Grief
Grief. We will all experience it at some point in our life. There is going to be a time when you will have someone come to you for Reiki, and they are dealing with grief. For this reason, let’s look a bit deeper at how grief reacts energetically in the body and how to relieve some of the pain.
Grief should be honored. It is a testimony to the love we have shared, the love we have filled up on, the love we have nurtured and grown within this life. While everyone deals with grief in their own way, I would like to suggest some ways to help ease the pain and suffering of grief for both yourself and others.
Grief blooms from the heart and resides in the lungs. There, it grows heavy, and becomes energy draining. We feel it in our heart, often as a crushing or pressing pain, while the lungs fill up with it and the chest tightens, interfering with our center of breath.
One of the most healing acts we can do when it comes to grief is cry. And by cry, I mean a long, hard, drawn out, soulful sobbing where the tears freely flow, the breath at times gasps, and the body coils up into itself. Crying is a great release of pent of emotional energy brough on by grief. The act of crying, itself, is healing no matter what the reason may be, sadness or laughter.
When we cry, several things happen. Crying massages and tones the solar plexus and heart chakra. It opens the throat chakra. It expands the lungs, brings fresh air into circulation, releases tension in the intercoastal muscles and flushes out emotions we are holding onto in an expressive way.
Tears wash the eyes to give clearer vision and to help let go of not wanting to leave the past, but instead, look to the future, while the act of crying brings the positive memories back into the heart where we safely carry them into the future with us.
The body coils up around itself, into a fetal position, helps to build up life energy and contain it, so we can draw strength from that while we are allowing ourselves to feel vulnerable with our emotions.
Afterwards, our minds feel a bit clearer. We have clarity into our situation. We still feel sadness. We will have more hard cries. And that’s ok. There are no time limits to grief, only helpful ways to move through it.
Giving small hand massages to the grieving person can help expel trapped grief energy in the lungs, when the hand massage includes gentle tugging and pulling on the fingers. Please keep in mind, it’s ok to do this outside of your Reiki practice. If you are seeing a Reiki client and are not covered by massage laws in your state, you could be putting yourself in legal trouble so I advise to not do the hand massage in a professional Reiki setting.
Positive action to honor the one we have lost helps us to feel at peace as we now have an outlet to pour our emotions into, thus relieving the pressure inside. This can be a simple altar which we can tend to daily- placing pictures and items that belonged to or remind us of our loved one or starting a small memorial garden which blooms beneath our caring hands and allows us a way to pour our energy into creating something beautiful in honor of a loved one.
Do not place a time limit on when grieving should be done. It will bubble up at unexpected times, and that is okay. Allow it.
If you feel overwhelmed, do not try, and face it alone. If you don’t have someone you can trust to share your grief with, please find a support group or therapist who can help walk you through these days and nights until you are strong enough to walk it alone.
When your Reiki client is dealing with grief, they may not wish to discuss it. They may be seeing you for a completely different reason. Honor their feelings, hold space, and allow them their time to process it.
