Overview of Reiki

Reiki (pronounced “ray-key”) can be described as a method of stress reduction and relaxation which promotes general well-being. With its origins in Japan, the word “Reiki” translates as “Universally-guided life energy.”

Reiki is utilized worldwide in pain clinics, hospitals, cancer centers, hospices, surgery wards and nursing homes, by visiting nurse associations and in psychotherapy.

Clients report feeling a sensation of warmth from the practitioner’s hands. This, combined with the simple act of compassionate touch, has been shown to provide the client with easing of pain and discomfort, stress, and anxiety, allowing relaxation and aiding in the healing process, whether that of physical or emotional healing.

Upon receiving instruction in Reiki, one can perform this technique on others or oneself, resulting in Reiki being a form of personal empowerment for the chronically ill or simply a tool for de-stressing oneself in the midst of life’s rapid daily pace.

Reiki is not a religion.

Reiki is not a substitute for traditional medical therapies. Reiki is not invasive and does no harm; therefore it is used as complimentary therapy in conjunction with conventional medical treatment.

While Reiki aids in healing physical, spiritual and emotional injuries, I do not call myself a healer.

No one can heal you but you.

FUNDAMENTALS

Rediscovered and techniques/usages structured by Sensei Mikado Usui in the early 1900s, Reiki is the use of Universal energy, or life force, to aid in relaxation and healing and to promote general well-being. While this Universal energy is present in us and all around us and we all have the capability to call upon it, Reiki techniques and teachings are traditionally passed from Master to student.

What are known as “attunements” are performed by the Master during class, awakening the Reiki capabilities within the student. Think of turning on a tap and allowing the water to flow through the faucet. During the attunement, the student’s Reiki “tap” is turned on and the Reiki energy begins to flow.

Once you have received the attunements, Reiki stays with you your entire life. The more you use it, the stronger it will become.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Reiki can be performed hands-on or in the subject’s aura. The energy flows through the practitioner’s hands to the subject. One can perform Reiki on oneself, making it a tool of empowerment for those with chronic pain, cancer patients and the like.

HOW DOES IT FEEL?

My hands become very warm, with the heat emanating from the center of the palms. I will often feel subjectively warm throughout, although I have taken my temperature at those times and it is normal. Finishing a Reiki session on a student and asking her how she felt, she responded by asking me how I felt. No one had ever posed that question to me. I responded that I felt very tranquil, relaxed and whole. Being able to help ease someone’s physical pain, to help them sleep, to assist in calming anxieties or fears is a very humbling experience.

My clients feel the heat from my hands when placed on the body. I have been told my hands feel like nice wee heating pads. The energy recipient typically feels relaxed; I have had folks fall asleep on the table; most typically “cat nap. Those are typical reactions; however, everyone experiences the energy differently.

Again, Reiki is not a religion; however, many clients and students find it to be quite a spiritual experience.

ANIMALS AND REIKI

Animals love Reiki! When ending a Reiki session on my elderly white cat, she often would paw at me for more. Well, naturally, I obliged! She would also lie on the chest of clients during their sessions if allowed to do so. My dog Baby actually was Reiki II attuned. She used to hang around in classes, often lying in a circle of students to offer herself as a test subject. During one class, she lined up with the rest of the students during an attunement, sitting patiently at the end of the row. She was telling me she was ready, so she received her Reiki I/II attunements!

TRAINING

There are different levels of Reiki training. Anyone can do Reiki, as it already resides in each of us. We’ve just forgotten how to use it!

Reiki I and II are the core basics with the student leaving on the last day of training equipped with the philosophy, techniques and usages of Reiki. They are able to go forth and help not only others, but themselves. Students may be seeking a way to reduce their stress or perhaps to help ease the suffering of a family member in chronic pain or at end of life.

