The Basics of Reiki

This article was written by Ash, a member of Tribe of the Sun and our resident Reiki Master. She splits her time between the African and Nordic paths.

What is Reiki?

The Japanese word, reiki, roughly translates to “divine/miraculous energy of life”. Reiki is a Japanese technique developed by Mikao Usui for moving the universe’s life energy into individuals of need. It is administered by the practioner channeling the universe’s life energy through themselves and administering a treatment by laying on hands. Reiki is not a massage.

Think of reiki as the classical musical station of the universe. The reiki practioner, in this case, is the radio. The reiki practioner tunes into the natural healing energies of the universe by drawing symbols on their hands. The “radio” frequency then flows through the practioner and out of their hands as warm, soothing, healing energy that is delivered via touch into the person of need. The person receiving the treatment feels radiating warmth where the hands are positioned. Some people have also reported seeing colours, visions, or hearing music during reiki treatments. These are all normal experiences that people can have when they encounter the universe’s life energy. The energy then continues to work the rest of the day where it is most needed.

How does reiki work?

Reiki is used to treat a variety of physical, emotional or spiritual issues. It is often seen in the hospital settings post chemotherapy treatments for cancer patients. It has been proven that administering reiki post chemotherapy reduces the recovery time needed for the patient. Reiki can also be used to help treat stress, depression, sprangs, post operation recovery, during and after child birth to help alleviate pain, past emotional life traumas, and charka blockages.

If it’s so great, then how does it work? Reiki works on an energetic level like clean running water works on a physical level. If you were to cut your finger, the first thing you would do is apply clean water to help flush all of the dirt and bacteria out of the wound. You would then apply antiseptic so it heals cleanly. Reiki takes all of the past or current traumas and cleans them out by filling your body with the universe’s life energy. After it flushes out all of the “dirt”, the body now has the ability to heal properly. With continued treatments after the blockages are removed, the life energy goes toward accelerating the healing process. Reiki energy works on everything including rocks, jewelry, pets, plants, and humans.

What is a treatment?

Full body treatment

The full body treatment generally lasts from 45 to 90 minutes. The client lays face up on a massage table while the reiki practioner delivers healing energy to the major energy pathways of the body called Charkas. The practioner will spend several minutes on each charkra started from the crown chakra and working toward the feet. This process will be repeated two more times with the client laying face down and face up.

Focused treatment

The focused treatment can last from 10 to 30 minutes. If the client has a particular problem area that needs extra attention, shorter and more frequent duration healing sessions can take place to treat the area of concern. For instance if the client has knee surgery and would like to speed up the healing process post surgery, then the practioner can spend 15 minutes applying reiki to the hip, knee, and ankle areas for improved healing.

Distance treatment

The distance treatment is conducted when both the client and practioner cannot physically be in the same room together. The practioner and client can then set up a 30 minute time block during the week when the client can sit or lay quietly in the comfort of their own home. The practioner will then use a saraget such as a teddy bear or pillow to stand in for the client, and sent the reiki energy through the saraget and into the client.

How does one become a reiki practioner?

A reiki master must attune a person’s aura to be able to channel the universe’s life energy. Once attuned, the practioner can use the universe’s life energy to help heal spiritual, physical or emotional traumas and create healthy, growing environments.