The heart healing,
The upper chest position in ushiraiki,
For you and your animal companion.
Welcome everyone,
Today I want to talk about a powerful hand position in ushiraiki,
Placing your hands on your upper chest,
Over the heart.
It's a simple gesture,
And you may not think much of it at first.
But within the yuushi lineage,
Healing the heart-mind is the very foundation of its practice.
Miekao Ueshiba wrote himself,
First the mind should be healed,
And secondly the physical body should be made healthy.
In his worldview,
Every act of healing was the ultimate act on healing the heart.
So when we place our hands on our upper chest,
We are looking at two extraordinary centers at once.
The first one is the anahata,
Which is the heart chakra,
Located at the center of the chest,
And it bridges the lower chakras,
Tied to the material,
And the upper chakra associated with the spirituality.
And the balanced heart chakra fosters compassion and connection.
But there is also a higher heart chakra,
Often called the thymus,
Or the etheric heart,
Situation in the upper chest,
Between the heart and the throat chakra.
It's associated with spirituality,
Immunity,
Spiritual immunity,
And an unconditional love.
So physically,
The thymus gland is beneath our hand here,
And that is linked to the heart chakra and produces T-shells for immunity.
In Reiki,
It's often called the youth gland.
The healthier the thymus is,
The more lively and the more grateful we feel.
By resting our hands here,
We connect with the physical,
Emotional,
And spiritual at once.
The heart chakra governs the lungs,
The heart,
Blood circulation,
And our breathing system,
And our arms and hands,
The shoulders,
The ribs,
The breast,
The diaphragm,
And the thymus gland.
So the heart chakra is disturbed by neglect or abandonment,
Rejection,
Ending of a relationship,
Grief,
The loss of love of a loved one,
Or experiencing of criticism or a lack of nurture in childhood.
So for many of us,
And for many of our animals,
That is the story that is written in the chest.
So here is what is remarkable and humbling about practicing Reiki with our animal companions.
They often need this position just as much as we do.
A balanced heart chakra lets your pet express affection,
Build bonds,
And responds with empathy and trust,
Enhancing their well-being and their social connection.
When working with animals,
Placing one hand on your dog or cat,
Of course,
Its back and the shoulder blades,
And the other one on the chest can be a powerful position for emotional healing and balance.
And most animals also carry a chakra that humans do not,
And it's called the brachial chakra located near the shoulders and the upper chest,
Which creates a bridge between the heart and the throat chakra,
Facilitating a deeper communication and emotional bonding between animals and their humans.
When we place our hands over our animal companion's chest,
We are working with this bond directly.
Placing one hand over your own heart in self-Reiki may heal both you and your animal.
So,
How do we practice this?
We place one hand flat and gently on our chest,
And one hand,
If it's more comfortable,
Or two hands,
And then we close our eyes.
We place one hand over the positioning while channeling the Reiki,
The light energy,
For several minutes,
Breathe deeply.
This simple technique can help strengthen and support your immune system while nourishing your heart chakra.
With your animal,
Let them guide the process.
If your pet is comfortable,
Then gently place your hand over its chest,
Near its heart.
Focus on breathing calmly,
As you imagine a soft green light expanding outward,
Filling the space with calm,
Loving energy.
Think of all the joy and love your pet brings to your life.
If your pet is fearful or prefers not to be touched,
Then sit close instead.
Set the intention to send compassion and healing,
And allow your animal to approach and move away or come in closer,
As they wish.
Always stop if your pet shows signs of discomfort,
And then wait.
Maybe go back to the first step,
See where you can be,
And just place your hand where it's comfortable.
It might be a little bit of a dance,
Like sitting close,
Maybe one day the hand is on,
The other day it's not.
And just keep observing your animal's reaction,
And continue or to pause as needed.
So Miyako Yushu left us with the five precepts,
The Goikai,
As the true heart of a system,
Which is the precepts Yushu is pointing to,
To the heart-mind element.
He is pointing towards helping others to get rid of their anger and their worry,
And find their true self.
Anshi means peace in your heart and mind.
And if we have found peace in our own heart and mind,
We can start helping others to find it in theirs.
This position is more than hands-on healing.
It is an invitation to come home to yourself,
And an invite your animal companion to do the same.
So just for today,
Show compassion to yourself and others.
And always remember Reiki is a complementary practice,
It's not a substitute for a medical or veterinary care.
