Many people have asked me, “What exactly is Reiki?” It is hard to describe because it is something felt and each experience differs person to person.
Reiki 101
The word "Reiki" is derived from two Japanese words: "Rei," which means universal or divine, and "ki," which refers to the life force energy that flows through all living things.
Reiki (Ray-key) is powerful energy medicine that amplifies the universal life force energy channeled by a practitioner through their hands to promote healing, relaxation, and balance in the recipient's body, mind, and spirit. Reiki is often used as a complementary or alternative therapy because it can reach to the root of the dis-ease to soothe the soul and support our emotional, energetic and spiritual healing.
In a typical Reiki session, the recipient lies down fully clothed, while the practitioner lightly places their hands on or near the recipient's body. The practitioner then uses various hand positions and techniques to facilitate the flow of energy to remove blockages, promote relaxation, and support the body's natural healing processes. Each hand-placement is easy to identify and will never rest directly on the breasts or genitals. If ever a placement of the hands is in question, I will always ask for permission.
What Led Me to Reiki
Around the same time I began to expand my channeling ability, I noticed kinesthetic sensitivity in my hands. It felt (and still does) like my hands were drawn by magnets to certain areas of the body. It consistently turned out to be areas of pain, tenderness or discomfort. I decided to formally study a path of hands-on healing and researched various practices. Most felt rather complicated whereas Reiki was pure and simple.
The Three Levels of Reiki
Practitioners can build upon their foundation of knowledge because Reiki offers three degrees (levels) of training.
Reiki Level 1 (First Degree): focuses on self-healing and provides the foundation to practice Reiki on others.
Reiki Level 2 (Second Degree): builds upon the foundation of Level 1 and expands the student's ability to work with Reiki energy. Sacred symbols are introduced that enable practitioners to send healing energy to people, pets, plants, situations or events that are not physically present. In other words, long distance or remote healing can be performed.
Reiki Level 3 (Third Degree or Master Level): Is also known as the "Master" level and represents the highest level of Reiki training as it is focused on self-mastery and the ability to teach Reiki to others. In Level 3, students receive the Master attunement, which is believed to further enhance their connection to the Reiki energy.
The Importance of Healing Touch
Reiki is often fondly called “healing touch”. Humans are naturally wired to be touched. Without it, we wither. According to WebMD, “When you don't get enough physical touch, you can become stressed, anxious, or depressed. As a response to stress, our body makes a hormone called cortisol that can cause our heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and breathing rate to go up.” This response is similar to the “fight, flight or flee '' and can negatively affect our immune and digestive systems, especially if the body remains in this heightened state for long periods of time.
Non-sexual touching, like a comforting hug, can produce oxytocin - a feel good chemical - that in turn can stimulate other positive-feeling hormones like dopamine and serotonin, which reduce cortisol. Our skin is our largest organ and contains millions of sensory nerves. This network of nerve fibers in our skin is dedicated to detect the touch of another person and thus have an emotional response. Even if one does not believe in Reiki, they will at least benefit from the human connection.
The Power of Reiki
Reiki offers many benefits. While scientific evidence for these benefits may be limited, many individuals who practice or receive Reiki report positive outcomes.
Reiki can be used as a complementary approach in managing mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is also extremely helpful for those undergoing harsh treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. When undergoing cancer prevention treatments, the patient’s energetic field can be cleared in half the normal length of time and they can come out of post-operative depression sooner.
Reiki is often reported to promote deep relaxation, which can help reduce stress, anxiety, and tension. It may help to calm the mind and body, inducing a state of relaxation and promoting a sense of well-being. When our body is able to rest and relax is when it can begin to heal.
Additional benefits of receiving Reiki may include:
Boost energy flow
Enhance of physical, emotional and mental balance
Increase in emotional and mental well being. Improved sleep
Personal growth and spiritual development
Pain relief and pain management.
What Can Reiki Feel Like?
Some people have described their experience through colors, textures, images, temperatures or physical sensations such as electric, vibrational, magnetic. Others fall into a deep sleep or experience lucid dreaming.
Here are a few descriptions of individual experiences without the provider’s name to honor their privacy.
“It felt like moss spreading: peaceful and green.”
“I felt like I was being combed out and the line of gold energy kept getting broader and longer.”
“Warm and nurturing.”
“Magical and dreamy.”
“Lulling.”
“Divine. Heavenly.”
What Do I Experience When Giving Reiki?
