’s usually an underlying reason it keeps presenting. We aim to treat people mind, body, heart and soul.”
Reiki – a Japanese practice that originated over 100 years ago – is one of the tools in her metaphorical toolbelt. Using specific hand placements that align with the body’s various chakras, particularly the seven key chakras, reiki is the practice of channeling ‘life force energy’ (universal vibrations, as Lynsey describes them) into the body. The goal? To restore overall feelings of peace, love and happiness.
“I typically work with trauma survivors, particularly around childhood abandonment, low self-worth and low self-esteem,” Lynsey says. “It really helps people with bad anxiety, stomach cramps, headaches. I see a lot of people with closed throat chakras and reiki helps them open those channels back up.”
A typical session with Lynsey will start with talk therapy. Then, the reiki begins. Her clients will lie down and begin some breathwork and relaxation exercises. Then, starting with the head, Lynsey will start to place her hands on each of the seven chakras, working her way down the body. Most people find it deeply relaxing, she says, though others can leave the session feeling totally wiped out.
“Everyone has a different experience,” Lynsey explains. “Things will often come up later, in moments when you’re feeling peaceful – like right before you go to sleep. Reiki helps you connect with what you feel, your authentic truth, which can be overwhelming. But I’ve seen firsthand how it relieves anxiety and helps people find direction.”
Lynsey isn’t the only one singing its praises – one 2017 study found reiki to be more beneficial than placebo. In Australia, Google searches for ‘reiki near me‘ show more and more people are becoming interested in experiencing its benefits.
“I think, as a society, we’re becoming more open to trusting our intuition,” Lynsey says. “People are looking for different ways to heal – for things that feel good. I am definitely finding that more people are curious about reiki and, ultimately, they’re falling in love with it.”
“I understand that,” says Lynsey. “Some of the biggest misconceptions about reiki are that it doesn’t do anything, because it’s not tangible. It can’t be quantified. But it’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy – by thinking that it’s not doing anything, you prevent yourself from receiving it.
“For me, it’s a really intuitive process. It’s just about how it feels. Science and intuition aren’t at odds… They’re both shoving us in the same direction.”