Reiki for Stress Reduction and Relaxation … and a whole lot more

by Margaret Dexter

Reiki is a Japanese system of relaxation and stress reduction that often promotes healing. It was discovered — or rediscovered — by Dr. Mikao Usui in Japan in the early 1900's. Reiki is a form "hands on" healing similar to techniques have been practiced for thousands of years. Reiki is powerful, and yet very gentle. A Reiki practitioner is trained to do Reiki treatments in a weekend workshop, yet people devote their lives to the study and practice of Reiki. Reiki can be learned in a weekend — and studied for a lifetime!

Reiki Defined
The word "Reiki" comes from two Japanese words, "rei" and "ki". Ki is life force energy, also called chi, prana and many other names. It is the life force energy that animates all living things. All healers work with ki. What sets Reiki apart from other forms of healing is that it is Reiki, not just ki. Rei means universal, meaning that it is everywhere, so one definition of Reiki is universal life force energy. But Japanese words have many levels of meaning. The esoteric meaning of Rei leads to a more meaningful definition of Reiki.

"Research into the esoteric meaning of the Japanese kanji character for Rei has given a much deeper understanding of this ideogram. The word Rei as it is used in Reiki is more accurately interpreted to mean higher knowledge or spiritual consciousness. This is the wisdom that comes from God or the Higher Self and is the God-Consciousness which is all-knowing. It understands each person completely. It knows the cause of all problems and difficulties and knows how to heal them.…

"It is the God-Consciousness called Rei that guides the energy called Ki in the practice we call Reiki. Therefore, Reiki can be defined as spiritually guided life energy."

William Lee Rand, Reiki the Healing Touch

The Reiki Session or Treatment
During a Reiki session, the client lies on a message table, fully clothed, while the Reiki practitioner places his or her hands on or near the client's body. The Reiki energy flows from the universal Reiki source to the practitioner, and through the practitioner to the client. The Reiki energy knows what is needed and where it is needed. Since the God-consciousness and not the mind of the practitioner direct the energy, it can never do harm.

The experience of the client varies greatly from person to person and from time to time for the same person. You may expect to feel deeply relaxed and centered after a Reiki session. It may be a profound spiritual experience, a super nap, or just a pleasant time of relaxation. You may have images come to mind, or experience feelings or emotions, or you may not. Clients often report that pain is diminished or gone after a Reiki session even if the practitioner did not know that the pain existed.

Many people feel heat from the practitioner's hands; they may feel like little heating pads. Some people feel the vibration of the energy. As a practitioner, I feel the energy flowing through me like feeling water flow through a pipe or a hose. I can feel more energy flowing in some areas and less in others. One beautiful thing about a Reiki session is that I receive a Reiki treatment every time I give one. My body will take what it needs as the energy flows through me. I am never drained by a session. On the contrary, I feel wonderful after giving a session because I have received a mini-session myself!

True health is a state of vibrant energy. When the life force energy in your body is low, you do not experience vibrant health. A Reiki session allows your body to receive additional life force energy, which can assist the body in healing itself. Healing is not the same as curing. Reiki works on all levels — physical, emotional, mental and spiritual — so great healing can occur even when the physical body is not cured of a particular condition.

The only way to really know what a Reiki session is like is to experience one. If you are interested in Reiki, I encourage you to find a Reiki practitioner with whom you feel comfortable and schedule a session. Go without expectation, but be open to anything. There are no limits to what Reiki can do.

The Reiki Attunement
There are many books about Reiki, and you may want to read some of them to learn more about Reiki. But you cannot learn to do Reiki from a book. Reiki training includes attunements or initiations during which the ability to do Reiki is transferred to the student by the Reiki Master. During the attunement, the God consciousness makes necessary adjustments to the student's chakras and energy pathways to allow them to transmit the Reiki energy, and the student is connected to the universal Reiki source. The attunement energies are channeled through the Reiki Master. The process is directed by the Higher Power. A Reiki attunement is a powerful spiritual experience for most people.

The Reiki Class or Workshop
Reiki is taught in three levels or degrees: Reiki I, Reiki II and Reiki III. Reiki III is also called Reiki Master. There are numerous different schools of thought as to how Reiki should be taught. Some Reiki Masters teach Reiki I and Reiki II as separate workshops with a waiting period between, others teach Reiki I and II in an intensive weekend workshop, and others teach Reiki I, II and III in a weekend. The amount charged for the workshops also varies widely. If you want to study Reiki, you may want to talk to several Reiki Masters to find the one who is right for you.

Reiki I Training
In a Reiki I class or workshop you are attuned to level I of the Reiki energy and taught to do a complete Reiki session on yourself and others. Yes, on yourself. Reiki is one healing modality you can use for self-healing. Reiki I is focused primarily on the physical body.

Reiki II Training
Reiki II includes three Usui Reiki II symbols. In a second-degree class you are attuned to level II of the Reiki energy and to the Reiki II symbols. Traditionally, the symbols are considered sacred and secret. They are not revealed to an initiate until they are attuned at the second level. They have now been printed in books, so you can find them if you look, but they will not "work" for you until you are attuned to them. Reiki II increases the power of the Reiki energy, extends the healing power of Reiki to the emotional and mental levels and includes a method of distant healing. After the Reiki II training, you are qualified to do Reiki treatments as a Reiki II Practitioner.

Reiki Master Training
In Reiki III/Master training, you are attuned to level III of the Reiki energy and to the Usui Master symbol, and you are taught how to do Reiki attunements. The additional symbol and attunement increases your healing ability. Some teachers require an apprentice period and others offer Reiki Master training as a workshop. After the Reiki III training, you are a Reiki Master qualified to teach Reiki to others.

Some Reiki Masters, myself included, teach an Advanced Reiki Training or ART class between Reiki II and Reiki III/Master. In ART you are taught the Usui Master symbol and attuned to this symbol, but you are not taught to do attunements. ART includes several healing and meditation techniques using the Usui Master symbol, including Reiki aura clearing, also called Reiki psychic surgery. This process is a powerful way to assist the client in releasing negative energies that are blocking the flow of ki. The purpose of ART is to enhance your healing abilities and prepare you for the Reiki III/Master class.

Reiki Masters teaching ART include two additional Tibetan symbols in the Reiki III/Master class for a total of six symbols. You are attuned to these symbols and taught to do all attunements including the Reiki Master Attunement and the Healing Attunement. The Healing Attunement increases the energy available for healing without attuning the recipient to Reiki. Advanced Reiki Training and Reiki III/Master are often offered as a three-day intensive.

There is no right or wrong way to teach Reiki. Reiki works by intention, and if it is the intention of the Reiki Master to transmit Reiki and the intent of the student to receive it, it works. If you are interested in learning Reiki, I encourage you to find the Reiki Master Teacher who is right for you.

This article was submitted by Margaret Dexter, a Reiki Master Teacher in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area. For additional information see her web page in Prosperity.