What is Reiki?
Reiki (pronounced Ray Key) is a combination of two Japanese words rei and ki meaning universal life energy. Reiki is an ancient laying-on of hands healing technique that uses the life force energy to heal, balancing the subtle energies within our bodies. Reiki addresses physical, emotional, mental and spiritual imbalances. This healing art is an effective delivery system. The Reiki practitioner serves as a vessel that supplies healing energies where they are most needed. Reiki’s ki-energies flow out of the practitioner’s body through the palms of the hands while they are touching the recipient’s body.
Who needs Reiki?
Our modern world creates many challenges, and often it leads to stress, illness, and other mental and physical challenges. Reiki treatment aims to teach you how to self-heal. If you are experiencing any challenges in life, you may want to experience a new holistic approach. Feel rejuvenated, alert, and stress-free and in other cases, learn to deal with chronic injuries or illnesses in ways to get you a step closer to living the life you want.
in detail
Reiki (霊気 or レイキ, English: /ˈreɪkiː/) is a spiritual practice developed in 1922 by Japanese Buddhist Mikao Usui, and uses a technique commonly called palm healing as a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Through the use of this technique, sometimes refereed to as “tenohira” (meaning “the palm” in Japanese), practitioners believe that they are transferring “healing energy” in the form of qi (or ki in Japanese) through the palms.
Within both Traditional and Westernized forms of Reiki, there are three forms of degrees, commonly refereed to as the First, Second, and Master/Teacher degree. At First Degree, a Reiki practitioner is able to heal themselves and others, at Second Degree, a Reiki practitioner is able to heal others distantly (commonly called distant healing) with the use of specialised symbols, and at Master/Teacher level, a Reiki practitioner is able to teach and attune others to Reiki.
It is taught that Reiki works in conjunction with the meridian energy lines and chakras through the use of set hand-positions. These hand-positions will normally correspond to the seven major chakras on the body, used both on the front and back, and can include specific areas. Though there are now set hand-positions, it is said that Usui only five formal hand-positions were used, which focused on the head and neck. After Reiki had been given first to the head and neck area, specific area of the body where imbalances were present would then be treated. The use of the chakras is widespread within Western Reiki, though not as much within Traditional Japanese Reiki, as it concentrates more on treating specific areas of the body after using a technique called Byosen-ho, a technique used to find areas of dis-ease in the the auras and physical body.
Whole body treatment
In a typical whole-body Reiki treatment, the Reiki practitioner instructs the recipient to lay down, usually on a massage table, and relax. Loose, comfortable clothing is usually worn during the treatment. The practitioner might take a few moments to enter a calm or meditative state of mind and mentally prepare for the treatment, that is usually carried out without any unnecessary talking.
The treatment proceeds with the practitioner placing his hands on the recipient in various positions. However, practitioners may use a non-touching technique, where the hands are held a few centimeters away from the recipient’s body, for some or all of the positions. The hands are usually kept still for 3 to 5 minutes before moving to the next position. Overall, the hand positions usually give a general coverage of the head, the front and back of the torso, the knees, and feet. Between 12 and 20 positions are used, with the whole treatment lasting 45 to 90 minutes.
Some practitioners use a fixed set of hand positions, while others use their intuition to guide them as to where treatment is needed, sometimes starting the treatment with a “scan” of the recipient to find such areas. The intuitive approach might also lead to individual positions being treated for much shorter or longer periods.
It is reported that the recipient often feels warmth or tingling in the area being treated, even when a non-touching approach is being used. A state of deep relaxation, combined with a general feeling of well-being, is usually the most noticeable immediate effect of the treatment, although emotional releases can also occur.As the Reiki treatment is said to be stimulating natural healing processes, instantaneous “cures” of specific health problems are not usually observed. A series of three or more treatments, typically at intervals of 1 to 7 days, is usually recommended if a chronic condition is being addressed. Regular treatments, on an on-going basis can be used with the aim of maintaining well-being. The interval between such treatments is typically in the range of 1 to 4 weeks, except in the case of self-treatment where daily practice is common.