Back Pain & Underlying Emotional Issues Healed with Reiki

Reiki Self HealingWhile giving the keynote at the Mid-Atlantic Reiki Conference, I spoke about the power of Reiki healing stories, and invited attendees to write theirs. Reiki practitioner Jeremy Schlosberg shared his story of healing back pain.

Reiki Healing Back Pain
by Jeremy Schlosberg

My general practitioner called it “garden-variety back pain” and sent me off with one word of advice (“Advil”).

My physical therapist insisted I had a purely “mechanical problem” that she would help fix. (She didn’t.)

My acupuncturist listened attentively but her needles produced only subtle moments of relief, while treatment costs added up.

Removing the cause removes the effect*

All the while, I knew deep down what the problem was.

The daily discomfort I was feeling—which began as lower back pain only to migrate deep into my hips, producing sciatica-like sensations in my legs as well—was without question a physical reality; it was just as certainly rooted in anxiety and my emotional life and history.

But while I understood, through years of inner work, the emotional root of my physical problems, understanding alone wasn’t breaking the cycle of pain and discomfort. A friend recommended a Reiki practitioner.

I had heard of Reiki treatment but had no clear idea what it was. I decided to give it a try.

My first Reiki treatment and back pain

The Reiki treatment was mysteriously pleasurable. I especially liked how my mind seemed inexplicably to turn off. When I was driving home, however, I found that my hip pain was flaring up to uncomfortable level.

I was so frustrated, I fought back tears. Was this going to be another dead end?

The next morning, I awoke with noticeably less discomfort. As the week unfolded, I felt more relaxed and more centered. The discomfort was still there, but something seemed to be shifting regarding my back pain.

By my third Reiki session a few weeks later, I was not only feeling a lot less hip discomfort, I was also unexpectedly wanting to learn to practice Reiki.

Back pain improves with Reiki healing and Reiki self practice

I signed up for a First degree (beginner) Reiki class, and began practicing daily hands-on self-treatment. My back pain diminished to the point of only mild occasional flare-ups. My flexibility in my lower back and hip is better than it has been in years.

Meanwhile, my soul seems settled and centered by a practice that so regularly and easily allows me the meditative gift of resting without either sleeping or thinking.

*Hawayo Takata frequently told her students, Remove the cause and you will remove the effect, explaining that Reiki healing is holistic and comprehensive, restoring balance deep within the human system. Mrs. Takata  brought Reiki practice to the U.S. from Japan with her Reiki master, Chujiro Hayashi, a direct student of Reiki founder Mikao Usui.

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11 thoughts on “Back Pain & Underlying Emotional Issues Healed with Reiki”

  1. I have been doing self reiki since last 10 years. But from today I am suffering from left upper back pain. Should I continue or stop?

    1. I’m sorry you are having pain, Prasanta, but why would you stop your self practice? It makes sense to practice even more when we are not feeling well, either longer or more than once a day, as we can. And get whatever other care is needed. Our daily self Reiki practice is the foundation of our happiness and health, but how could it be the only thing we ever need?

  2. Hi all,

    I have the same problem with my sciatica. My hips pain like hell and unable to walk sometimes. I am a reiki 2 practitioner. My pain was fully reduced n I was very happy with the improvement. But again from few days the pain has started. Not getting a clue what went wrong and totally confused.
    Any suggestions highly appreciated.

    1. I am so sorry for your pain, Savitha.

      Reiki practice can bring much healing; it can also set the stage for other needed practices. You might need some manual adjustment to improve the alignment of your bones. Is there a good yoga teacher near you who understands therapeutic yoga? Or a skilled bodyworker?

      And sometimes receiving Reiki treatment from someone else can be helpful, as well as our daily self treatment. As a Second degree practitioner, you have the ability to target emotional needs that might be related.

      Practice. Observe. Contemplate. Repeat.

  3. Jeffrey Hotchkiss

    My personal experience, and that of many clients over the years, bears out this man’s story. We hide away our histories in our backs, almost like an emotional knapsack.

    I remember, a few decades ago (well, ok, four decades, if you must know!), attending a Zen meditation workshop given by Roshi Philip Kapleau, author of The Three Pillars of Zen and then abbot of the Rochester Zen Center. One of the things he said, preparing us for sitting practice, that stuck with me: “I can tell more about a person’s emotional state by looking at his back, than by looking at his face.” (approximate quote)

    For my life afterwards, I didn’t really know the wisdom of what he said, until I started unraveling the psychic and physical knots in my own back. Although Tai Chi, yoga and Aikido practice helped, it was Reiki practice that dramatically accelerated the healing.

    Shared this blog post on Facebook, a good thing for everyone to know!

  4. Thanks for sharing this story, Pamela. It’s wonderful for this man that so many things were not getting to the root cause and through knowing with his inner sense of authenticity, he knew that the issue was deeper than simply physical pain. This is one of the reasons why I love Reiki so much- an all-inclusive healing that goes sometimes where we don’t even know it is needed. Takes a lot of the pressure off of having to figure it out ourselves!

  5. I too have lower back pain so that now I can’t sit in the crossleged position.
    Im reiki 2 practitioner.
    So I might be aware that this pain may have some emotional root

    But what should be done to release it

    It’s been a while that I’ve practiced reiki

    1. Pamela, Can you share any more on this part…..*Hawayo Takata frequently told her students, Remove the cause and you will remove the effect, explaining that Reiki healing is holistic and comprehensive, restoring balance deep within the human system.” ……. Meaning removing the cause.

  6. This case reminds me of a client of mine who had seen a chiropractor for years, always experiencing some relief, but with the back pain somehow always coming back after a while.

    During a jikiden reiki session (which she had booked simply for relaxation), I determined the need to treat the lower back based on byosen sensing skills. When I applied Reiki in this area where I felt strong byosen, the client began to feel emotional, reliving (and releasing) the experience of a difficult birth with her first child.

    Until then, she had never made the connection between the traumatic birth process and her persistent back pain. After the treatment, her back issue was lastingly resolved!

    Also, the healing process in your case study strikes me as quite typical: the initial response to treatment being previously unexperienced deep relaxation and an aggravation of the presenting physical symptoms, then the pain improving with repeated treatments.

    Thanks for publishing these quality testimonials time and again Pamela!

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