All sorts of things! No experience is exactly like another, even with the same person. Every offering is unique.
The temperature of my hands will vary throughout a session as will the kinesthetic pull. Generally, when a hand placement feels complete my hands begin to feel as though they are being lifted off. Areas that are in need of healing tend to feel as though I’ve immersed my hands into a pool of warm satin. Sometimes I feel pulses, vibrations, electricity or see colors and images, and in my case, because of my channeling ability, I will receive messages either from the body or from a higher source during the session which I then share with the recipient. Usually, during the brief post-chat when I share where my hands felt the most heat the recipient will have had the same experience.
What About Long Distance Healing?
Due to covid and the common space of Zoom, I have been holding more sessions online. At first I wondered if remote healing would be as effective, but it can actually be more so. In providing reiki remotely, I work energetically with hologram healing. Like a three dimensional image that I can turn and rotate, I work multi-dimensionally with a recipient’s energy body. Energy is energy and it translates no matter the medium or distance. When I am connected to someone vibrationally, I am able to read and receive their energy.
Tips for Receiving Reiki
The person you receive reiki from should make you feel comfortable and welcomed from the start. I consider sharing reiki a very special and sacred experience so a sense of appreciation and respect must go both ways. I am open to adapting my reiki sessions per the client’s needs and wishes. Perhaps this is due to my accessible yoga background, but I feel it is essential to support individual agency. A practitioner has to have fluidity, just like the energy, in order to properly provide the fullest experience possible. Depending on the reason for receiving reiki, a person may already feel vulnerable and exposed, so it is important to create a calm and nurturing environment. Even though someone comes into “my space”, I hold space for them.
Your practitioner may or may not have a formal questionnaire for you to complete prior to your first session. It is not required but can be helpful, for both of you. It is greatly beneficial for you to disclose any physical ailments so your practitioner can be sure to create a physically supportive environment. Know that you do not have to receive reiki laying on a massage table; you can receive reiki while seated in a chair. I offer to hold sessions on the ground if that is preferable for an individual.
Reiki’s simplicity enables the energy to go wherever it is needed. The practitioner, nor you, have to direct it. Our energy is always seeking the highest healing. That said, energy does follow intention, so feel free to set an intention if you believe it will serve you. You do not need to share it with your practitioner nor does it have to be complex. Pure and simple.
The biggest thing in receiving reiki is allowing yourself to receive. This can be challenging for people who are accustomed to always doing for others. Take deep breaths as often as needed throughout your session to remind yourself and your body that it is ok to let go.
It is not uncommon to feel a bit tired after a deep healing, so I recommend you consciously set time aside after your session to rest. In other words, don’t bounce up and bound off to lunch with a friend or a business meeting. Give yourself quality downtime so your physical and energetic bodies can integrate the energetic shifts of the session.
I also recommend journaling about your session as a way to bear witness to yourself and your experience. Journaling can be helpful in remembering any profound insights or messages that came through during your receipt of reiki.
Can Anyone Learn Reiki?
Yes and yes! It is a beautiful practice that can have an immense impact on your life. Even if you do not intend or want to ever offer it to others, being able to give yourself reiki can be life changing. I dedicate fifteen minutes each morning to giving myself reiki. It is such a wonderful way to start the day: receiving the healing energy and self-love. I highly recommend taking at least a Level 1 training to establish your foundation and experience what the healing energy is like for you.
Most Reiki Masters require a minimum number of practice hours in order to be able to take Level 2. Even if you do not plan on offering reiki to others, the practice of sharing reiki will be life changing; your personal attunement with the energy deepens every time you share reiki. If you decide to take Level 2, give yourself at least three months of practicing reiki to integrate into your energy and life.
After Level 2, I recommended to practice reiki at least one year before taking Level 3. There are so many added layers in Level 2 that experiencing, discerning and truly deepening into the practice is profound and powerful thus worthwhile of your time.
If Level 3 calls you, go forth my friend! The world is currently in a huge energetic transition and the more people that are willing to contribute towards the evolutionary shift are gifts for All.
Reiki Training
I am offering Level 1 and 2 this year (2023) and I am so excited about it! In preparing my course I can feel the energy expanding. The training will be held in Santa Barbara (where I currently live.) There are two Level 1 trainings scheduled: May 20 & 21 and July 22 & 23. Level 2 will be held in Fall.
To learn more, click here: Reiki Level 1, May 20 & 21, 2023