Frequently Asked Questions
What can be treated with Reiki?
Reiki has a positive impact upon all illnesses and negative conditions. It is a powerful, yet gentle, form of energy healing. In its long history of use it has aided in the healing of virtually every known illness, injury and imbalance. Any problem involving body, mind or spirit can benefit from a Reiki treatment.
What happens during a Reiki treatment?
During treatment, the recipient lies fully clothed upon a massage couch, while the practitioner gently places his or her hands in various positions around the recipient’s head, shoulders, back, torso, legs and feet. During an hour long treatment, each position is held for about five to ten minutes. The recipient may experience a deep feeling of relaxation, along with various sensations from the movement of ki. During the treatment, Reiki works on removing energetic blockages, and restoring the recipient’s system to perfect balance.
What does a Reiki treatment feel like?
Absolutely wonderful! Yet to accurately describe a Reiki session in words is quite difficult, since it is a unique experience for every individual. Reiki treatment is profoundly relaxing for both the practitioner and recipient. During treatment most people feel a great sense of peace and well-being, along with sensations of lightness and relaxation. The Reiki energy itself is most often felt as a soft heat, emanating from the hands of the practitioner, and flowing in gentle waves throughout the recipient’s body. Many people drift into alternate or dream-like states of consciousness during treatment, and sometimes fall asleep. Profound effects are not uncommon. At the end of the treatment, both practitioner and recipient feel refreshed and revitalized, with a more positive outlook upon their lives, themselves, and the world around them.
How does Reiki work?
In many forms of Eastern medicine, it is believed that the human body is animated by ki, or vital force. Ki is often referred to as chi in Chinese or prana in Sanskrit. There are many disciplines which help individuals to keep their ki strong, healthy and balanced: tai chi, qi gong, acupuncture, pranayama and yoga are a few good examples. All these techniques operate on the same premise: when a person’s energy is strong and well balanced, they experience a natural state of relaxation and well-being. They are less likely to get ill, and when they do, recovery time is shortened. Injuries also tend to heal faster, and they are less prone to anxiety and worry.
In today’s society, it is all too easy for one’s ki to become weakened, blocked and imbalanced. Worry, fear, and stress all have a damaging effect upoon the human energy system. Over time, the accumulation of these toxic emotions forms blocks in the system, much like pebbles in a stream. If an area remains blocked for a substantial period of time, then physical pain or illness may develop there. Reiki gently dissolves these blockages, helping the body’s ki to flow more freely throughout the body. This process helps to jump start the body’s own natural healing ability.
A Reiki practitioner is not a “healer” and does not remove people’s illnesses from them. It is important to remember this fact, as misunderstandings regarding the nature of Reiki are widespread in the West. A Reiki practitioner creates the opportunity for the treatment’s recipient to take whatever they most need from the therapeutic experience, which helps to clear their system, remove blockages, and strengthen their ki. Once this has happened, the recipient is in a much better position to experience self-healing. A treatment from a qualified Reiki practitioner can be a great first step in one’s healing process, but for the management of long-term well-being, it is generally recommended that individuals also learn how to work on themselves.
Who can learn Reiki?
Quite simply, anyone. Reiki is taught in a unique way that differs from the way in which most healing arts are learned. Everyone has a natural ability to work with Reiki; a good teacher helps individuals to become aware of this aspect of themselves, and to use it in a positive and safe way. The ability to work with Reiki is not dependent on intellectual capacity or spiritual development. One does not need to be able to meditate, or to have any experience working with ki. Of course the longer one works with Reiki, the more developed one’s abilities become. But the ability to learn Reiki is inherent in everyone.
What is the Attunement?
A Reiki attunement is a short ritual that is performed by a Reiki Master / Teacher around their student during a Reiki course. The purpose of the attunement is twofold: to reawaken the natural healing ability within the student, and to help clear energetic blockages so that he or she will be able to effectively work with Reiki.
During the attunement, the student remains seated comfortably in a chair, while the teacher performs the ritual around them. Students receive four attunements in Shoden, three in Okuden, and one in Shinpiden.
The attunements given in Usui Reiki Ryoho are based on the Japanese technique of Reiju, which translates as “spiritual blessing”. Reiju was an early form of Reiki attunement that was practiced by Mikao Usui in early 20th Century Japan. Reiju is traditionally performed each time the student and teacher meet.
A Reiki attunement is a profound experience, and it is also a form of initiation. It is difficult to describe the attunement and its effects in mere words; one must experience it in order to fully understand its significance. The changes and adjustments that the Reiki energy makes during the attunement are unique for every individual. It is a powerful, joyful and magical experience.
Once you have received a Reiki attunement, you will have Reiki for the rest of your life. It does not wear off and you cannot lose it. Reiju may be given for healing purposes, or to strengthen the Reiki connection in times of need, but additional attunements are not necessary. Reiki is a lifelong gift; once attuned, it will always be available, whenever you may need it.
