Spiritual Healing at St. Andrews

Left: The Bisbee Wellness Initiative:
alternative therapies clinic at the St. Andrews Clinic in Nogales

Cheyenne MacMasters is the head of the team

Last week I found something rather unique going on at the St. Andrew's Children’s clinic in Nogales. While doctors were on site sharing their expertise, so to were the Reiki specialists, helping out in anyway they could. Bill Johnson and Cheyenne MacMasters are part of the team of Reiki specialists and are the group members who have been doing this special Japanese/Buddhist tradition for the longest out of all the members of the group.

Reiki, as I said, stems from Japanese and Buddhist traditions. It is an energy-touch therapy. There are seven chakras, and centers of energy within the body. The Reiki specialists place their hands on or around these chakras in order to "get the energy flowing properly again" through the clients, said MacMasters. When done correctly, and the chakras are in balance, then the energy of these points can run freely through your body and the flow of this energy is necessary to proper bodily function.

Maria Lira, 16, receives the Reiki therapy from the team every time she visits the clinic. As I come upon her I notice the team’s hands on the chakras of her body, and I watch as with each moment that passes, she falls into a deeper state of relaxation and peace. "She's going to be 17 next month" said Bill Johnson, "and when she first comes in to see us she is usually much clenched up. After we work with her for as bit she relaxes and unfolds like you see here now". Maria is usually in a wheelchair, unable to walk on her own and hunched over. After the therapy she looks like a new person, sitting in her chair.

Maria has Rett syndrome, the IRSA website for Rett syndrome explains that "Rett Syndrome (RS) is a unique neuro developmental disorder which begins to show its affects in infancy or early childhood. It is seen almost exclusively in females, although it can occur rarely in boys. It is found in all racial and ethnic groups throughout the world".

"Rett syndrome is caused by a mutation in the MECP2 gene on the X chromosome. So, RS is a genetic disorder of developmental arrest or failure of brain maturation. This is thought to occur when subsets of neurons and their connections (synapses) are disrupted during a very dynamic phase of brain development. This deviation occurs at the end of pregnancy or in the first few months of life during the critical phases of synapse development," explains the Rett Syndrome website.

Maria’s developed 18 months after she was born. And it is easy to see how the disease has changed what would have been a normal life for her. Her growth is abnormal and she looks much younger than she should. Her ability to walk and speak is also impaired because of Rett’s.

This, unfortunately is part of Maria's life, but the Reiki people at the clinic do much to help her relax and enjoy her life. "See that boy over there?" MacMasters asks me. "Three months ago he stopped using his walker thanks to our therapies." He hasn't used one since and now walks on his own.

Everyday more people are beginning to see the power of spiritual healing, and give it more credit. I am now a believer.

For more inforation on this group and Reiki therapies please visit their website