Mary Lynn Tucker

Mary Lynn Tucker is a registered nurse, yoga instructor and 20-year resident of the lake. She has worked in the field of wellness and health education since 1978 and currently serves on the adjunct faculty at The Jefferson College of Health Sciences.

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Health and healing are mysteries. In spite of modern medical knowledge and interventions, we still do not fully understand the body's innate ability to heal itself. It's also not known if this innate healing ability can be influenced by external factors and augmented by the intervention of others.

The current popularity of complementary therapies (defined as therapy that works along with medical interventions, not alternative therapies that purport healing benefits outside of modern medical wisdom) indicates that many patients are taking advantage of therapies that assist the body in the healing process.

While the subtleties of therapies such as acupuncture, massage, visualization and energy healing are not fully understood, it is clear that patients report benefits from integrating these practices into their healing process.

Most complementary therapies are non-invasive and follow Hippocrates' dictum to physicians, "first, do no harm."... One complementry therapy is Reiki. Samuel Strauss, of the Loving Touch Center International School of Traditional Reiki, based in Rocky Mount, trains students to become Reiki practitioners and teachers.

He also offers Reiki healing in free sessions at Franklin County Public Library to help with pain and stress. The sessions are held on the first and third Thursdays of each month, from 6 to 8 p.m. Strauss also has started an outreach program to offer the community, through agencies defining a need in healing, the benefits of Reiki.

Reiki is a 2,500-year-old Tibetan healing art that works on the principle of balancing mind, body and spirit. The practice was rediscovered in Japan in the 19th century by Mikao Usui. The Reiki name derives from the Japanese words of "Rei" -- "spiritually guided unveiling of universal life force and "Ki" -- life force, as in the "Chi" of Chinese medicine.

The practice is a gentle hand touch with no manipulation (unlike massage therapy). The goal is to balance energy for healing.

"Reiki is a soft, warm and gentle energy, just like a hug from your favorite person," said Strauss. It has been appreciated by patients for stress and pain relief. "I cannot take your pain away, but can offer support and energy to enable you to release that pain, when you are ready to do so," he added.

Reiki is a time-honored, non-invasive, healing practice. Other important points about Reiki that Strauss emphasized are, "Reiki does not control you, but supports you. It is not a religion, nor does it require a belief system to work."

Loving Touch, based in Rocky Mount, reaches across the globe; it has programs and practitioners from New York to Florida and beyond ... and has been in service since 1990.

Strauss moved to Franklin County five years ago from Colorado.

"I love Franklin County, came here with my horses and dogs, and have expanded my appreciation of the area in my real estate development, he said. " I'm currently developing Serenity Estates at Burnt Chimney, which expresses my desire to develop in a harmonious way with the environment."

To experience Reiki, attend one of the free sessions at the Franklin County Library or to learn to become a Reiki practitioner, call Samuel Strauss at (540) 482-0805.