What is Reiki?
Reiki, pronounced, “Ray-Key,” is a gentle Japanese healing modality.
During a Reiki session, a practitioner who has been trained by a Reiki Master will gently touch or hover over the body of their client. In traditional Reiki, there are 21 different touch points on the body. The eyes, ears, head, throat, heart, mid-abdomen, lower-abdomen, pelvis, knee, leg, ankle, feet, back, and shoulders are all places where the practitioner will either touch or hover, depending on the location on the body as well as the client’s level of comfort. Physical touch is not required to receive a Reiki session and a hover is just as effective as touch in this modality.
Interestingly, Reiki can also be performed over distance. If the practitioner and client are not in the same physical space, the practitioner can use the distance Reiki symbol to connect with their client and create the same type of healing that would be experienced in person. This allows Reiki practitioners to offer Reiki to individuals all over the world.
During either an in person or a distance session, the client lays down and if comfortable, closes their eyes to receive the healing energy. Often, clients become so relaxed during their session that they fall asleep. The length of time of a session varies from practitioner to practitioner, with the average length of time per session being one hour.
Preparation is usually quite simple. A client is usually asked to drink extra water the day prior and of their session and preferably have little or no caffeine before their session. A small meal is recommended, but not necessary.
How does it feel?
The experience the client has during the session varies greatly from individual to individual. Some clients will feel very little other than more relaxed and peaceful, while other clients may experience seeing colors, images, old memories, or even visitations by departed loved ones, spirit guides, or angels. The belief system and consciousness of the client is what accounts for these vast differences in experience and no one experience is better or worse than another. The traditional belief in Reiki is that it will bring forth whatever the client needs the very most at that time. Read about some client experiences here.
Following a session, client experiences also tend to vary. Some clients will feel immediate relief and like they are “back to themselves,” while other clients will feel a gradual energetic shift over the coming days and weeks. The effects of a Reiki session can continue to trickle in for several weeks and even months following a session.
How often is Reiki needed?
The frequency of sessions depends on the needs and desires of the individual receiving Reiki. It is best to discuss your goals with your Reiki practitioner before beginning any sessions to make sure that their services are a good fit for your needs. While Reiki is a universal practice, some practitioners tend to focus more heavily on particular areas of interest over others.
For example, some practitioners focus on healing the physical body of ailments, while others may focus more on emotional healing, and others more on spiritual healing. There are also practitioners who are comfortable with all forms of healing. Your specific goals as well as the condition of your energy field when you first begin receiving Reiki will help determine the frequency you’ll need. Some clients are successful with just a single session, while others need a series of sessions (anywhere from 2-10 and possibly more depending on their goals).
How does it help?
Reiki helps by rebalancing the energy field of the client.
The understanding is that each human has their own individual energy field surrounding their body (often referred to as an “Aura.”). This energy field can become clouded with other (often times, external) energies, or heavy with the individual’s own energy. Unless care is taken to regularly clear and realign the energy field (how this is approached can look wildly different from person to person), these cloudy and dense energies can begin to negatively affect one’s life.
Reiki provides a clean sweep of the energy field and many practitioners (although, not all) will also clear the chakras in their sessions. The chakras are seven major points found in the intersection between the body and the aura that are responsible for a myriad of aspects of life. Get my free introductory guide to the chakras by entering your email below. By clearing and aligning all of the seven major chakras in addition to your energy field, your entire energetic system is given a “reset.”
This feels like a nice, long, spiritual bath! Most people feel more relaxed and peaceful following a session. Many folks tend to sleep longer and deeper in the nights following their session. Some also find they are less reactive and more understanding, both with themselves and others. And some feel like “themselves,” again, perhaps after a period of time of feeling disconnected from their own selves.
Physical pain tends to decrease, if not subside all together. Mental chatter tends to quiet down and become more manageable. Emotional highs and lows are less frequent and more equanimity is experienced (although this depends on the individual.). Some folks who have repressed emotions for many years might find them coming up to the surface following a session, but also usually feel more equipped to handle them. Those with addictions tend to lose their desire towards them. Those who previously felt a lot of fear tend to feel safer. Those who have a hard time in certain aspects of life (career, love, relationships) find that navigating these spaces gets easier.
