Healing Energy

Facing cancer for a second time in less than a decade, 68-year-old Sue Putnam, a retired educator from Hampden, has turned to Eastern healing arts to augment the modern Western medical treatments she’s undergoing at Eastern Maine Medical Center.

The holistic approach of Reiki working side by side with chemotherapy is improving the quality of her life, she says. Putnam is more relaxed, more open in a physical and mental sense to treatment, and she has a greater self-awareness.

“Reiki has a way of integrating my mind, body, and spirit, and as a result they are working better,” she says confidently, following one of her weekly Reiki sessions that take place alongside her chemotherapy treatments.
Derived from the Japanese words meaning “universal life energy,” Reiki (pronounced ray-key) is gaining ground. A federal survey found that 2.2 million Americans have used Reiki as part of their health care.

First recognized in Japan in the early part of the 20th century, Reiki infuses ancient teachings and spirituality with an emphasis on harnessing the unseen energy force that is found all around us to heal the body.
“What Reiki actually does is it allows your body space to heal,” says Renee Setaro, a Reiki practitioner and owner of the Rainbow Warrior Reiki in Appleton.

In this noninvasive procedure, Reiki practitioners don’t even need to touch the client’s body. Through a variety of hand positions held over the body, energy flows from the practitioner into the patient and goes to where it is needed to heal.

Not just anyone can become a Reiki practitioner—you have to be naturally attuned to the Reiki energy, Setaro says. You also have to be taught by a Reiki master/teacher who has specific training to take you through the process.

Real estate agent Joan Osler is a Reiki master/teacher who operates Blue Heron Reiki out of her home along peaceful Phillips Lake in Dedham.
Much like a spa treatment, clients enter Osler’s candlelit room where gentle, soothing music plays. Bathed in essential oils, Osler’s hands move slowly over the body lying on a small bed-like table. “It’s hard to grasp that something so simple can be so beneficial,” Osler says.

Beneath Osler’s calming, reassuring exterior is a type A personality waiting to spring to action. At 56, Osler, a two-time breast cancer survivor, has been a driving force behind increasing Reiki’s acceptance locally. Osler has been instrumental in getting EMMC to offer it as part of its volunteer services.

Osler first experienced Reiki in 2003. Her own journey in finding ways to ease the pressures of modern life—balancing work and family while facing life’s twists and turns—led her to learn and practice Reiki.

“I feel more connected now in my life than I ever have in an all-inclusive kind of way,” she says.

Renee Setaro, who has been practicing the healing art for nine years, has also seen firsthand the healing benefits of Reiki. One of her clients had undergone several back operations and had been unable to stand up without pain for years until he underwent Reiki treatment.

Because of the successes she has seen in her practice, Setaro has tried to introduce Reiki to Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport, but hasn’t gotten too far. “For some reason, they are just not ready,” she says.
That may be understandable. The metaphysical healing properties that practitioners espouse have not been accepted throughout the scientific community.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the federal government’s lead agency on alternative and complementary medicines, reports that evidence for the benefits of energy medicines such as Reiki is scant.

In general, the NCCAM concludes that: “Reiki appears to be generally safe, and no serious side effects have been reported.” Hardly a ringing endorsement. But Reiki has been found to lower a patient’s blood pressure and heart rate. A Connecticut hospital has found that using Reiki on expectant moms reduced anxiety by 94%, nausea by 80%, and pain by 78%. Coincidence? No one can know for sure.

At EMMC, hospital officials took a cautious approach to Reiki when it was suggested in 2007. The idea found an early supporter in Martha Wildman, director of volunteer services. Unfamiliar with Reiki, Wildman had a session with Osler, a member of the hospital’s auxiliary. The sense of tranquility and ease that she experienced from the session along with the simplicity of the treatment—Reiki can be performed just about anywhere—impressed her.

“Immediately I thought it was such a wonderful gift we could give to our patients,” Wildman says.

Due diligence came first and EMMC staff began researching how Reiki was being used and accepted at other hospitals both in Maine and beyond. EMMC began with a three-month pilot project in December 2007 on the rehabilitation floors, with Reiki volunteers performing a total of 69 therapy sessions.

Hospital patients overwhelmingly accepted Reiki, with some becoming so relaxed during the sessions that they fell asleep, says Helen McKinnon, a registered nurse and vice president of support services at EMMC. Nearly nine out of 10 patients involved in the pilot project wanted more.
Reiki holds some key benefits for patients. Stress reduction helps patients understand their treatment plan. Reiki also gives patients the feeling that they are taking an active role in their healing.

“It’s giving permission to our patients to acknowledge that they have pain and can do something about it,” McKinnon says.

In April 2008, Reiki went hospital-wide, although it remains a strictly volunteer service that patients have to request. Incoming patients receive a packet of information that includes details about Reiki therapy.

Sue Putnam needs no convincing about the powerful impact Reiki has had. She has become a believer.

“All I know is how it makes me feel and what it seems to do for me,” she says. “My belief is based on my own experience.”