Thoughts on Reiki

I want to share with you my thoughts on Reiki - it’s history, it’s unique qualities, and my own personal experiences with it - to better acquaint you with this powerful modality and how it can help you.

History of Reiki

Reiki is an ancient Japanese healing tradition that was brought to the world through the transmission of knowledge from Mikao Usui. In the mid-1800’s, Usui was a scholar who went on a quest to find the origins of the method of healing that Jesus and the Buddha worked with.  

He traveled to the U.S. for seven years to study Christianity, returned to Japan and took up residence in a Zen Buddhist monastery for several more years. There, he studied Sanskrit - the original language of many sacred texts - and after reading ancient writings, he found a simple yet effective method.  Usui then set for himself a 21 day test, which included meditation, fasting, and prayer on Mt. Koriyama in Japan to integrate what he had learned.  At the end of the three week period, in the predawn darkness, he saw a powerful beam of light, shooting straight toward him.  He considered running away but resolved to stay and accept his fate, even if it meant sudden death.  When the projectile struck his third eye, he fell unconscious, and saw in his mind’s eye “millions of rainbow bubbles”.  This was the first attunement.  The Reiki symbols were revealed to him and he understood how the information about each of them could activate healing energy.  Usui left the mountain knowing how to heal as Buddha and Jesus had healed. 

At first he brought healing to the slums of Kyoto, then took Reiki on foot through Japan.  Eventually, he met Chujiro Hayashi, a retired naval officer, and after the two of them worked together for many years, Hayashi received his Reiki Master’s training from Usui in 1925.  Hayashi opened a clinic in Tokyo, which healed scores of people and trained teams of hundreds of practitioners.  Both men and women received the training and 16 of them went on to become Reiki Masters.  

One of these Reiki Masters was Hawayo Takata, a Hawaiian woman who traveled to the clinic in Japan and lived there for four months in order to heal from severe physical problems.  With her mind, body, and spirit restored to health, she requested to be trained in this powerful modality but Hayashi refused, as he did not want to train a foreigner who would take the knowledge out of Japan.  Eventually Hayashi relented and trained Takata, who lived in Japan for two more years before returning to Hawaii to open her own successful clinic in Kapaa.  

In 1938, Takata was appointed by Hayahsi to be his successor.  He had predicted years earlier that a war was coming that would shut down the healing clinics.  World War II did indeed close the clinics, but Takata was the means by which Reiki persisted.  She taught and healed with Reiki not only in Hawaii, but also on the mainland of the U.S. in Canada and in Europe.  

Takata lived to be 80 years old and trained hundreds of people before she passed in 1980.  The teaching methods have varied as the years have passed, but at the heart of Reiki is a deep love and reverence for humanity, as we heal ourselves and each other.

What is Reiki

The word Reiki is composed of two Japanese words - Rei and Ki.  Rei can be defined as the Higher Intelligence that guides the creation and functioning of the universe.  It is the subtle wisdom that permeates everything and is available to help us in times of need and to act as a source of guidance in our lives.

Ki is the energy that animates all living things.  When a person’s Ki is high, they feel strong, confident, and ready to enjoy life’s challenges.  When it is low, they feel weak and are more likely to get sick.  We receive Ki from the air we breathe, from food, sunshine, and from sleep.  

It is also possible to increase our Ki by using breathing exercises and meditation.  When a person dies, their Ki leaves the physical body.  

Reiki can be described as healing that is made up of life force energy, guided by Higher Intelligence.  Negative thoughts and emotions are not just in our brains, they also collect in various locations throughout the body.  Sometimes we are not even aware of them, which may inhibit our ability to change or eliminate them.  Because Reiki is guided by a Higher Intelligence, it knows exactly where to go and how to respond to blocked Ki energy.  As Reiki flows to an unhealthy area, it breaks up and washes away negative thoughts and feelings lodged in the unconscious mind/body, allowing a healthy flow of Ki to resume.  As this happens, the unhealthy organs and tissues become properly nourished with Ki and function once again in a balanced way.  

