How Reiki Works
How Reiki Works: Understanding Reiki Basics
By Dennis Bluthardt, Namaste Studios
Reiki is one type of energy healing that has increased in popularity in alternative medicine in recent years. This form of energy healing first came about in Japan in the early 20th century and is centered on the belief that a universal life force energy. Energy in every living being can be used to heal patients. Whether it is for the person’s ailment itself, for their stress or their anxiety, or even as a kind of massage, Reiki has been used to treat anyone who is looking for an alternative medicine solution.
To be any more specific than that would be a massive disservice to the industry. Reiki gives users an individual healing experience. The Reiki practitioner transfers energy to the person through gentle hand placement on or above the patient. They will continue like this until the person’s ailments are gone.
Who uses it?
Pinpointing out the ailments Reiki has cured in the past is hard because everything about Reiki is case-by-case. A practitioner is different, just as everybody who has been a patient has been different. Reiki is a subjective occurrence; therefore, trying to view it in any objective way does not serve the field appropriately.
The field itself is positive. Reiki brings positive energy to anybody who practices it or receives it. Try it yourself to see if we are wrong.
What is Reiki?
Reiki is a healing modality developed in Japan in the early 20th century by Mikao Usui. Its foundations are spiritual, tapping into ancient Eastern philosophies that see the mind, body, and spirit as interconnected. “Reiki” roughly translates to “universal life energy” because all life contains the same energy, or chi, that we can use to heal.
Reiki is unique from a technical aspect of its application and a larger, holistic health perspective.
Western medicine, the most common form of healthcare in the United States, will look at physical health symptoms in a vacuum. Our focus on specialization in the West leads us to hyper-focus on one aspect of physical health without much of a lens applied to emotional, mental, and spiritual health. I see this as a significant barrier to getting people better because achieving balance in your life and feeling better overall, which is what people are generally trying to do when they seek out healthcare services, come from working through a ton of emotional and spiritual blockages that we can use energy to clear.
The energy techniques we use in Reiki and how we think about them spiritually are built from a foundation of working to achieve that balance in life. Along with balance, many of the Reiki principles you will find out there also focus on nature, meditation, and living a life of gratitude for how far you’ve come. At the same time, you learn to love yourself unconditionally. Learning more about Reiki will excitedly lead you down a path of self-realization, and I hope you continue to grow with us!
The Principles of Reiki
The five core principles of Reiki are:
Just for today, I will not be angry.
Just for today, I will not worry.
Just for today, I will be grateful.
Today, I will do my work honestly (this can also be interpreted as being true to oneself).
Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing.
These principles are the equivalent of the Hippocratic Oath for a doctor—short, sweet, and easy to say. The trickier part is following them, which I work on daily.
Personally, the time it took me to get from the moment where I’d get angry three times in one day to the part where I’d get angry once in three days was somewhere between six and nine months of constant work, attention, discipline, mindfulness, and two or three Reiki sessions every day. Writing about it now, I can see and feel the difference between the two states clearly; the memory of that path to being true to myself is goosebump-glorious.
As for the things you’ll probably want to explain to the clients:
“Just for today.” Is that something we are only supposed to do today that we won’t have to do tomorrow? Nope, it means just that: do something just for today. We never live tomorrow; we always live today. This phrase brings you to the point of present time.
“I will not be angry” for you, as a practitioner, will enable you to feel your energy clearly and, in turn, make you better equipped to feel the energy of others.
“I will not worry” is somewhat easier to follow than “I will not be angry.” Again, this is not something you achieve and complete when you become a practitioner. It’s an achievable goal, something you can slowly but surely approach through a regular Reiki discipline and be near the end of the training.
“I will be grateful.” do people become psychics so that they can overhear people talking about them? That would be lame. Yet, prepare to be considered grateful for every little part of yourself and the world around you. Better to complain than to bitch, right?
“I will do my work honestly” means being true to all these principles and, above all, to yourself. Be. Right. Here. Right. Now.
“…BE KIND TO EVERY LIVING THING.” Be what you are and respect everyone else’s BE.
