There are tons of alternative therapies out there. According to some they work, to others they're just cynical ways of scamming gullible people out of their money.
I'm on the fence and have therefore paid a fair share of money to different alternative therapists over they years. All in the name of research of course. How else could I find out if I actually have energy centers (chakras) in my body? Although so far the evidence has been inconclusive.
My curiosity was peaked when I was fifteen and went to a new age fair in my hometown. A few people were demonstrating a Japanese form of healing called Reiki and I decided to try it out.
I sat down on a chair, closed my eyes and the Reiki practitioner stood a few feet in front of me. I don't know what he did, but I suddenly felt a wave of energy wash over me and I felt utterly relaxed. Although back then I was an impressionable goth who really wanted to believe in this kind of stuff.
Today I realize that it could just as well have been Derren Brown standing in front of me, manipulating me into believing that something magical was happening. Ever since I've been a bit curious about Reiki and when I heard about The Happiness Centre in Shepard's Bush in West London I decided it was time to put this alternative therapy to the test.
I met up with Reiki practitioner Andrew Paradnik who's been teaching and using Reiki for many years. He describes Reiki as the universal life force that's everywhere around us and inside us. According to him, the practitioner uses this life force to balance the patient's energies. When the body's in balance it can heal itself, says Andrew.
The Happiness Center is a calm little place off one the less posh streets in West London. I can see why people pay for treatments like these - because they want to wind down. The whole place calms you down, there's floaty New Age music in the air and Andrew speaks slowly and calmly.
Apparently the atmosphere isn't enough to calm me down though. As I lay down on the massage table Andrew points out that my feet are pointing straight up and that's a clear sign of tension. No surprises there. I could just as well have ran into the place with a tripple latte in one hand and my iPhone in the other. You wouldn't have to scan my chakras to figure out that I'm a bit stressed.
Andrew starts the session by pressing a few energy points in my feet. According to him the body's mirrored in the feet and through them he can make a diagnosis of sorts. He continues pressing on some energy points in my legs and I feel more and more relaxed.
After a while he starts the Reiki treatment, which means placing his hands on my head, stomach and then my back to channel energy. I feel very relaxed. Very, very relaxed. Although I'm not feeling the waves of energy my fifteen-year-old-self experienced. Not that that's a problem. After a while I almost nod off and just float away while Andrew works on my back. My shoulders haven't felt this relaxed for years.
When the treatment is over I feel spacey and blissed out. I'm supposed to be doing a radio story about this, but it's difficult to focus and I'm too relaxed to analyse the whole experience. It's time for Andrew to give me a diagnosis.
Apparently I'm in good health, but my back is fucked. Andrew explains that I have too much energy in my upper chakras and that it's not being calmed down by my lower chakras, which means that my shoulders are constantly tense. His solution is for me to work on the energy flow in my stomach by strengthening my core. Interesting. I'm sure a physiotherapist would have told me exactly the same thing, but left out the part about chakras and hot and cold energy.
You can make up your own mind about Reiki, chakras and universal energy. I can't say I've found conclusive proof after one session. I did however feel great. My back felt relaxed, I floated out onto the busy streets of London, smiled to people on the tube journey home and slept like a baby.
Maybe Reiki works, maybe it doesn't. Although I know I'm going back next time big city life starts messing with my head and the levels of caffeine in my system reaching the heights usually reserved for Finnish grannies and shift workers.
Maybe it's my chakras needing some fine tuning or maybe I just need to lay down for an hour, focus on my breathing and stop worrying about the world outside.
Image via Minxmir