About Reiki
“Reiki is based on the idea that there is a universal (or source) energy that supports the body's innate healing abilities. Practitioners seek to access this energy, allowing it to flow to the body and facilitate healing. The word “Reiki” is derived from two Japanese words: rei, or universal, and ki, or life energy. Current Reiki practice can be traced to the spiritual teachings of Mikao Usui in Japan during the early 20th century. An American named Hawayo Takata introduced it to Western cultures in the late 1930s.
“In a Reiki session, the client lies down or sits comfortably, fully clothed. The practitioner's hands are placed lightly on or just above the client's body, palms down, using a series of 12 to 15 different hand positions. Each position is held for about 2 to 5 minutes, or until the practitioner feels that the flow of energy—experienced as sensations such as heat or tingling in the hands—has slowed or stopped. The number of sessions depends on the health needs of the client. Typically, the practitioner delivers at least four sessions of 30 to 90 minutes each. The duration if Reiki sessions may be shorter in certain health care settings (for example, during surgery).
“Practitioners with appropriate training may perform Reiki from a distance, that is, on clients who are not physically present in the office or clinic.”
- from the website of the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health.
The American Cancer Society acknowledges patients’ subjective reports that, “Reiki speeds healing, increases physical and spiritual well-being, and reduces the intensity and frequency of nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy.”
- Radiology Today, May 12, 2003
Reiki is easy to learn and to practice. Anyone can do it, it blends with any modality, can be practiced under any circumstances, and is fool-proof. Reiki is a transmission in the most basic sense of the word. It comes through us. It shows up and invites us into a mystery that holds the potential to inform and enlighten the way we relate to ourselves and the world around us forever.
Reiki is practical. It balances our systems from top to bottom; physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. When our body is relaxed, it can begin to reorganize and rebalance itself from the inside out.
Practicing Reiki deepens our humility; in time we learn to trust our inner guidance, and get out of the way. Reiki is an ongoing process that continues to unfold and expand and teach and illuminate. It is beyond any idea we have, beyond any definition we can conjure, it confounds our attempts to define or explain. It demands we get out of our heads, become vulnerable, dare to say “I don’t know, let’s see…”