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I recently attained both my first and second Reiki attunements (trainings) after spending years fascinated by the healing powers Reiki has. Since beginning my Reiki practice, I have experienced such amazing (and healing!) feelings of grounding and connection. It has helped me to reach a deeper level in my spirituality, and it has even helped my meditation practice to become even stronger. 

I am very excited to be starting a blog post series all about Reiki, as I hope it will also help bring healing and depth to your spiritual practice as well! Today, we’ll be beginning with the Reiki basics: what it is, where it comes from, and how it works. 

What is Reiki?

Reiki is an energy healing technique that focuses on channeling life force energy (or Qi – pronounced like “chi”) into the person or thing you are giving Reiki to. Yes, you can give Reiki to animals and objects, too, not just people!

Life force energy is the energy that is within all of us. You can’t see it, but you can certainly feel it! The theory in Reiki is, when your levels of life force energy are low, you become sick more often, you’re more prone to injury, developing diseases (over time), and feeling increased levels of stress. So, by channeling life force energy into the body, it is helping to “refill” your source-energy levels, which assists the body in lowering stress and allowing it to heal itself.

Looking for other ways to cleanse and protect your energy?

See here: 5 Steps to Energetically Cleanse and Protect Your Energy During Times of Uncertainty

A Brief History

The official term “Reiki” and the way this energy healing technique is practiced today were developed in Japan in the 1890s, by a man named Mikao Usui. Although this is the point at which it began to become known during modern times, Usui had actually resurrected an ancient Buddhist healing method that he had found written down in a 7th-century text, which had been stowed away and largely forgotten.

While it is still unknown who the very first person to perform this type of energy healing was, Usui is still seen as the “father” of Reiki, for having established the well-known practice and traditions people use today. Funnily enough, during the same time Usui had begun spreading the healing energy of his type of Reiki, there are records of at least 4 other practitioners practicing similar healing methods in Japan during this time as well! 

Clearly, the Universe wanted to make sure this information made its way into common knowledge during this time, in one form or another!

Beliefs

Something important to know about Reiki is that it is not a religion itself, nor does it assign itself to any one religion. You don’t need to practice a certain faith, or any faith at all for that matter, in order to receive the benefits of Reiki! 

Another important stance Usui wanted to make clear, is that Reiki should also not be seen as a cure-all, or a healing practice that will solve all your health and life problems on its own. Reiki can assist the body in healing itself, but the receiver must also be committed to changing their lifestyle and the circumstances that led them to need healing. So essentially, Reiki will open the door, but you have to be willing to walk through it (and continue on the path of healing!).

And finally, we have the belief in Universal energy, or the energy molecules that connect each and every one of us, not to mention everything else, on the energetic plane. Because everything is connected on an energetic level, you are able to send Reiki across distances without resistance. For example, from my apartment in Oregon, I could give distance Reiki to someone in New York, Europe, or anywhere else in the world, and they would experience the same healing effects as they would if they were sitting right next to me. It isn’t magic that’s happening during a Reiki session, it’s energy! 

How It Works

The most common question I get when I tell people I am a Reiki practitioner, is how Reiki even works to begin with. So, I can only imagine that you would be feeling the same way! 

A Reiki practitioner goes through a training process called an attunement, which opens them up to become a channel for the life force energy. There are 3 levels of attunement, and at each level, the practitioner is able to practice Reiki at higher levels. For example, after the first attunement, you are able to practice Reiki on yourself. After the second attunement, you can practice Reiki on others and send long-distance Reiki. Once you’ve completed the third attunement, usually along with an exam of some kind, a Reiki Practitioner becomes a Reiki Master and can now train and give attunements to others. 

Reiki can be done in two ways: in person, and from a distance. Because Reiki is pure energy, it isn’t bound by time or space and can be sent across any distance. 

When you have an in-person session, the Reiki practitioner will gently lay their hands on or hover their hands over you in a variety of different hand positions. Some practitioners hover over your energy centers, or chakras. All the receiver needs to do is relax and just allow the Reiki to do its thing! 

In a distance Reiki session, the receiver will do exactly what they’d do in an in-person session: lay back, relax, and allow the life force energy to fill their body. Now, every practitioner will have their own unique process for sessions (both in-person and distance), so to know exactly what to expect during your session, you will want to clarify it first with your specific practitioner. Psst.. Ask me about my distance sessions! Or, join me for a LIVE group healing session.

Reiki is a gentle healing modality, in that it won’t affect your medications or aggravate any conditions you may currently have. But, it is powerful, in that it can help you to heal not just on a physical level, but on emotional and spiritual levels as well! Anyone at any age can receive Reiki, and if you’d like, it can even be part of your daily life.

Conclusion

Receiving my Reiki attunements has been such an empowering and humbling experience. It has reminded me how connected everything and everyone is, and how important it is to be the light and to spread positive, uplifting energy to the world around us. Reiki has helped me to begin to process and heal some deep wounds that I carry, and by doing so, it has also strengthened my spiritual practice immensely. 

I’m excited to begin sharing more about Reiki with this community, so check out the reiki tab at the top for more. What do you think? Would you try out a Reiki session? Let me know in the comments below!

Xoxo,

Whitney

Sources:

https://www.practicalreiki.com/history-of-reiki.html

https://www.reiki.org/faqs/what-history-reiki

https://www.reiki.org/faqs/what-reiki

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