What is Reiki?

To begin, Reiki is an energy healing practice that practitioners or Masters have been trained to access and utilize the available Universal energies to help heal individuals. This is typically done by placing hands in a series of positions over or slightly above the body. This helps promote healing by activating the relaxation response and helping the body to balance itself from a very deep level. Reiki is a spiritual healing practice that supports overall balance. A Reiki practitioner or Master, does not draw from their own energy resources to help heal individuals, instead they are more of a tool or conduit to allow the natural energies around them to flow through them and into the receiving individual. As the receiver, your only job is to relax into the moment and allow the energies to wash over and through you. Reiki is not a cure-all, end-all. It is a tool that can be used to aid in the mental or physical healing after traumas such as abuse, physical accidents or injuries, childhood traumas, etc. There is not limit as to what it can be used for, but it can not heal an individual on it’s own. Reiki needs help from the receiver. If the receiver is not ready to do the work to heal themselves, then it becomes more of a comfort, like a massage on an athlete who won’t rest until the end of the game. It may help in the moment, but if the receiver is going to continue with the behaviors that the practitioner is helping them to work through, it will not be able to solve the issue. Reiki is massively beneficial when coupled with other healing modalities such as Talk Therapy, chiropractic work, massage, etc. When the receiver takes the steps and puts in the work, it is amazing what can be accomplished!

A quick overview of the history of Reiki

Reiki was discovered in Japan in the 1920’s by Mikao Usui, but the roots of Reiki have been tracked back even farther revealing that there were at least four other styles of Reiki before the practices went underground and Sensei Usui rediscovered and transformed the practice into what we know of it today. There are now several lineages of Reiki, but my personal lineage stems from Sensei Usui. His story is fantastical and fascinating and his legacy is grand. If you would like to read a full history you can pick up a few books; Eastern Body western Mind by Anodea Judith or Reiki, The Legacy of Dr. Usui by Frank Arjava Peter. There are many many great reads out there that document the histories of Reiki and how it became what it is today. Happy reading!