I have recently been meeting up with a marketing group for the Reiki Federation to look at future
proofing Reiki and through these meetings, I volunteered to speak to a local headteacher about introducing Reiki into schools.
I was lucky enough to be able to speak to her about her thoughts and experiences of Reiki and whether she thought it would be appropriate for Reiki to be offered to children.
Here are the questions and answers in red:
Do you believe in Reiki? Yes
Do you have any experience (positive or negative) of Reiki treatments? If yes, on a personal level, what sort of effect has Reiki had on you? I had Reiki for approximately 2 years and it was a very positive experience. I only stopped as my Reiki practitioner stopped doing treatments. I have had a negative impact from Reiki treatments, even though it was part of a positive experience but I was aware that for me, this was part of the healing process.
I found this answer really interesting and it took me back to my first every Reiki session. It was a couple of years after I had lost my fiance in 2001 and I couldn't stop crying! I remember sitting with the lady afterwards with a cup of herbal tea and giggling but I just couldn't stop the flow of tears. I knew they needed to come out and that they were part of a healing process so I fully understand, if this happened to a young child at school, it could be very upsetting. The recipients would need to be given examples of healing process scenarios before it is given.
3. Do you think Reiki would be beneficial in schools for both staff and for students? I certainly see the benefits in Reiki. I think the challenge would be seeing everyone being open to natural health.
4. If Reiki were available in schools, do you think starting the day with a moment of calming / healing energy would help the school day? Do you do anything similar at the moment?
I have often thought about the ideal time of a school day for calming/healing energy and my thoughts are that it would be better to end the day this way as for some school can be a challenging place. Calm time at the end would allow the closure of the school day.
5. Do you think Reiki would be helpful as part of the school's wellness toolbox? Would you see this as being more beneficial when working with individual students or the whole class? I can see the benefits of Reiki being part of the toolbox. Personally, I think it would work better in 1:1 or small groups.
6. Do members of staff have a wellness toolbox so that they can help themselves deal with the stresses and emotions of their jobs?
We have a senior mental health lead in school who supports in promoting the wellness toolbox throughout school.
7. Does your school encourage pupils to develop coping strategies before, for example, exams? If so, could Reiki potentially help with certain trigger points throughout the year?
We focus heavily on the children's wellbeing at exam times and helping them to cope. I could see the potential in Reiki helping some students.
8. During your teaching experience, do you think that there is now more pressure on children? Have cases of anxiety, ADHD and those on the autistic spectrum generally increased over the years? There is a wealth of material that supports the benefits of Reiki in these cases. Do you also believe Reiki may help some students that are affected by these disorders?
There has certainly been an increase. Social media and Covid have exacerbated this. I don't know enough about reiki in supporting these. My concern would be my personal experience of sometimes having a negative reaction to treatment. If the child struggled to see this as part of the process, it could lead to adding to their worries.
9. Reiki is often described as the transfer of energy so with that in mind, do you agree that Reiki energy will help children to create balance, relax and promote confidence? Any other thoughts on this?
I certainly feel that this is a possibility but again would be concerned of any negative reaction.
10. The NHS is turning to Reiki Practitioners more frequently. As a headteacher, do you think this trend will follow in education? If yes, how do you envisage this working? Could you see there being a nominated Reiki Officer in schools for treatments / time out? Unfortunately, time pressures and budget in schools mean that it is difficult to now even access a school nurse. For it to be recognised that schools would benefit from investing in holistic treatments I feel is a huge ask. Although personally I favour holistic therapies over other treatments, I feel there are still too many people who don't believe in holistic treatments or understand the benefits.
I would love to hear your comments on whether there are any schools out there that offer Reiki? Do you have any thoughts / guidelines on offering Reiki to children?
I know I regularly give Reiki to children who I know well but like the headteacher commented, although we know the amazing benefits of Reiki, I'm personally not sure whether children would understand the negative feelings to help with the overall healing process.
I would like to add a really big thank you to the headteacher who took part in this blog and was so honest with her answers. It is very much appreciated...