Silvia Casabianca offers Reiki sessions and Reiki classes in Southwest Florida.  Please take a look at our calendar to see upcoming Reiki events.

Some people want to experience REIKI with the expectation of a miracle. Miracles occur, that's true, but the person must arrive first at a point where a qualitative change may happen. The person must have experienced a series of minor changes in their attitude, thoughts, behavior, that have accumulated over time to prelude a leap forward. When this moment arrives, the person will be open to the energies surrounding them and will allow for a miracle to happen. In these cases, REIKI and the guidance of a teacher, facilitate the process. In most cases, a miracle is simply a change in perspective and subsequently changes in behavior and habits. From abusing the body to starting to love it. From living in a frenzy to finding joy in quietness. From being unaware of other human beings to starting to experience empathy and compassion.

What is Reiki?

Reiki is a natural healing method that everybody can learn. It's never harmful and although we might not fully understand how it works, it does seem to boost the body's capacity of the body to heal itself.

A Japanese Monk, Mikao Usui, is the founder of the Reiki system of healing. He rediscovered the healing method in ancient books but didn't know how to apply it until he had a mystical experience while meditating and fasting on Mount Kurama, a sacred mountain of Japan, in 1922.

The word REIKI comes from two Japanese words: Rei, meaning universal energy and Ki, meaning the energy that animates all living beings (equivalent to the Chinese word Qi, and the Prana for Hindus). When Rei and Ki flow harmoniously together, we are in optimal physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

REIKI refers to our connection with the universe, our restitution to the whole. Blockages to the flow of energy at any one level of our being manifest as symptoms or disease.

What does a Reiki practitioner do?

It is believed that in REIKI, the practitioner funnels universal energy to her or himself, other person, a pet or a plant with the intention of supporting healing. Healing is not solely the disappearance of a symptom, but a complete resolution of the causes of disease. in the case of people, this implies a process of personal evolution and the restoration of the memory of our wholeness.

It is a principle of REIKI, common to other energy healing modalities, that vital energy nourishes the organs and cells and when this energy is blocked or impeded, the body cannot continue to function well. A similar concept is found in traditional Chinese medicine, some Japanese healing practices, pranic healing, esoteric healing, and Ayurveda.

REIKI practitioners can place their hands over the aura of the person receiving the treatment or directly over their body to help restore the ki flow, bring about a deep relaxation, and restore body's lost balance.

What are the effects of Reiki?

The effects of REIKI are not limited to the physical body. We are multidimensional beings (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) and REIKI affects us at every level of our being.

Our genes, inside the cell, command the production of peptides, substances ithat mediate the communication between cells, and thus, between organs. This process of communication has a correspondence at the subtle levels or energetic levels (emotional, mental, spiritual).

REIKI has lasting effects, especially when the receiver is committed to a process of evolution, of transformation.

What to expect in a Reiki session?

A REIKI session is a pleasant and relaxing experience, very helpful in emergencies as it alleviates pain, sedates and helps to stop the bleeding. Notwithstanding, a transformational process is our sole responsibility. If I have a headache, REIKI will help to alleviate it, but if it's caused, for example, by the excess of caffeine I put into my body, the headache will continue to bother me until I turn into healthier habits.

Some people want to experience REIKI with the expectation of a miracle. Miracles occur, that's true, but the person must arrive first at a point where a qualitative change may happen. The person must have experienced a series of minor changes in their attitude, thoughts, behavior, that have accumulated over time to prelude a leap forward. When this moment arrives, the person will be open to the energies surrounding them and will allow for a miracle to happen. In these cases, REIKI and the guidance of a master, facilitate the process. In most cases, the miracle is a change in perspective. From abusing the body to starting to love it. From living in a frenzy to finding joy in quietness. From being unaware of other human beings to starting to appreciate their value.

For many years, I have invited relatives, friends an clients, an especially REIKI students to examine their beliefs towards health and illness and how those ideas frame their relationship with their bodies. I insist not to seek for a miracle, because no change is going to happen until the recipient is ready. Either a will for transformation is needed - sometimes a will that transcends our consciousness - or the strength to accept what we cannot bring about change.

Even when we express our desire to introduce changes in our habits and attitudes, sometimes circumsatances interfere. The opposite being also true, sometimes we express resistance and skepticism but our soul is ready for the necessary changes that allow our progress.

FIRST DEGREE Practitioners start a process of self-awareness. They work on the physical level and learn to administer self-treatments, as well as to treat others.

SECOND DEGREE Practitioners work with mental and spiritual levels of being. Three of the five REIKI symbols are learned and also distance healing.

THIRD DEGREE (Master level). The practitioner is initiated to mastery. Two more symbols are learned and the practitioner might be trained to teach others. This may require the student to assist in several trainings before being ready to be a teacher. There are many different REIKI schools in the world, from the very orthodox that demands that REIKI be transmitted exactly as learned to the very open minded who believes that Reiki doesn't require a spiritual path. In the more orthodox schools, initiations to REIKI are costly, hierarchies are highly appreciated and there is a process of selection for students. Schools as the one promoted by Diane Stein in North America or Reiki Academia del Mediterráneo (RAM) with Masters Eli and Aliz in Alicante (Spain), feel that REIKI should be made accessible to an increasing number of people and have incorporated other energy techniques to their practices. Most teachers impart their teachings in ways that go according to their own beliefs and experience. REIKI is intelligent energy. Although a hands-on protocol is learned, the practitioner uses his or her intuition to decide where to place the hands and for how long. Masters are born from practice.

Immediatly after being initiated to REIKI, practitioners give themselves REIKI treatments once or twice a day for at least three weeks. This consolidates the learning, detoxifies the system and restores balance in the body. Daily treatments recharge vital force and stimulate spiritual growth, increasing self-awareness. After the first three weeks the practioner might start giving treatment to others. A complete REIKI treatment consists of four one-hour sessions that should be administered with no more than 72 hours between one session and the next. The usual time for each hands position is 3 to 5 minutes. Children, debilitated people and elders receive a shorter treatment. In chronic conditions, treatment may be prolonged for months. REIKI works regardless from our will or desire. Healings are usually the result of increased awareness. it is common to see that people who were initiated to REIKI start reconsidering lifestyle, relationships, and attitudes. REKI can be used not to replace medical care but to help the body heal faster and recover balance. It is also used in terminal illnesses. It sedates, brings acceptance and relieves pain. A complete treatment should be administered in a placid atmosphere. Music and incense help to create an appropriate environment. REIKI can be used as a meditation technique. REIKI is never harmful. In some cases a chronic condition that has been unattended can become acute after a REIKI treatment. Research has shown that REIKI speeds up healing of wounds.

Reiki has become very popular in the past few years. It's offered to terminal patients, to children with cancer, to people suffering from chronic pain. It relaxes the patients and reliefs symptoms. It's offered not to replace conventional medicine but to support tha natural healing process of the body.