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STRESSED OUT family pets and animals recovering in shelters from ill-treatment are being helped by a Reiki practitioner.
Reiki is a traditional Japanese system of energy healing, using meditation, touch and even distance techniques to channel what believers claim is a ‘universal life force energy’ to activate a recipient’s self-healing.
It is popular throughout the world and often used to complement both conventional and holistic treatments for patients suffering from serious illnesses, including cancer.
Animal Reiki practitioner Tejas Sameer believes her energy can help pets of all shapes and sizes live happier and healthier lives. The British national who has lived in India, France and the UK, now practices this form of therapy in Bahrain.
Tejas, a mum who lives in Saar, said: “I have worked with garden snails, African beetles, bees, numerous cats and dogs, horses, marine animals such as sea turtles, sharks, myriad of fish, birds as well as elephants and camels. Most were abused cases. Each one has taught me so much.
“All animals, regardless of their size, have a wisdom that’s way beyond our species and it’s a humbling experience to share Reiki with any of these gorgeous, beautiful beings, despite all the suffering they’ve had at the hands of humankind.
“My dream is to have Animal Reiki integrated as part of routine care packages for all the shelter and sanctuaries in this region. In the past year, I’ve received acceptance from beautiful, kind-hearted people and veterinary services for this modality in Bahrain and I hope this will only increase.”
She added: “I often get asked for Reiki healing by the humans who are caring for their animals but there are so many human Reiki practitioners in Bahrain that I leave those to their experts! My calling and specialisation is for animals and that’s what I have focused on since I started practicing.”
Tejas believes Reiki harmonises the mind, body and spirit. “Although it’s generally used for humans,” she added, “Reiki has been used very successfully for animals too, whether furry, hooved, winged, scaled or gilled, they are very attuned to the energies of the universe due to their strong connection to Mother Nature.”
She also believes that because animals respond so quickly, sometimes she doesn’t even have to touch them to transfer the force, which can be a bonus if one is particularly scared or sensitive to strangers.
“As energy is omnipresent and omnipotent, it transcends geographical boundaries, time and space, allowing Reiki distance healing easily and effectively,” she said.
“There are a rapidly growing number of shelters and sanctuaries around the world that now use Animal Reiki routinely as part of their holistic care for their wards.
“I’m very lucky to have met some very open-minded and open-hearted vet clinics, rescue and rehab groups and individuals in Bahrain who have incorporated Animal Reiki regularly for the well-being of their rescues and animal companions.”
Tejas originally trained as an Ayurvedic physician and then further as a healthcare manager. Ayurvedic medicine is one of the world’s oldest medical types. It originated in India more than 3,000 years ago and remains one of the country’s traditional health care systems. Its concepts about health and disease promote the use of herbal compounds, special diets and other unique health practices.
She worked for more than 15 years in healthcare management in India, France and London. Since her move to the Middle East seven years ago, she has been able to translate her lifelong passion for animal welfare into action by volunteering with local rescue groups.
Tejas says she first started using Reiki three years ago. “I did it for personal use but every time I sat to meditate at home my Reiki buddy, muse and sponge, my seven-year-old Labrador Bella, who was rescued from the BSPCA, would join me and ask for some for herself.
“This continued for a period of time and thus began my journey into Animal Reiki to help her further.”
Bella suffers from elbow dysplasia and was often in pain and the sessions appeared to help her enormously.
Tejas completed her Reiki Masters with three different teachers in Bahrain, UK and the US to get a different perspective on the subject and enhance her skills, specifically for Animal Reiki.
She said: “There’s a big difference between animal and human Reiki practice, although the Reiki tools and techniques are the same.
“The connection is heart-to-heart and it’s the animal’s choice whether to let me touch them or not.”
According to Tejas, the sessions prove therapeutic because they help manage pain, anxiety, depression, fatigue and even post-op recovery. It’s also preventative as ‘happy animals are self-healing’.
She says it helps ‘rebuild trust with humans’.
As a result, treated sheltered animals get a better chance of being adopted. She said: “I’m only a vehicle to aid an animal’s self-healing.
“I believe they heal because of a combination of factors, like all the love showered by their care-givers, good food, medical regime and safety.
“Animal Reiki speeds up all of these cumulative effects, helps heal physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. It is not a miracle cure; it just works beautifully with everything else.
“In my opinion it’s great for shy, fearful, traumatised animals in particular, but they need at least a series of five to seven sessions for the subtle yet long-lasting effects to become visible.
“Reiki is not a religious practice at all but totally a spiritual one. It relies on the basic principles of gratitude, love, compassion, mindfulness and non-judgment of spirituality.”
Tejas is a member of Shelter Animal Reiki Association (SARA) which is a non-profit organisation in the US striving to provide the healings through Reiki not only for the animals but also for the staff and volunteers who often ‘burn out due to compassion fatigue’.
There are more than 300 shelter members from the US, Brazil, Australia, UK, India, Columbia, Canada, Portugal, Japan and Bahrain, which according to Tejas, are the only ones in the Middle East to join.
Tejas currently volunteers monthly with the Distance Reiki Session to The Tree of Life for Animals (TOLFA) in India, the Bahrain Rescues (BR), the Save Our Strays Bahrain (SOSB) and those who rescue, rehabilitate, foster and home strays of Bahrain on an individual basis.
She conducts monthly Group Healing for the Animals sessions and offers help to cases involving abuse and injury, as and when required. She also conducts charity Distance healing sessions for animals in India, Singapore, Oman and the US.
Her most recent client is Sophia, a pit-bull, who was left on the side of the road before being saved by big-hearted Bahrain Rescues member, Eman Jeid.
The animal is currently undergoing treatment at the Four Paws Clinic in Umm Al Hassam.
It appears that Sophia had been used to breed and when she contracted a severe uterine infection and was unable to have further puppies, was tossed aside.
Tejas said: “It seems that she had been grossly abused and used as a ‘puppy mill mother’ for more than six years.
“When I first met her she had so much to share. She is the sweetest female pit-bull I have ever met and had the most soulful and sorrowful eyes I’ve ever seen.
“I will continue my sessions with her and hopefully we’ll find her a really good ‘forever home’ so that she can receive all the love and attention she deserves after being so abused and used as a commodity for all those years.”
Although she is in great demand for paid private sessions, she offers her services to charitable endeavours for free.
Last year she donated all her private session fees to the Bahrain Rescues organisation and is now supporting the Trap, Neuter and Release (TNR) Campaign of the Four Paws Bahrain Clinic to help tackle the problems of stray dogs in the kingdom.
In celebration of World Animal Reiki Day, Tejas is staging different Reiki sessions to help raise awareness.
The events will run from Sunday to next Thursday. It includes an introductory talk and mini sessions at Four Paws Bahrain Clinic on Monday and Saar Kennels on the following day. Although both events are free, a minimum donation of BD5 will be requested for the TNR campaign.
Tejas says she is fully supported by her husband, Sameer, daughter, Tanuj, a 14-year-old St Christopher’s School student, and her three dogs, Chanel, Bella and Cho.
For more details, follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @AnimalReikiUniverse or contact her on 36557120.
