Although I haven’t yet had a Reiki treatment, I have a couple of friends, including my fiancé, who tout its therapeutic benefits. I plan on making time to visit his Reiki master soon. But before I made that decision, I did a little checking around the internet to see if this is legitimate practice. I don’t want to throw money away on some hocus-pocus con-artist. Testimonials of strangers don’t always convey legitimacy, but I do have a flesh and blood example of what Reiki can do. My fiancé is much more relaxed and in tune with his spiritual, physical and mental needs.

What is Reiki?

Reiki is made up of two Japanese words; rei meaning ‘unseen’ or ‘spiritual’ and ki meaning ‘energy’ or ‘life force.’ The common English translation of Reiki is interpreted as “universal life energy.” Reiki is a Japanese energy healing which uses “laying on hands” for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. The premise is that the Reiki master can transfer energy from him/herself. The master can intuitively feel where the energy of the client is blocked within the chakras or energy centers of the body. Freeing the blockages, and helping the energy to flow through aids in restorative health and relaxation. Reiki is not meant as a replacement for medical care, but provides a great resource for prevention and supplements therapeutic treatment.

Reiki is not a religion, and works whether the individuals involved have ‘faith’ or not. Living universal, basic spiritual principles will enhance the experience since it is a holistic (mind, body, spirit) energy healing. Some clients will have emotional responses during a session, recall past memories vividly, or even have visions. The treatment helps in healing old wounds and walking through present fears.

Brief History of Reiki

The Reiki system of natural healing was conceived of by Dr. Mikao Usui in 1922. Usui purportedly gained the knowledge of the spiritual power through mystical revelation after a twenty-one day retreat on Mount Kurama where he fasted, meditated and prayed for the duration. In April of that year, Usui moved to Tokyo and opened the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (Usui Reiki Healing Society). As a student of the literary works of Emperor Meiji, Usui incorporated into the Reiki practice five principles of ethical practice as summarized from Meiji’s work. Many Reiki masters try to abide by these principles. One translation is:

The secret method of inviting good fortune, the marvelous medicine for all sickness.
Just for today:

Do not be angry
Do not be worried
Be grateful
Work hard (on improving yourself)
Be kind to others.

Every morning and every night, sit in the Gassho position [hands held palm-to-palm] and speak these words out loud in your heart for the evolution of body and soul, Usui Reiki Ryoho” - Mikao Usui

Mikao Usui taught Reiki to over 2000 students, 16 of them continued their training to Shinpiden level which is the equivalent of the western 3rd degree or master level. One of his students, Chujiro Hayashi continued Usui’s practice after his death in 1926, forming his own brand of Reiki which stresses physical healing using a more organized system of simpler Reiki techniques. Hayashi trained Hawayo Takata in his form of Reiki, and she traveled the U.S. teaching 22 students by the time of her death in 1979. Almost all Reiki taught outside of Japan follows her work. Takata stressed the importance of charging money for Reiki treatments and teachings. She reportedly charged $10,000 for Shinpiden training, but that’s disputed.

Reiki Practice

There are three primary treatments in Reiki: whole-body, localized and informal treatments, all of which involve the laying on of hands or the hands just above the client by a few centimeters, but not touching. Treatments can be given in an office at the practitioner’s home, or in the recipient’s home depending on the practitioner. The beneficiary is usually advised to wear comfortable clothing, and lays fully clothed upon a massage table. A treatment may last anywhere from 45-90 minutes. Reiki masters use anywhere from 12 to 20 different hand positions, and focus on covering mainly the head, the front and back of the torso, the knees and the feet, following the line of the chakras. Practitioners leave their hands in a position for 3-5 minutes before moving or switching positions. Using the intuitive method of healing, a master may focus more or less time on certain areas of the body depending on what he/she intuits about what needs more work. Sometimes the master prepares by meditating briefly right before the session begins. Practitioners may also do a body scan in order to find the problem spots in the recipient’s body.

Localized treatments are pretty much what it sounds like. The master targets a specific part of the body, perhaps the site of a recent injury. Localized treatments usually last no more than 20 minutes. Most Reiki masters prefer to do whole-body treatments because it’s a more holistic form of healing. Others may do whole-body followed by localized treatment.

Informal treatments may be done during a social gathering, where there isn’t any change in conversation or action. The practitioner simply places his/her hands on or very near a friend or family member so that it is comfortable and appropriate for the situation—social interaction continues as usual.

In addition to these treatments, Reiki practitioners can perform Reiki on themselves, which is how they learned the practice to begin with. The goal being to prevent or heal illness before symptoms even show. Some masters can purportedly heal from a distance with the use of symbols.

Next to laughter being the best medicine, another famous saying is the healing touch. I know how far a good massage will go in relieving stress in the muscles. I’m willing to give Reiki a try in relieving stress in the mind and body.

-Anne

Do you have any home remedies or natural cures using Reiki? Comment and share them with us!

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