Reiki is a gentle act of “laying on of hands’ to assist your body with natural healing.  The result is that the health giving life-force energy in the recipient’s body becomes amplified andbalanced.

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that promotes healing and was synthesized into being by Mikao Usui in the late 1800’s in Japan .  Mikao Usui was a devout Buddhist, who, in his intense desire to understand and work with methods of medicine and healing, developed Reiki.  “Reiki” is a Japanese word for the concept:  “Universal Life Energy”.

Reiki is a natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement.  It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady.

While Reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion.  There is nothing you must believe in order to learn and use Reiki. Reiki will work whether you believe in it or not.  Because Reiki comes from God, many people find that using Reiki puts them more in touch with the experience of their religion.

What Happens During a Reiki Treatment?

Wear warm, comfortable clothing and socks while receiving a Reiki treatment, as Reiki will go through the material, including plaster casts. The person being treated is not “healed” by the Reiki practitioner. The client’s healing comes from the “universal life force” that flows through the practitioner. The person giving Reiki is not drained of their own life energy, but actually is replenished in the process.  Reiki also protects the practitioner from taking on the pain and dysfunction of another person.

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 beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing.  Many have reported miraculous results.

Depending on the amount of energy moved in a treatment, the client may become temporarily ill as the ‘dis-eased’ energy clears the body.  Always drink plenty of water in the next few day after a treatment.

How Does Reiki Work?

In Reiki, healing energy is allowed to flow into ourselves, and is passed on to another individual via our hands.

A Reiki practitioner works by placing their hands on the body or in the aura of the recipient.  The hands stay in one location until the flow of energy starts to fade off, then the hands move to another location.  This is a “laying on of hands,” not a massage.  There is no manipulation of tissues.  A level two practitioner can send Reiki over distance by connecting with the Higher Self, Godself, or Soul of the recipient. The recipient will receive the energy the next time s/he opens to healing.

A Reiki treatment involves a one-way flow of energy from the Universe, through the healer, to the recipient.  A Reiki practitioner doesn’t pick up “stuff” from a client.
The energy used is not the healer’s. . . but comes from an infinite source.

Many healers are naturally empathic or psychic and do pick up emotions or psychic impressions from the people they work on; this isn’t a function of the Reiki, although Reiki can help individuals develop their talents.  Most Reiki healers with such sensitivities also develop a sense of when it is appropriate and in the best interest of a client to share them.

For Reiki to ‘work’’, the recipient must be willing to heal.  Reiki will not force itself on anyone that is resistant.  If Reiki is offered to people who are resistant, they will not let the Reiki in; the energy will flow through them to some other healing task in the world.  Conscious belief isn’t necessary; if a person wants to be healed on any level, the energy will do what it can.  People receive whatever they are willing to receive.  Reiki will work without belief, but the deeper and more encompassing one’s willingness to heal, the deeper and more permanent the healing.

What are Some Benefits of Reiki? 

• Reiki can relieve pain and acute problems rapidly.
• Chronic illnesses can be relieved with a series of treatments, depending on the specific nature of the disease.
• Often Reiki takes the form of relaxation, relief of tension, feeling energized, or feeling positive, balanced, and at peace.
• Reiki loosens energy blocks, helping the recipient work through the emotional, mental, or spiritual issues that caused the problem.

A Reiki treatment restores balance and harmony to the whole person, bringing about a sense of wellness.

Whatever manifests itself physically usually also has components on the emotional, mental, and spiritual levels.  Reiki goes beyond the symptoms to treat the root cause of the dis-ease. When we treat only the symptoms, we do not always get to the true basis of the illness.

In acute or life threatening situations, or recent trauma, the physical healing Reiki offers can be dramatic. But if working on a very chronic condition, much of the healing Reiki offers will be mental and emotional.

When a client asks to “heal” an ache, one thought is why they have the ache and what can the client do to heal it….

Can anyone be a Reiki Practitioner?

Reiki’s initial stages can be learned by anyone regardless of their personal philosophy and/or spiritual belief system.

We are all born with Reiki.  All living beings have it and the Universe is filled with it.  It is the force that helps us heal when we are injured or sick, because its function is to return living beings to health and wholeness.

The ability to use Reiki is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an “attunement” given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of “life force energy.  It is available to everyone.

Through the initiations of Reiki comes a “re-awakening”, a re-opening of the stronger healing potential that lies within us all.  If one’s “life force energy” is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

Once you receive the attunements, you have a permanent “plug-in” to this energy, and can continue to use it for life. Obviously, the more you use it, the more you will vibrate in harmony with it.  The more Reiki you have running through your system, the stronger and healthier your response to anything that could throw your system out of balance.

Does Reiki work with my Current Medical Regime?

Reiki works in conjunction with other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery. Always seeking professional help for a problem that could be serious.  Follow the treatments prescribed by your doctor or other healing professional.  Indeed, a Reiki practitioner may suggest follow up with a doctor or therapist if problems are uncovered in a session.

So, the short answer to “How does Reiki work?” . . .it is Divine love and healing intelligence working with a healer and a recipient, doing whatever the recipient needs most.