As would be expected, the more frequently one has sessions, the faster and better one will feel. While there are some individuals who will respond quite well to just one session, the majority of people need several sessions to achieve their intended goals.
One of the beautiful things about Reiki is that it can improve the lives of people even without any sort of current “problem,” or “issue.” Since Reiki is a gentle healing modality, someone who is already feeling well can benefit by increasing their depth of relaxation, inner peace, or overall energy field. It also works particularly well in helping an individual move forward in life to a new overall energetic vibration.
If you’ve been feeling drawn to explore Reiki, either as a client or a student of the modality, there’s likely something going on behind the scenes that led you to this space. Clients often remark that they wish they had tried or found Reiki sooner, and students are expected to work on their own self-healing as part of their journey in becoming a Reiki practitioner. One of the absolutely fascinating and incredible things about Reiki is that a practitioner is equipped with the skills to give Reiki to themselves, creating a beautiful experience where they can become more deeply connected to themselves in the process of healing and realigning their energy field.
For those who have their natural intuitive abilities already integrated into their lives (everyone is intuitive, but not everyone learns how to tap into it), Reiki tends to be a more exciting experience as with each session or attunement (attunements are given if one is studying to become a practitioner), there is an opportunity to have deep spiritual experiences.
And for those who haven’t learned how to tap into their intuitive abilities just yet, Reiki can help open up those channels within, whether the individual is a client or a student of Reiki. The use of intuitive abilities, or intuition, is incredibly helpful on the journey of life. When one is able to tap more deeply into their own intuition, it is easier to make decisions, understand experiences, and feel greater depths of peace.
How did Reiki begin?
Dr. Mikao Usui, of Japan, is believed to have discovered the practice of Reiki during a 21-day fasting, meditating, and prayer experience on Mount Kurama, in Japan. Dr. Usui had been seeking a form of healing that wasn’t linked to any one religion or belief so that it could be accessible to all. Following his vision on the mountain, Dr. Usui returned to society and began to teach this healing modality. Now, only 100 years later, Reiki is taught and used around the world as a gentle, non-religious healing modality.
Reiki was brought to the United States by a Japanese-American woman named Hawayo Takata. While spending time in Japan, she became ill and wanted to use an alternative approach to heal. She met one of Dr. Usui’s reiki students and following her own healing, learned how to share this modality on her own.
Today, many forms of Reiki exist, including the original form that Dr. Usui taught (this is the form I teach in my Reiki trainings. More info can be found here). While there are many varieties of Reiki to choose from, they all have a similar end goal: bringing the client fully back home to themselves.
The belief behind the necessity for Reiki is the understanding that the body, mind, and spirit all need to be in energetic alignment with each other in order for an individual to be healthy, happy, and at peace in the world. Reiki helps bring all aspects of an individual into vibrational alignment so life can be experienced in the way it is truly meant to be experienced: peacefully, joyously, and lovingly.
Where can I find a Reiki practitioner?
If you’re interested in experiencing distance Reiki sessions, you can book a session with me here. If you’d like to first chat more about this modality, click here to set up a free twenty-minute consultation call.
To find a local practitioner in your area for an in-person Reiki session, try the google search “Reiki near me.” It’s also helpful to ask friends and family if they have any experience with local Reiki practitioners. It is also not uncommon for massage therapists, yoga teachers, nurses, therapists, and even doctors to know of local practitioners in your area. Some massage therapists, yoga teachers, and nurses are taught Reiki as part of their curriculum for their respective professions.
To find a distance Reiki therapist, search for articles about Reiki or other spiritual topics, look around on social media sites, Facebook groups, and YouTube. What is most important is finding a practitioner that you feel naturally drawn to and comfortable working with.
Wherever your life journey takes you, I wish you the very best and many positive vibrations of peace, love, and joy. You deserve it.
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Hi, I’m Erica
I’m so happy you’ve found your way here!
I am a lover of all things energy. I’ve dedicated my life to creating content, courses, and services that help you live a more peaceful, more fulfilling, and more authentic life.
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