What is Reiki?
WHAT IS REIKI?
Reiki is a natural process that supports relaxation, promotes healing & balancing of the mental, emotional, physical, energetic & spiritual bodies.
Reiki came into my life like a strike of lightning. I had never heard of it until a friend of my sister-in-law started offering her Reiki services. Who, by the way, is now my teacher and dear friend (love you Kate!) I decided to try a session with her to see what it was all about and immediately I knew…I need to learn this.
I took my level 1 Reiki training with my best friend by my side, both of us ending up in tears during our meditative attunement. The flow of universal life force felt awakened that day and I’ll always be grateful.
This universal life force, also known as Ki (Qi, Chi, Prana), always resides within us. It is becoming aware of this energy that woke up. What’s amazing is, anyone can learn Reiki. In fact, it is within my personal opinion that you don’t even need an attunement to access this gift. However, it is important to learn the tradition if you intend to offer the service to others. Respect of the symbols and history is at the center of Reiki lineage.
I never started to offer traditional sessions because I knew my path was in another direction. But I still use Reiki in my everyday life to nourish my body and promote ease and flow through myself and others, including coaching clients.
What is Reiki?
Reiki is a healing technique that was developed by the Japanese Buddhist, Mikao Usui, in 1922. “Rei” is the all-knowing divine universal, and “Ki” is the energy that animates all living things, flowing through everything that is alive.
It is used all over the world by people of many different faiths, cultures, and spiritual paths.
It is a gentle hands-on (or off) process that supports relaxation and healing by removing blocks to the flow of energy in your body, facilitating support on all levels. The practitioner acts as a channel for divine guided life-force energy to flow through their hands and into your field. Your body will take exactly what it needs, nothing more, nothing less. When the energy flow in your body is balanced, you are more likely to feel relaxed and your body’s natural healing abilities are utilized.
What is a session like?
You lay facing up on a cushioned table (much like a massage table) fully clothed, with a blanket on top, if you prefer. All you need to do is close your eyes and relax. Try to focus on your breathing or meditate if that feels accessible for you. Most people fall asleep!
In a full 60min traditional Reiki session, the practitioner uses gentle hand placements on various parts of the body, mostly corresponding to the chakras, starting at the head and all the way to the feet. These hand placements can also be off the body if you prefer not to be touched. Some practitioners will ask you to roll over to work on your back.
A Reiki experience ranges from person to person. Some feel actual sensations such as tingling, heat, cold, throbbing, waves, contracting, openness, etc. Your general sense of energy awareness will play a big part in the intensity of the sensation. Many people fall asleep, some don’t “feel” any sensations at all. Most, if not all, feel a general sense of relaxation and calm during a session.
Is Reiki healing?
Yes, and no. There are no medical tests or research to claim that Reiki directly heals a physical illness or ailment. There is research, however, to suggest that Reiki aids in healing, meaning, it promotes balance and relaxation in the body, therefore boosting the body’s functions and natural ability to heal itself. Reiki is not to replace any medical advice or treatment from a licensed doctor. Reiki is suggested as a supplementary treatment to medical care.
How does distant Reiki work?
Distant Reiki allows you to receive a treatment from afar, in the comfort of your own space. Distant Reiki works according to the Hermetic Law of Similarity, which holds that we are all connected, as we are all energy matter & part of a larger whole. The process is very similar to an in-person session, except the distant healing symbol is used to active the energy flow through time and space.