Advanced and Master levels are for those who seek a further understanding, who would like to have additional techniques available to them for practical use and those who want to teach others. The term “Master” certainly does not infer that one has mastered Reiki. Quite the opposite, it might be considered that one has allowed Reiki to master them. Becoming a Master is not simply acquiring a certificate and new book; it is acceptance of a way of life and not to be taken lightly. Masters are those who pass on the Reiki principles, techniques and philosophies to others.

IT’S ALL GOOD

There are many variations of energy work similar to Reiki. Among these are healing touch, hands-on healing, chakra healing and so forth. All of these techniques utilize the same life force; however, Reiki is unique. The Reiki practitioner never feels drained after performing Reiki on another; in fact, the feeling is quite the opposite. As one is giving Reiki to another, the energy is flowing through the giver – think of being a conduit for the energy – and thereby is also receiving the benefits from the energy. There are also many lines of Reiki. I teach and practice traditional Usui Reiki, with my lineage being traceable fairly directly back to Sensei Usui.

CREDIBILITY

Reiki is becoming much more widely accepted than when I began my studies and practice ten years ago. It is now acknowledged in many formal clinical settings as a viable alte
ative therapy and is covered by some insurance policies. Although difficult to prove alte
ative therapies have scientific benefit, one cannot discount their efficacy in boosting one’s overall sense of well-being.

COMPASSION, HUMILITY AND JOY

Something as simple as holding another’s hand in comfort. Think about it. A cancer patient. An AIDS patient. Holding their hand when perhaps family or friends will not or cannot. The elderly lady in the wheelchair whose daughter tells you her mother has terrible foot pain. Kneeling by the mother, you gently remove her shoes and cradle her painful swollen feet, first one and then the other, in your hands. She feels the warmth but also something else. She reaches and gently touches your cheek, and says “Thank you.” Your friend is working through a painful divorce and has not truly slept for a week. She allows you to give her a Reiki session and calls the following day to tell you she slept soundly through the night, grateful for those few hours of peace. Your student comes for a “crash course” in training so she can help ease her husband’s pain as he struggles through the end days of terminal cancer. Not only does it help him, but also her – for now she can do something tangible for her partner and friend of many years.

Your own cousin. Your own mother. Yourself.

Seeing the “light bulb” go on when a student “gets it” and watching their expression when they experience the energy the first time.

Learning from and sharing with students in class circles. Sharing laughter, stories, hugs and sometimes tears.

PROFESSIONALISM

I like
Reiki practitioners, especially Masters, to bartenders. Folks have a drink or two in a bar and then start telling the bartender their life stories, troubles, hopes, and disappointments. They essentially lay themselves all out there. So do Reiki clients and students. I have had people begin crying during a session and tell me of their difficult situation. There are no “off limits” topics in my classes and I try to create an environment where students (and clients) feel physically, emotionally and spiritually safe. I tell student groups that my classes are like the Las Vegas commercials – what happens in class stays in class.

The Reiki practitioner must treat clients and students with respect and honor and hold in strict confidentiality what passes between them.

My membership in professional organizations includes The International Center for Reiki Training Association as a Professional Member and the International Association of Reiki Professionals (IARP).

SUMMARY

Having Reiki in my life is a joyous thing! It has tempered me with patience, provided me with a tremendous sense of empowerment, brought so many amazing people and experiences into my life, gifted me with joy and increased my overall health and well-being.

I totally dig teaching. I would rather teach someone than have them dependent on me to provide sessions.

Reiki energy is subtle and gentle yet powerful and not to be underestimated. It can and will change your life, as it has mine.

STILL CURIOUS?

MY REIKI WEB PRESENCE – http://reikiwarmhands.com Here you can find more information, including links to various resources.

Feel free to contact me to learn more about the benefits of Reiki. I am currently working on the creation of a distance learning program.

MY TRAINING

Reiki I and II - December 2002 in Austin, Texas

Advanced and Master – Spring 2003 in Austin, Texas

Karuna Master – Spring 2005 in Brenham, Texas with William Lee Rand, founder of the International Center for Reiki Training