What is Reiki?
I hear that question nearly every day. Reiki is a Japanese and Tibetan form of hands-on healing. It involves a light touch, which enhances relaxation and clarity. It also supports and extends innate healing responses.
A Classic Reiki Treatment
Reiki treatments are done to clients fully clothed. A classic Reiki treatment begins at the top of the head and ends at the feet. Up to 6 Reiki signs are placed, as the practitioner feels moved to lightly draw them, usually with one finger, either a bit above the client or directly on the body. Each sign has a meaning, like “power”, “distant healing”, “mental and emotional balance.”
Reiki Facts
What does the word “Reiki” mean? In Japanese, “rei” means “radiant” and “ki” means “universal life force energy”, like “chi”, which is the Chinese translation. Reiki was practiced in Tibet thousands of years ago. It has become increasingly popular in the United States. Did you know that some health insurance companies like Blue Choice offer discounted prices to approved Reiki practitioners when their subscribers seek treatment?
The Reiki Healing Partnership
The Reiki practitioner and client enter into a healing partnership when Reiki is performed. Properly performed Reiki is both energizing and calming to the practitioner as well as the client. Effects continue past the treatment, and build with successive treatments. How long does a Reiki session last? Reiki can be done very effectively in several minutes, or for over an hour. It is called multidimensional healing. The body, mind, and spirit are all treated. It promotes overall balance and ease, rather than “dis-ease”.
Benefits of Reiki
Here are some of the benefits of Reiki: *lower your blood pressure *ease migraines *relieve stress *help you focus *support cancer treatments *fight depression *relieve anxiety and fuel motivation Extended Reiki treatments can also include healing attunements, which greatly enhance the effects Reiki provides.
Reiki on Your Own
You can experience Reiki on your own. More and more people want to learn Reiki to perform treatments on themselves, start a Reiki practice, and offer support and ease to their loved ones. Reiki is taught at three levels, with certification given when each level is completed as a Reiki practitioner. It integrates itself with all other aspects of Centering. I enjoy teaching Reiki to small groups, where participants learn how to better integrate and extend Reiki in their personal and professional lives.
A Brief but Powerful Reiki Exercise for Deep Relaxation and Centering
Reiki is an intuitive practice that is easily learned. Here is a simple Reiki exercise you can do on your own to experience deep relaxation and centering.
Settle back in a comfortable position so your body feels very supported and relaxed. Close your eyes and focus your attention on your breath, imagining how easily your breath deepens.
Count five, full, deep, easy breaths to yourself. Then imagine your breath is a wonderful, flowing, endless wave of healing energy, part of the universal life force energy.
Imagine how this universal life force energy flows everywhere inside you, particularly to your hands. Enjoy all the relaxing, peaceful sensations you feel for a few moments as you continue to imagine the healing energy flowing particularly through your hands.
Then place both hands so that your fingertips (not your thumbs) lightly touch the top of your head, covering and extending up over your eyes, with your thumbs touching your cheekbones. Adjust your position, if necessary, so that you feel very comfortable holding your hands in this way for a minute or so.
You can imagine yourself, if you wish, yourself simply floating away, carried so easily, deeper and deeper, into this healing stream of energy. Then gently move your hands to once more rest at your sides, and in a few moments, very easily and gradually return to full, waking consciousness and open your eyes.
How do you feel? Take a few moments and record your impressions.
This particular Reiki position is thought to be one of the most centering and relaxing positions to perform and experience. .
