For such a simple practice, it is surprisingly difficult to explain. My husband’s explanation is one by far one of my favourites. When asked “What is Reiki?” his answer is simply “hot hands”. His experience of feeling heat emanating from the palms of the practitioner is one of the most common experiences when receiving Reiki, what he is feeling is the energy entering his body. It may sound weird and hippy but it is really very natural. We are all born with this self healing ability, and in the Western World, our focus is quickly directed towards physical cues and inanimate assistance such as infant mobiles, toys, pencils and paper. All of which are essential in our development, but we are unlearning the ability to see and feel energy in the mean time. Therefore we forget, and at some point in our lives, often by accident or significant event, we become aware of something we are missing. This something reconnects us to our inner self, it helps us to maintain sanity in stressful jobs, decorum in busy family lives, general well being and in something bigger, deeper or more than our physical selves.
When this something is Reiki and you choose to learn how to treat yourself and others, you receive a series of initiations that are performed by a Reiki Teacher or Master. Each initiation reconnects and reminds you of the connection you have with the universe and the abundant energy that flows. The word Reiki has been used in Japan for many hundreds of years, the art of healing through touch is taught in many different forms. When the Japanese kanji is translated into english, it means Universal Life Force, which is the same as Qi, Chi, Ki, Prana or Bio/Energy Field, depending on your preferred practice. The Japanese forms of this practice were very secretive and certainly never taught outside of Japan. When Mikao Usui (the guy in the infamous photo attached to this post) experienced his enlightenment on Mt Kurama in 1922, he didn’t discover Reiki, he received insight of how to use Reiki, heal people and more importantly, how to share this knowledge with the world. It is a fascinating story and one for another day, but the way in which Reiki has developed was necessary for it’s survival, and very different to the original teachings and practices.
Once you have received the initiations, you have absolute access to Universal Life Force and as with all practices, in order to experience more deeply, regular practice is necessary. The more you practice, the more sensitive you become to the energy and more benefits you may experience. One of the beauties of this practice, is the ease in which you can practice. Many Reiki practitioners do this in bed as they fall asleep and when they wake up in the morning, there is no doctrine attached to it and can therefore be practiced as part of your belief system or as a practice in it’s own right. It is commonly used to compliment massage, reflexology and other hands on treatments, and as complimentary health care by hospitals and shelters across Australia (and I expect other countries too).
When we include our animals in this practice, we see results far quicker than when practicing with humans. Watch an animal receive Reiki and the effects are obvious, you will see licking and chewing, yawning and stretching within minutes, these are all signs of release. Other signs are rumbling tummies, rising belches and salivating, all excellent displays of things moving. Animals live mainly in the present moment with no judgement, showing us how this is most effective way to work. This is also an easier state to achieve when working with animals, they are excellent teachers, and they make it clear to us where they need energy and when they’ve had enough. Dogs and cats will often gatecrash a human treatment by joining them on the table or lying underneath it, and even on my feet.
By reconnecting with Reiki energy and practicing daily, we are cultivating a healing way of life that will directly benefit us as well as those around us.
