Reiki is an energy healing practice. The word ‘Reiki’ means Universal Life Force Energy.
‘Rei’ - ‘Universal’
‘Kei’ -‘Vital life force energy that flows through all living things’
‘Kei’ energy is found under different names such as ‘Chi’ and ‘Qi’ in Acupuncture. A simple ‘Western’ way to look at it is the energy that is found in any living thing.
The practice of Reiki is transmitting this healing energy using light touch, holding hands above the body or distance healing.
Truly, Reiki is the ultimate healing technique:
It is used to treat all conditions in people and animals of all ages from newborn to old age.
Healing occurs on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels.
Reiki energy always flows where it is needed. Although a practitioner may focus on a certain area of the body or chakra (energy point), in reality the healing will naturally occur where it is required for the receiving person’s highest and greatest good.
It is non-invasive, gentle and never causes any harm.
It kickstarts your bodies own regenerative natural healing process.
It feels lovely to receive!
Reiki is transmitted through the practitioners hands, using certain hand positions. Each hand position corresponds to energy centres (chakras) and major organs in the body. Unlike some types of energy healing, the Reiki energy does not come from the practitioner, it flows through them, from the Universe/Source/God/Nature. The practitioner is simply a channel for the energy to flow through. Although there are differences between a distance healing treatment and a face-to-face treatment in terms of the process, with both you’re likely to feel deeply relaxed and you may feel sensations such as heat, coolness, twitching or light pressure moving through your body. Some people see colours and images.
While Reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not linked to any religion. You will find Reiki practitioners are spiritually aware by default of experiencing the Reiki energy but neither the practitioner nor the recipient need to be aligned to any religion to give or receive this healing.
Reiki was discovered in Japan, kept in Japan for a long time and extremely sacred to Japan yet it is not Japanese, it is universal and available to all.
The best way to learn more about Reiki is to experience it first hand for yourself. It is best to go in with an open mind and find out what it’s all about.
Healing versus Curing
The focus of Reiki is to heal as opposed to cure. Healing and curing and not the same thing. Curing means "eliminating all evidence of disease," while healing means "becoming whole." You can heal without curing and vice versa. Reiki can be profound for those at end of life, in palliative care or managing life-long illnesses for this reason. We may not be able to ‘cure’ something but we can reach a place of comfort emotionally and spiritually and ease physical discomfort. What is right for a person is not necessarily a cure but to heal. Similarly, often healing leads to a cure. For example, a war veteran wishing to eradicate the symptoms of PTSD would need to heal on every level of their being in order to cure the physical symptoms.
The energy body
We each have four distinct parts to our bodies: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual - and whilst three of these are seemingly intangible they each have a physical presence, as a layer in the aura.
Negative experiences and emotions can cause blockages in the energy points of the aura, called the chakras. If not resolved, any sort of energy blockage in your life will eventually show up in the physical body. Many scholars believe that all pain and disease has an emotional or spiritual beginning. Pain and blockages can be seen as a communication that something is not right and needs your attention.
Reiki flows through the chakras, releasing blockages and correcting imbalances.
