Stress Buster for Parents To Be

Becoming a parent is a rewarding and challenging step and many people find that complementary therapies are an effective and natural way to support body, mind and spirit during this lifestyle change.

Having complementary therapy treatments does help enormously when trying to maintain your optimum level of health during your pregnancy. However long term treatment plans are financially out of reach for some.

Discussing this subject with friends (who were mum’s to be) it became clear that one of the biggest issues that causes much stress is the lack of control that a parent to may be feeling… particularly for the mum to be over her own body, the birth and even being a good parent.

So what can you do? One option is to take a day out of your busy schedule and book in to learn the Japanese energy healing method called Reiki.

The feedback from clients who were expecting a baby and who learnt Reiki suggests that it can help with both the physical and emotional experience of having a baby.

Paula is a client, who was over 8 months pregnant and after learning Reiki and having her third baby at home, she wrote me to me in an email and this is what she said…

"My baby was due on the 21st (Dec)but contractions began on Tuesday 7th. I had mild contractions until Wednesday evening when things suddenly sped up. Final contractions required full focus on breathing but prior to that I treated each contraction with Reiki. It was the best, the least stressed and best coped with labour of the three. As I concentrated on Reiki with each contraction they seemed to fade as soon as treatment began. I felt relatively untraumatised afterwards and my bodies recovery was quicker than previous times as I treated all aches and pains on a regular basis."

She also commented on how contented her baby was.

So how does it work? Reiki is a non-invasive, gentle method of energy healing that works on the body system to bring it back into balance. It helps to let go of fear, anxiety, stress and its other by-product symptoms. The Reiki flows through the healer (the person attuned to Reiki) and is ‘absorbed’ by the receiver. This is why it can’t harm you as you only absorb what you need to help bring mind, body, emotions and spirit back into balance.

How can you learn it? Reiki I is the first level and involves a day of theory, practice and what is called an attunement to the energy (it’s like a deep meditation if you’ve done that before). Some teachers like to call it ‘empowerment’ as this is often how people feel afterwards. The beauty of Reiki I is that once you have been trained, you are encouraged to use it for self healing and on family and friends – as the more you use it the more aware you become of it and its benefits. Reiki can really help with nausea, back pain and hormonal ups and downs. It’s a life long technique that you can use safely on your baby to help them (and you) sleep, teething and general health and well being.

Both parents, knowing how to use Reiki can also strengthen or create a wonderful bond between parent and child so it’s good for the father learn to do this too healing their partner and their new baby – thus helping them feel closely involved.

Is it expensive? The cost can vary for learning Reiki. To learn Reiki I costs £99 (and if you consider that 3 x 1 hour massages/treatments would cost just under £100) which includes a compehensive manual handout, follow up support for questions and the training day itself. Discounts are available for early booking

Some clients have chosen to learn Reiki II which is the second level as it brings in mental/emotional and distance healing techniques which are great for the birth itself.

Still cynical? If you still remain cynical about how useful a healing method it is, it’s useful know that the Royal College of Nursing printed a report in 2003 called ‘Complementary therapies in nursing, midwifery and health visiting practice’.

The most recent annual survey of RCN Complementary Therapy Nursing Forum members (RCN, 2003a) shows that the use of Reiki healing by nurses has gained in popularity,

What to do Next...

Feel Good Therapies offers training in Reiki and also meditation and relaxation classes/workshops which includes information about these techniques and the opportunity to practise, learn and ask questions. If you want to know more about the workshops please visit the 'workshops' section on the website.

To book online please use the Ready to book? button on the right of this screen.

CD for home practise - We also offer a beginner's CD for meditation for home practise. For more information, please click here.