However, the attunement is only one aspect of the system of Reiki, and in order to obtain the most benefit a student must also practice. An attunement is an initiation, a beginning, a starting point. Self-empowerment is at the very core of the system of Reiki, and if a student does not make time to work on themselves, then very little will be gained. In the West, the concept of the Reiki attunement is often misunderstood: it is not a magic pill or a quick fix; rather, it is your first step on the lifelong road to empowerment and healing.
Is it possible for a Reiki practitioner to do self-treatments?
Yes, it is possible, and strongly encouraged as well. Self-treatments are beneficial, relaxing, and an important part of the self-healing process. In the West, excess focus is sometimes placed on the importance of doing treatments for others. Self-treatment should be a vital foundation of anyone’s practice: if you can’t help yourself then how can you help others?
Does giving Reiki treatments deplete one’s personal energy?
No, not at all. Treatments are beneficial for both the practitioner and recipient. When a person gives someone else a Reiki treatment, they are not drawing on their own ki, but rather tapping into the unlimited spiritual energy that permeates the entire universe. After giving a treatment, practitioners generally feel calm, refreshed and balanced.
Is Reiki complementary with medical or psychological treatment?
Absolutely. Reiki is a gentle and non-invasive form of healing. You can continue to receive regular medical or psychological treatment while receiving Reiki. In fact, Reiki will help improve the results of any medical treatment you may be undergoing, often reducing pain and stress, shortening recovery time, and creating a sense of optimism.
While Reiki is a wonderful healing modality that works in conjunction with any and all other health-care practices one may be using, it is not meant to replace medical care.
If you have a medical or psychological condition and would like to be treated with or learn Reiki, it is recommended that you do so under the supervision of an enlightened health care professional.
Why are there so many branches of Reiki?
Today, there are well over one thousand branches of Reiki being taught in the world. Many of these branches have evolved in Western countries over the past 30 years, and only loosely resemble the teachings of the system’s founder, Mikao Usui. For example, Usui-Tibetan Reiki, and Seichim (Egyptian Reiki), did not originate either in Egypt or Tibet, but in the USA during the 1980’s. Reiki teachers who develop new systems often base their teachings on “channeled” information, or other forms of spiritual inspiration.
Reiki was introduced to the West in the 1930’s by Hawayo Takata, who popularized its practice until her death in 1980. Takata was known to take quite a few liberties concerning historical roots of Reiki, and as a result, many of her students were left with an incomplete system. As Reiki grew in popularity during the New Age movement of the 1980’s and 90’s, many teachers felt moved to introduce non-Japanese material into the system (such as chakras, angels, spirit guides, extra symbols, different attunements, guided meditations, and “channeled” information from any number of places: Egypt, Tibet, Atlantis, distant galaxies… the list goes on and on).
When looking for a Reiki course, it is important that the prospective student takes the time to research their teacher’s background and lineage, and check that the branch they teach the one that feels right for them. Reiki courses can be intensely variable, even within the same branch. Popular branches taught in Japan are Usui Reiki Ryoho (traditional Reiki from Usui’s perspective), Komyo Reiki Kai (traditional Reiki from Hayashi’s perspective) and Gendai Reiki Ho (a Japanese-Western fusion).
What are Reiki symbols?
In Usui Reiki Ryoho there are four traditional symbols known as shirushi. Each symbol is accompanied by a mantra known as its jumon. Three symbols are taught in Okuden (Reiki II) and one in Shinpiden (Reiki III). Two of the symbols are derived from Tendai sources, and the following two are Japanese kanji. Each symbol helps the practitioner to focus on a particular aspect of the Reiki energy: essentially these aspects are focus and grounding (earth ki), mental and emotional harmony (heaven ki), and connection and compassion (heart ki). The fourth symbol helps to integrate these qualities into a cohesive whole, and is learned when the student completes Shinpiden.
One does not need to use Reiki symbols to give an effective treatment to oneself or others: no symbols are used in Shoden (Reiki I). Contrary to Western assumption, symbols do not make one’s Reiki “more powerful”. Spiritual power is accumulated through practice alone. Usui did not actually intruduce the shirushi and jumon until fairly late in the development of his healing system, and when he did so, it was with the intent that they be helpful to individuals who had difficulty focusing and accessing the energy.
Is Reiki a religion?
The practice of Reiki evolved from the spiritual teachings of Mikao Usui, a Tendai Buddhist who also practiced Shinto and Shugendo. Yet one does not need to be a Buddhist in order to experience Reiki. Usui designed his system to be of help to anyone, regardless of their religious persuasion or spiritual beliefs.
While Reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. There is no dogma involved in the practice of Reiki, and nothing that one must believe in to either give or receive it. Reiki works of its own accord, independent of belief.
Yet, because it is spiritual in nature, the practice of Reiki may lead those who are religiously or spiritually inclined to experience their beliefs in a more profound and connected way. The spiritual aspect of Reiki is an intensely personal matter, and one that each practitioner tends to experience in a unique and individual manner.