How Reiki Works
A typical Reiki session looks like this: after a short consultation, the practitioner will have you lie down. Just as with a massage, calming music and dimmed lights set the atmosphere for relaxation. However, that’s where the similarities end. In this holistic practice, a practitioner channels energy to you by lightly touching or hovering their hands above your body. You may fall asleep or experience deep relaxation. Practitioners believe this is due to the energy balance, which flows through all living things. Disturbances in this flow can result in physical or emotional ailments. The spiritual practice of Reiki (or energy work) can balance this flow, thereby reducing stress and promoting relaxation and healing.
There is scientific research on this; I swear I’m not crazy. While some doctors argue that patients participating in case studies of Reiki have better results due to the placebo effect, others beg to differ. Studies have shown that patients with a variety of autoimmune diseases, cancer, or anxiety have an overall better well-being (decrease in stress levels) after attending sessions like the one described above. Our bodies innately can heal better when our energy (pulled in many directions by all life’s stressors) is balanced. It’s just the way we were made.
We don’t know for sure. Nothing is 100% scientifically proven yet, but does it have potential? Absolutely!
Benefits of Reiki
Reiki is a type of energy healing that uses universal life energy to flow from the practitioner to the patient. The focus is primarily on relaxation and stress reduction. This is a very gentle, non-invasive process that influences the body to go into deep relaxation, thereby eliminating the symptoms of stress and bringing balance back to the body. Now, it’s no secret that much of our population is often riddled with a variety of health struggles, such as anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, that stress plays a significant role.
Of course, Reiki serves many other functions. At the most basic level, it can help with physical ailments such as:
Pain management
Sleep improvement
Immune system boosting
But it doesn’t stop there. Reiki carries a powerful therapeutic aspect that is often underestimated. This kind of therapy can help one understand and manage one’s emotional state like few things can. It will help with personal growth and can be used to promote self-awareness. As the mind, body, and soul are connected, this therapy can help uncover and release blockages at any level in the energetic field.
To most, Reiki seems like nothing more than a different type of relaxation therapy, but consistency is the key to it all. With regular sessions, Reiki can help stimulate personal growth, manage stress, and control emotions. As more people begin to see the importance of inner peace, Reiki stands as a “go-to” type of therapy that will always be effective and help find balance.
Getting Started with Reiki
You want to ensure you feel comfortable and have a positive sense of the practitioner. You can start by asking for a recommendation. A friend or family member may have seen a Reiki practitioner with excellent results. Look online for recommended practitioners. Be sure to check their website or online profile for their credentials. Have they been trained? Are they certified?
Some practitioners will be certified in a particular type or “style” of Reiki. Others will be approved by an organization such as the International Association of Reiki Practitioners. Getting certified usually indicates that the practitioner is willing to commit to ongoing education and ethical practices.
For those who can, learning some introductory Reiki techniques is worth it. Self–Reiki can be a great way to relax and de-stress. It’s a straightforward learning technique—you don’t need any set-up other than a quiet and calm environment free from distraction. All you must do is sit or lie comfortably and then place your hands on or over your body—relationships education.
Reiki is a Japanese healing technique that works through the hands of the practitioner, who gets the universal life energy flowing through the recipient’s entire body. My treatment gave me a vivid image of the energy field passing from my Reiki healer’s core, down her arms, through her hands, and into my body, healing every cell.
Reiki is not a “one-and-done” body practice like yoga. You don’t know you need it until you need it, but once you’ve opened the door to treating yourself to the benefits of non-traditional healing practices, you’ll never look back. Medicinal healing techniques a licensed medical professional prescribes will forever remain your go-to option. Still, the possibilities for recovery may expand once you invite Reiki and yoga into your world.
At this time, I cannot offer you a Reiki treatment. I hope to wrap up my Reiki master (Shihan) this summer (wish me luck!). However, knowing that my dear baby is in the caretaking hands of her wonderful grandmother (my ex-MIL), I can confidently say that you should call a Reiki master you’re comfortable with and book a session. Treat yourself and try it once—it may just change your life.
I wrote this inward journey down for a reason, and I’m only beginning to search for the answer(s). Until I figure that out, I hope you’ve found comfort and solace in my words.
To learn more, visit Reiki at Namaste Studios to book a Reiki session. Additionally, you can find more of our Reiki Blogs here.
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