Reiki Brings A Hands-On Approach To Healing

NEW HAVEN — When Pamela Potter, an advanced practice registered nurse and a Reiki master, holds her hands over a patient in the obstetrics/gynecology unit at Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH), the patient’s tension melts away. Some patients say they feel energy or warmth even beyond the warmth of Ms Potter’s hands. It eases their anxiety, soothes nausea, and may even lower their blood pressure.

“They relax, and when they are relaxed, they have less pain,” said Ms Potter, a doctoral student at the Yale School of Nursing who visits the floor once a week.

While various forms of complementary therapy have been offered at YNHH for several years, the Office of Volunteer Services started providing Reiki to patients last November. Reiki (pronounced ray-key) is based on teachings drawn from the sacred writings of the Tibetan Buddhist Sutras that date back almost 3,000 years. It involves a light, gentle pattern of touch over clothing and the flow of Ki, a Japanese word that means universal life energy. There is still little research on the medical benefits of Reiki, but practitioners say it promotes healing.

Ms Potter has found Reiki to be especially helpful to patients before and after surgery, and during chemotherapy. “It’s not scientific,” Ms Potter said. “They might say ‘I was feeling nauseous and now I feel much better.’ The idea is that the Reiki goes where it needs to go.”