Chances are, you’ve heard of Reiki, but do you have any idea what it means or what is involved when talking about this Japanese healing method that’s used as alternative therapy?
Thought to ease tension, relieve pain and facilitate physical, mental and emotional healing, Reiki is a powerful tool for many, many people.
Reiki is a healing technique involving the transfer of energy from practitioner to patient, through their hands. Reiki translates roughly as, ‘spiritual energy,’ from the 2 Japanese words, ‘rei’ – sacred or spiritual and ‘ki’ – energy. The International Center for Reiki Training describes it as, “made of two Japanese words – ‘rei’ which means “God’s Wisdom or the Higher Power” and ‘ki’ which is “life force energy”. So Reiki is actually, “spiritually guided life force energy.”
Both translations point to something that can be a very spiritual, powerful and personal experience that has helped millions of people in treatment. While it is considered to be a spiritual experience, it is important to note it is not a religion.
Let’s break it down to better understand this natural healing method!
What is Reiki?
Reiki’s most recognizable form, Usui Reiki, was first developed in 1922 by a Japanese Buddhist called Mikao Usui, who is said to have taught 2,000 people the Reiki method during his lifetime.
Reiki is used to bring a state of balance to the mind, body, and soul, allowing us to live aligned and connected with our highest self. In addition to these amazing benefits, Reiki also helps enhance our intuition and psychic abilities. We’re all vibrational beings with the ability to change our experience based on what frequency we are living at. Reiki assists us in releasing blocked energy and past traumas, bringing more light into our energy body raising our vibration.
You’ll hear the term ‘subtle energy’ and ‘energy’ in general when people describe Reiki, and this is referring to the concepts of ‘ki’ or ‘chi,’ and our 7 chakras. Ki is described as a non-physical energy, flowing through all living things. We are excited to greet and accept the challenges life throws at us when our ki is high, but on the flip side, we can feel weakened and sick when it’s low.
Our bodies are composed of a series of energy centers and energy wheels, and each of those centers has the capacity to send healing energy all throughout our bodies. Unfortunately, these energy wheels also have the capacity to send negative or sick energy all throughout our bodies and this is what the healing art of Reiki does. It realigns and redistributes the energy in our bodies in order to restore health and healing.
Reiki Basics
Reiki uses basic hand placements, differing when you work on yourself or another person. These hand placements are dependent on which energy area, or chakra you intending to work with and what area of the body (or emotional trauma) it relates to.
The energy that flows through our chakras is ki or chi, and the chakra centers are where the work with the energy happens. Reiki helps the flow of this energy to make sure they get to where they need to go, or unblock them if needed, so you can feel whole and enlightened.
Along with the actual energy work, Reiki follows 5 principles, which can enhance the practice for both practitioner and patient/receiver. These can help us be more mindful, allowing us to focus on the work we are to do and encouraging the flow of positive energy.
5 Principles of Reiki
Mr. Usui taught these 5 ethical principles, considering them to be, ‘the secret of inviting happiness,’ as they act as a balm to help us focus on the positive, releasing anything else.
- Just for today, do not be angry
- Just for today, do not worry
- Just for today, be grateful
- Just for today, work with diligence
- Just for today, be kind to people
Starting with ‘just for today’ helps us focus on what we can do right now, in this moment, and not looking backward to the past or forward to the future – our present state of mind is the only thing we have control over. We can live in the moment, turning our attention to gratitude and compassion. Many Reiki followers use these as a daily mantra or as part of their wellness routine, as well as in their Reiki practice.
Reiki also uses four main symbols in healing:
1st Reiki Symbol – Cho-Ku-Rei, can be used to add or remove energy
2nd Reiki Symbol – Sei Heiki, said to bring balance and harmony to the emotions and mind
3rd Reiki Symbol – Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen, used for distance healing
4th Reiki Symbol, The Master Symbol – Dai Ku Myo, said to help one reach enlightenment
Read this next: The Symbols of Reiki and What They Do
Now that we have a bit more of a grip on what Reiki is and some of the thoughts behind the practice, let’s take a look at some of the basics surrounding what happens when you set out to receive Reiki.
How Does it Work?
What to Expect
While experiences can certainly vary from…
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