Supporting caregivers through Reiki [CNA]
In this second episode of “Altered Lives”, Nadia Daeng comes by to exhale healing space and receives a much needed Reiki session by Ming Li Tan.
Watch the whole series on ChannelNewAsia here or on Youtube.
Read the full article here.
Nadia gave up her marketing career to be a full-time caregiver to her mother. Her mom had suffered a stroke and was subsequently diagnosed with vascular dementia. Nadia is one of four individuals across Asia featured in the CNA documentary series, “Altered Lives”. Altered Lives is about loneliness, disconnect and how circumstances change lives.
Thanks to Nadia for including us in your journey!
Reiki session at exhale healing space studio
Ming Li : How are you today?
Nadia : I’m ok, just naturally very stressed and naturally tired.
Ming Li : Are getting enough rest?
Nadia: I don’t feel like I get enough rest. I feel like every time I try to go to bed, it takes me far too long to unwind, to be able to fall asleep because my mom has needs in the middle of the night, that she needs tended to.
[Text – Nadia checks in with a psychotherapist and psychologist regularly but found this alternative option through her best friend].
Ming Li : Reiki is a universal source of energy. As a practitioner, you’re tapping onto this energy that’s available. The person who’s lying down, the body (has a natural wisdom) and takes whatever energy that’s needed.
(The healing can happen at different levels.) It can be physical, it can be emotional and can be psychological. So, for people who haven’t had a good rest in quite a while, very often you see them just sleeping throughout most of the session.
Nadia: I like going for the (reiki) sessions. When I’m there, for that 30 minutes, I don’t have to worry about anything, I don’t have to worry about somebody else’s feelings, I don’t have to worry about somebody else’s well-being. I can just be present and just be there for me.
No massages, no substances, no cocktail will be able to give me the same type of relaxation, that having somebody else create a safe space for me to just relax.
[Nadia wakes up from the reiki session]
Nadia: I felt like I was sleeping but I wasn’t. No snoring this time! [laughs]
Ming Li : (Reiki can bring you into a state of harmonious, restful sleep) It feels like a state between being fully asleep versus being fully awake like how we’re chatting now.
Naidia: Yeah, I was like so relaxed, and I could feel myself twitch.
“I’m grieving the non-existence of my personal identity, because right now I feel like I’m living in the service of others”
~ Nadia Daeng
The importance and role of caregivers to people with mental health conditions can often be sidelined. However, we do need to recognise that it is JUST as important as those receiving care. If you are a caregiver to a family member, relative or friend with a mental health condition, check out Caregivers Alliance Limited for their fully funded Caregiver to Caregiver (C2C) programs.
To understand more about Reiki therapy as a complementary healing modality and the research on Reiki’s positive impact on anxiety and depression, read more about it on Psychcentral here.
