‘McZims’ relieve stress with Reiki treatments

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Residents of Mount Pleasant have stress control at their finger tips …
literally. Reiki treatments — based on Tibetan Buddhist traditions that help
people gain energy — is being offered by Brenda McEachern and Zip Zimmerman,
who call themselves the McZims.

The two have been friends for more than 20 years and have been practicing Reiki for 13.

Originally practicing on family and close friends, they have decided to open and extend services to the public.

Both are third-degree practitioners in Reiki, pronounced ray-kee, with McEachern self-studying Emotional Freedom Technique.

“I’m going back to school as a non-traditional student for social work,
with the hope to someday incorporate Reiki into social work,” Zimmerman said.

McEachern and Zimmerman said Reiki isn’t a substitute for getting necessary
medical attention but is a supplement to relieve stress and become energized,
and University of Michigan hospital is starting to recommend it to patients
as a supplement.

“(It is the) universal life force energy, with a focus on having universal
energy balanced” McEachern said. “Symbols of Reiki are extremely sacred,
and very rarely publicized. Reiki is about the willingness to have energy
channeled and may not work well for everyone, but everyone will leave a session
with more energy.”

Most often, people who visit the pair complain of headaches and back pain.
A Reiki treatment can last from 45 to 90 minutes, costing students and seniors
$15 and the general public $35.

Zimmerman and McEachern perform several energy tests, using pendulums
and their own energy. One of the most concrete, beneficial examples of the
energy channeling is when McEachern has a client hold out their arm, look
up to down and eyes to feet. Then, pressing down on an extended arm, the
client finds strength was decreased. She then reverses the process, looking
from down to up, finding strength to be increased. McEachern said even when
blindfolded, participants will react in similar ways.

Another interesting aspect of energy balancing is Emotional Freedom Technique
treatment. EFT is based on the 12 energy medians of the body. Their are six
yin and six yang, each relating to a different organ of the body. One of
these, the triple warmer has an energy higher than necessary. This controls
the natural fighting instincts of the body and is believed to have a direct
link to immune diseases and perhaps Rheumatoid Arthritis.

EFT techniques have helped people overcome fears and accomplish goals.
McEachern recently quit smoking because of the treatments, and several customers
have been able to overcome their fear of heights.

McEachern and Zimmerman said they hope to start several Reiki workshops in the area.

McEachern and Zimmerman will be in Ashley, south of Mount Pleasant, Sept.
27 for a walk in remembrance of those with Lou Gehrigs disease. They will
do demonstrations and hold a mini-clinic around 9:15 a.m., with the walk
starting around 10 a.m.

To set up an appointment or for more information, call the McZims at 779-1391.