What is Reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese stress reduction and relaxation technique that promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, we are more likely to get sick or feel stressed; if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.
Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei, which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power," and Ki, which means "life force energy." So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."
A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person, including body, emotions, mind, and spirit, creating many beneficial effects, including relaxation and feelings of peace, security, and well-being. Many have reported miraculous results.
Reiki is a simple, natural, and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works with other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.
A straightforward technique to learn, the ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an "attunement" given by a Reiki master. It allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of "life force energy" to improve one's health and enhance the quality of life.
Its use is not dependent on one's intellectual capacity or spiritual development and, therefore, is available to everyone. It has been successfully taught to thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds.
While Reiki is spiritual, it is not a religion. It has no dogma, and there is nothing you must believe to learn and use Reiki. Reiki is not dependent on belief and will work whether you believe in it or not.
While Reiki is not a religion, living and acting in a way that promotes harmony with others is still important. Mikao Usui, the founder of the Reiki system of natural healing, recommended that one practice certain simple ethical ideals to promote peace and harmony, which are nearly universal across all cultures.
During a meditation several years after developing Reiki, Mikao Usui decided to add the Reiki Ideals to the practice of Reiki. The Ideals came partly from the five principles of the Meiji emperor of Japan, whom Mikao Usui admired. The Ideals were developed to add spiritual balance to Usui Reiki. Their purpose is to help people realize that healing the spirit by consciously deciding to improve oneself is a necessary part of the Reiki healing experience. For the Reiki healing energies to have lasting results, the client must accept responsibility for their healing and take an active part in it. Therefore, the Usui system of Reiki is more than the use of Reiki energy. It must also include an active commitment to improve oneself for it to be a complete system. The ideals are guidelines for living a gracious life and virtues worthy of practice for their inherent value.
How does Reiki work?
Reiki practitioners are a conduit between you and the universal life force energy source. The energy flows through the practitioner’s hands to you.
The patient determines the energy flow from the practitioner’s hands by taking only what they need. This helps the patient know that we support them only in what they need rather than what we think they need. This makes it the perfect balance to meet the patient’s needs.
What happens during a Reiki session?
Reiki treatments typically last about 50 minutes. During a session, you’ll lie on a massage table fully clothed as your Reiki practitioner gently places their hands and palms down, on, or just above your body in specific energy locations. They use a series of 12 to 15 different hand positions.
The length of time that the practitioner leaves their hands in each position is determined by the flow of energy through their hands at each location.
Reiki differs from other touch therapies in that no pressure, massage, or manipulation is involved.
What does Reiki feel like?
You may experience the energy in the form of sensations like heat, tingling or pulsing where the Reiki practitioner has placed their hands. Sometimes, people feel sensations moving throughout the body, while others do not perceive any change at all. Some people see visions of color or shapes.
Most people feel very relaxed and peaceful during reiki treatment, and many during the process.
Reiki in Hospitals:
If you think Reiki is “Woo Woo”, then think again. Top oncologists and heart surgeons are embracing Medical Reiki Practitioners in the operating theatre. Reiki has been integrated into the hospital setting, with more than 900 hospitals offering it in Australia, the USA, the UK, Ireland, Brazil, and Mexico. Reiki is offered in Children’s hospitals, Hospital Emergency Rooms, Pre-Op, Operating rooms, post-op, Oncology, Cardiology, Orthopaedics, Internal Medicine, and Palliative Care.
