The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.
~Thomas A. Edison
Though Thomas Edison wrote those words more than a century ago, alternative treatments in the United States have only in recent years gained popularity despite eastern countries having practiced homeopathic and holistic medicine since their inception. According to a 2009 federal government survey, complementary and alternative medicine usage in the United States is increasingly popular. Even with the effects unknown, 38 percent of American adults use some form of alternative treatment, compared to 36 percent in the 2004 survey.
It should come as no surprise, then, that holistic treatments for animals are also on the rise. An Oct. 2010 story in the Chicago Tribune said that people have turned to alternative treatments for their pets when western medicine options failed. One of the most popular alternative treatments currently used is Reiki, “a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing,” according to the website reiki.org.
Reiki was developed by Japanese Dr. Mikao Usui in Japan in 1922. It has spread around the world as a spiritual method of reducing stress, relaxing and promoting healing. To receive Reiki, one must find a Reiki practitioner who has been attuned to the energy source and can perform the treatment. The practitioner will lay his or her hands on the body and cause the “life force energy” that flows through us all to increase and/or convert to positive energy. Reiki.org states that Reiki is not affiliated to any religion and is an inner spiritual experience.
Though some veterinarians have added alternative and olistic treatments to their medical practices, most animal Reiki is performed by a general Reiki practitioner that is willing to perform it on animals. John Hanover, DVM, is listed on the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association website as an Illinois veterinarian who practices alternative treatments, including equine Reiki. Hanover said that certification in Reiki was just part of his overall holistic training, along with acupuncture and chiropractic.
“I incorporate Reiki into my regular exams because I feel the energy,” Hanover said. “But I don’t do Reiki primarily by itself. There are other people who specialize in it, and those are the people that should be contacted.”
Hanover said that he does meet skeptical pet owners, and it’s not his place to change their minds about alternative treatments. “Sometimes an animal improves and the pet owner witnesses this and begins to believe; other times people contact me because they know I do holistic treatments and they’re fed up with regular medications that weren’t helping. It just depends on the patient,” Hanover said.
Dawn Wrobel, Reiki Master and Animal Communicator with the Animal Spirit Network, has performed Reiki on horses for seven years. She said that Reiki on humans and horses is the same, as far as the end result, but the methods she uses toward horses is different, because horses accept the energy differently.
“I start with a hands-off approach, which is different from humans,” Wrobel said. “I stand near the horse and start to send the energy toward him. Eventually, the horse usually will walk over to me, lick my hands and explore the energy, and then I will transfer to a hands-on approach.”
Wrobel said that most Reiki sessions with horses last about an hour, unless the horse becomes disinterested, or it is injured and needs more energy. “It’s really up to the horse how much Reiki he wants to receive,” Wrobel stated. She said that Reiki is ideal for nervous, injured or sick horses. It can help them to relax, to heal quicker, to experience side effects from medications less and to find comfort in their situation.
One memorable experience for Wrobel was when she performed Reiki on a harness horse that dealt with a tremendous amount of anxiety. “He would come out of his skin when being transported from one place to another,” Wrobel said. “It was kind of amazing, because after the third session [of Reiki], the horse got so relaxed, we’d tickle him so he wouldn’t fall down!” The horse eventually became comfortable traveling and didn’t extend so much energy towards anxiety.
On Oct. 21, Kathy Regganie, Anne Marie Modery and Janice Spoelma, all certified Reiki Masters, performed a Reiki session together on a 16-year-old thoroughbred, for the sake of this article. The horse, Silky, has a spur on one of her navicular bones, along with continual arthritis issues. Barb Draznik, the horse’s owner, is very opened to alternative treatments and regularly meets with equine chiropractors and barefoot trimmers. She has also tried massage therapy, micron wave therapy, acupressure, trigger point therapy and more. This was her first experience with Reiki.
The three Reiki Masters had never practiced Reiki on a horse before, but Regganie worked at a horse farm for four years and had been around horses her whole life. The other two wanted to try it out. The three women stood in the pasture with the horse and allowed her to become comfortable with them. Eventually, the horse became very still and relaxed as they moved their hands around her body.
Regganie felt what she described as “crunchy” energy on the leg with the spur and in the left hip area. She worked on those areas until the energy became unblocked and smooth. The session only lasted about 20 minutes. “While a human takes about an hour, animals could take 15 to 20 minutes,” Regganie said. “Animals are more attuned to the energy; they don’t question it like humans.”
When I followed up with Draznik a few weeks after the Reiki session, she said Silky’s legs seemed to swing freer for a couple days after the session, and she seemed mentally softer and more receptive. Nothing seemed to disrupt her. “This type of treatment will show subtle results, so it’s hard to define the outcome,” Draznik said. “People need to let go of needing to see immediate, dramatic results to believe in this type of medicine.”
Draznik said that even though the results aren’t dramatic and immediate, she would choose to heal her horses from the inside rather than use synthetic, unnatural materials. She said, “Would I have Reiki done again? Yes. Would I choose it over drugs? Yes.”
To find a Reiki practitioner willing to perform Reiki on horses, you
can visit these websites: Animal Spirit Network
(www.AnimalSpiritNetwork.com/faculty); Illinois Association for
Animal Owners Rights (www.IAAOR.org/MemberDirectory); International
Association of Reiki Professionals (www.IARPReiki.org) and
www.HolisticVetList.com.
Sources
Chicago Tribune article on animal Reiki www.chicagotribune.com/features/tribu/ct-tribu-weigel -holistic-pets-20101018,0,4615261.column?ref=nf
Definition of Reiki www.reiki.org/FAQ/FAQHomepage.html
List of holistic veterinarians www.holisticvetlist.com/ahvma_query_advanced.php