Collegiate Times

Jamie Woytaski, a senior mechanical engineering major, felt at ease as the waves of energy channeled into his body.

His relaxation paralleled that of his fellow Reiki Club members (pronounced ray-key) who participate in the weekly meetings held in Squires Student Center.

?Reiki is the connection to universal energy, both internal and environmental, to help heal mental and physical diseases,? said Edward Fox, Reiki Master, computer science professor and faculty advisor of the Reiki Club. In the early 20th century, the Japanese Buddhist Mikao Usui started the practice of Reiki after acquiring the knowledge of how to attune others to Reiki's healing energies, Fox said.

Attunement, he said, can be described with an analogy to radio. ?Radio signals are all around us, as is natural energy. (In Reiki) one must become attuned to this energy, like someone must tune to a specific (radio or television) station,? he said.

Almost a century later, the Reiki Club at Tech continues to use the practices and treatments established by Usui for improved wellbeing.

?The Reiki Club meets weekly and has three goals: healing, research, and service,? said former Reiki Club President Ming Luo.

Luo explained that the healing occurs through the Reiki Circle and healing sessions.

The Reiki Circle involves participants forming a circle and placing their hands on top and below their neighbors. According to Lou, the energy activated from the palms help treat all the participants. The healing sessions occur at the close of the meetings, necessitating members to place their hands above the person being treated.

?A person will lie down and then we put our hands above them and try to use our energy to connect with them,? Luo said. Woytaski, a Reiki Master in his own right and president of Reiki Club gained first-hand experience with Reiki's healing powers. ?Ever since I began practicing Reiki, I'm not sick nearly as often as I used to be and I've recovered from injuries quicker,? he said. He also noted that some Reiki Club members have described a clearing up of sinuses and an end to back problems as a result of Reiki.

While some find Reiki helpful, some believe the practice is phony, claiming the effects are nothing more than a placebo. Robert Benoit, an emeritus microbiology professor who teaches a course in biomedical bioethics in which the topics of pseudoscience and alternative medicine are discussed, said that more research must be done before conclusions are drawn.

?There is little quality data to favor the laying on of hands hypothesis that cannot be accounted by the placebo effect ? But serious medical scientists are doing properly designed experiments to learn if the placebo effect can be put to good use,? he said.

Through the Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Fox recently completed such an experiment to attempt to clinically show the benefits of Reiki. He explained that his experiment tested the effects of Reiki on canine hip dysplasia, which takes place when a dog suffers a loosening of the hip joint. The results of the tests are currently under further analysis. In terms of the service goal of the club, Woytaski explained that membership to the Reiki Club is open to all students, faculty members and community members.

?We treat everyone the same. We'll treat a member the same way as we'll treat anyone in from off the street,? he said.

Although Reiki services provided by Masters often do not come cheap, membership and treatments with the Reiki Club are free of charge.

?As an educator, I feel it is my obligation to serve students and the community,? Fox said.