Reiki Roundup

We begin this week in Washington, D.C., USA, where the Washington Post featured articles on Reiki, yoga, qigong, and meditation all on the same day, all under the heading of Chilling Out on the Cheap. The Reiki article focused on Luann Jacobs of Arlington, Virginia, who practices at George Washington University Hospital.

Our next news item was broadcast nationwide on ABC News and is now available online on-demand: in a health report headlined Popularity Grows for Reiki Therapy. Unfortunately the report includes some common errors: it refers to Reiki as "ancient" (it's 86 years old) and says it was developed by a doctor (Reiki founder Mikao Usui was not a doctor, even though that's what many students were taught). In the six-minute interview, an eternity on broadcast television, a Reiki master and the father of an autistic child discuss how Reiki can be helpful.

Next stop, Binghamton, New York, where her own pain in the wake of back surgery led nurse Kate McHugh to look into other forms of pain management. That in turn led to the Comfort Zone at one United Methodist Homes skilled nursing facility, where Reiki is among the modalities offered, and so far 75 percent of those treated there report a decrease in pain after their visit.

From there we travel to San Francisco, where in Advertising Age, Phil Johnson offers tips for establishing a branch office. Unfortunately, one of them is: No Reiki.

In Boca Raton, Florida, we meet dentist, author, and Reiki practitioner Dr. Pirjo Friedman, known as a pioneer in the art of painless dentistry. “I helped my patients overcome their fears by becoming a certified Reiki Master and using those powers to relax them while I worked on their teeth," she is quoted as saying. "Some patients actually fell asleep in my chair during their dental procedures."

On to Dublin, Ireland, where painters Mick Mulcahy and Suzy O'Mullane have found love, and Reiki.

Next, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where women still aren't allowed to drive, but now (since January) they're permitted to check into a hotel without a male family member or permission in writing from a male "guardian." That change has led to the country's first female-only hotel, where Reiki is among the offerings.