This is another in our series of “My Reiki Story” posts that we will be adding to the Reiki Evolution blog, where a Reiki person talks about their journey with Reiki. In today’s “My Reiki Story” we hear from Philip Westwood from Herefordshire…
In 2003 after going on a high protein diet to lose some weight, I developed Gout – an excruciating condition that affects the joints. After 3 months of conventional medicine my condition worsened to become chronic. By now I was at my wits end and decided to try complementary/alternative medicine. My GP informed me that the medication I was taking was the strongest that he could prescribe and that there could be serious side effects from having to take constant medication
A few days later I found a clinic that did complementary medicine and after talking with the receptionist I decided to book a treatment for the following day. The receptionist recommended that I try a Reiki treatment initially, she said that Reiki was generally a very balancing treatment and was excellent for pain relief. She commented that if this was not the case there were other options that I could try such as homeopathy, reflexology or acupuncture.
The following morning i woke up with severe pain in my foot, it was Gout! The symptoms were easy to identify – hot burning sensations in the joints of my foot and it was red and swollen.
My appointment was at 11.00am and my wife drove me to the clinic where I was quickly taken to a treatment room to meet the Reiki Master who was to treat me. I must have looked strange standing there holding one shoe and sock in my hand but my foot was too painful the put them on. After a brief consultation, the Reiki Master asked me to lie down on her Reiki table and within a few minutes I fell fast asleep, then after what seemed like no time at all she woke me up and asked me to turn over, then I promptly fell asleep again!
After the treatment I was gently woken up, given a glass of water to drink and asked to pay at the reception desk on my way out. As I walked to my car my wife who was waiting for me gave me a strange look. As I opened the car door she asked me how I was able to get my shoe and sock on and it was only then that I realised that I had no pain in my foot – how strange was that? I hadn’t even noticed that the pain had gone!
This was my introduction to ‘Life force Energy’ and a month later I was sitting with 4 other students on my first Reiki course- such was the impact of my first treatment and guess what, I have not had Gout since.
I have now been a Reiki Master-Teacher for 7 years and what a fascinating journey it has turned out to be.
7 years ago I left England to work as a freelance Reiki Master-teacher and practitioner in Cyprus where I developed a practice working in 5 star hotels and Spas’, I treated over 5,000 people while I was there and this gave me an insight into the benefits that were possible when treating people with Reiki. I returned to England in September last year and now live in the beautiful county of Herefordshire.
Because of my experiences in Cyprus I decided to write a book- ‘REIKI- True Stories To Inspire You’ which has just been published. The book is a Biography – journal of my Reiki journey so far. Some will find the case studies in the book unbelievable, while others who may well have had similar experiences will know that Reiki is truly amazing.
If you would like to tell your Reiki story on the Reiki Evolution blog then send a jpeg head/shoulders photo of you, your name, and let us know about your story: when and why did you learn Reiki, what happened on your course, how do you use Reiki and how has Reiki changed things for you? Send your contribution to taggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk.
And if you like the sound of what Reiki can do for you, or if you’d like to take your Reiki further, remember that we have Reiki courses running throughout the UK, as well as multimedia home study courses.