Deborah Brandt works to bring peace to others through an spiritual healing practice known as Reiki.

Brandt, a yoga instructor and acupressurist at the Campus Recreation Center, has practiced Reiki for about 10 years.

Reiki is a form of therapeutic touch, or electromagnetic energy, which focuses on the spiritual and energetic levels of the body, Brandt said. The word Reiki is derived from “Rei,” meaning “life force,” and “ki,” meaning “energy.”

“When you’re performing a Reiki session, you can literally touch the body, or you can hold your hands above the body into what is called the ‘auric field,’ or the human energy field,” Brandt said.

The auric field may be larger or smaller than 18 inches depending on the person, Brandt said.

Energy flows through seven “chakras,” or energy centers, which include the third eye (the middle of the forehead), the crown, the heart, the throat, the solar plexis (located right above each hip), the navel and the base of the tailbone.

“The idea behind Reiki is that there might be blockage in a particular chakra,” Brandt said. “So, you’re working to unlock the chakra [by just being present]. It’s good for deep relaxation, helping to remove energetic blockages in the energy field of the body and giving you very deep peace.”

Reiki works on the spiritual and energy level, but is not affiliated with religion, Brandt said.

Brandt said one of her cousins had Sjogren’s syndrome, a condition that prevents a person from producing tears or saliva. After Brandt preformed a Reiki session, on the next day her cousin produced saliva.

Though Brandt said she does not believe Reiki actually cures disease, it does ease stress – which can help one cope and heal from illness.

“I don’t claim any cure for her,” Brandt said. “She was able to relax, and part of her disease process was that she was [extremely] stressed. There’s a psychological component to disease being [a mind and body connection].”

For more information on Deborah Brandt’s Reiki sessions, call Becky Lewis, assistant director of Recreation Services at 753-9421.