The process for giving Reiki begins with the receiver settling into a relaxed position, typically laying on a massage table or seated in a chair.  The Reiki practitioner then holds their hands lightly upon or just hovering over various parts of their body: the feet, legs, hips, belly, chest, throat, forehead, and crown of the head.  A Reiki session can last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and a half.  Reiki can be given in person or at a distance of thousands of miles away. The receiver usually enters a twilight mind space where they are neither fully awake nor fully asleep.  It may feel like being in deep meditation or dreaming.  There may be the sensation of vibration in the extremities, a current of air through the limbs and torso, or an unraveling of muscle tension.  Images and thoughts may come to mind, while memories and emotions rise to the surface of awareness.  Overall, it is a very relaxing and enjoyable experience that gives the person a feeling of clarity, lightness, and joy that may remain for hours or days into the future. 

Reiki is a non-invasive technique that has long been growing in popularity and practice. 

As integrative medicine continues to explore and research the benefits of alternative modalities, Reiki will continue to serve an important role as a valuable healing method.

My Personal Experiences

I was first introduced to Reiki in 1997, when a friend gave me the book, The Essential Reiki, by Diane Stein.  I read it cover to cover, fascinated by the mind-expanding possibilities, even though at the time it didn’t all make sense to me.  A year prior to that, I had begun the yoga practice that has since sustained me throughout the ups and downs of my life and the more I practiced yoga, the more I came to understand the ideas and embodied experiences of Reiki. One of the facets of yoga that I’m most drawn to is its philosophy and the style that I practice aligns with Samkhya, which proposes that there is a duality found in our awareness, composed of Purusha, which is known as the Seer, or witness of life’s experiences and Prakriti, which is the part of ourselves that has thoughts, emotions, senses, and operates in the physical world. 

I draw similarities between Rei, which is Higher Intelligence and Purusha, the Pure Consciousness; and Ki, animating energy, to Prakriti, the source of all action.  Even though these ideas originated in different locations (Yoga in India and Reiki in Japan) they share a similar wisdom that provides us with a road map for understanding the Self and how to heal.

I can’t help but draw parallels between the effects of Reiki and those of the Traditional Chinese Medicine practice of acupuncture in the way that both nourish and balance the flow of prana (life force energy), as well as the Sen lines found in Traditional Thai Yoga Massage and the Flow lines of Jin Shin Jyutsu.  Even with different names and origins, the healing speaks for itself.  Having studied all of these modalities, I find they harmoniously overlap and inform each other when I work with clients.

The progress and transformations I’ve witnessed in clients over the years has been astounding.  The heavy weights of emotional baggage have lifted, years of unprocessed trauma and repressed memories have come to the surface to be resolved, physical limitations have become unbound, and a lightness and clarity has returned to their inner world.  How does this happen?  By creating a safe and supportive space to process in, by guiding the flow of breath though the lungs and the relaxation of the muscles.  And simply because this practice is subtle, yet powerful.  I think of it as a way to connect the sensations of the body to the workings of the mind so that they are in an aligned and cooperative relationship.  

I begin each session with a check-in and grounding meditation. I offer helpful guidance during and after the Reiki part of the session in journaling, reflecting, breathing, and movement, which is inspired by both my Yoga Therapy training and my lived experience.  

My official Reiki training began in 2006, when I received my Reiki Level 1 attunement and the following year, I received Level 2.  I recently earned my Reiki Master’s certification, after years of study and practice and I feel blessed and honored to share my gift.

I personally believe it is my life’s purpose to share this healing practice with people so that we can feel better and create a ripple effect of positive growth.  I love introducing people to the idea of weaving the joy and magic of energy work into their mundane daily tasks by slowing down, breathing deeply, and noticing the sensations that are present in the body.  When we feel the vibrations in our own bodies we become aware that consciousness and beauty are alive in all things.  In this way, we align with and recognize the intelligence in every being -animal, plant, crystal, and human - and prioritize caring for this miraculous living world.

I hope you find this information to be a useful resource when deciding which modality is best for you at this present moment. Please reach out to me with your questions and curiosities. I’d love to chat with you!