Re: Reiki
I used to have regular Reiki massages and I enjoyed them very much.
I always found them very relaxing.
Like you, I knew someone who was training as a Reiki massage therapist.
She needed a certain number of regular clients to complete her practical training, so I agreed to be one of her "guinea pigs" for a weekly massage over a couple of months.
The more practised she became, the more relaxed I felt.
I enjoyed them so much, I continued as a regular client after she had fully qualified and she only charged me "mates rates"
I've usually found any kind of massage relaxing, so I'm not convinced the "Reiki" approach is any more beneficial than any other kind of body massage.
One thing I did experience during a Reiki massage sometimes, which I've never experienced with other kinds of massage, is an awareness of my senses being flooded with certain colours. (I think these are known as "chakras")
I can't really explain it well but, sometimes I would be laid there with my eyes closed, all relaxed, and "see" the colour purple or blue all around me, inside my head. A few times, I "felt" a column of white light flowing up my body and "saw" it flow out through the top of my head.
It sounds ridiculous but that's how it seemed at the time. I hadn't heard of "chakras" before I experienced these colours, although I've read about them since and am sceptical of some of what I've read.
I don't have any particular views about what they mean, if anything. All I know is that I experienced it and it felt incredibly relaxing. I was left feeling wonderful, de-stressed and content.