Usui Shiki Ryoho – Share Reiki

23/10/2019

Finding The Right Teacher

More often than not, word of mouth or a friend of a friend introduces us to our Reiki Master. Reiki appears in our lives at the perfect time for the perfect reasons but what if we are looking to deepen our practice or further our practitioner status? This may move us beyond our original teacher or perhaps they are out of reach. If so, how do we find the right teacher?

A great place to start is within our local Reiki Community, it may sound obvious but these groups can be difficult to find. There are many Reiki teacher and practitioner directories on the internet but very few guide us to a Reiki share group. Any good Reiki group will welcome us in to explore our curiosity, try The Reiki Connectory to find a share group near you.

Once we haves names and contact details, it’s a good idea to call them and have a conversation, or ask to meet with them in person. By doing this, we can experience a number of essential connections:

Rapport – this is the natural ease in which the conversation flows, the pleasure we receive in their presence and the freedom we feel in expressing our thoughts and beliefs.
Dedication – how dedicated are they to their practice? Ask of the form they practice and what their daily routine looks like. How do they deepen their own practice? Are you excited and intrigued by what you hear?
Communication – discuss their preferred method of communication for teachings, assignments and practice. Find out how often they intend to meet, and if in person, on the phone and electronically. What will occur during these times? It is important to discover if we can approach them with questions or to discuss experiences.
Commitment – We expect our future teacher to be committed to their practice, we also want to feel a commitment to their students. Listen for hints of their commitment, are they committed for the duration of the agreed apprenticeship or lessons, or does their commitment go beyond? We are looking for lifelong commitment to the student, regardless what ‘level’ the student is working towards.

Listing our questions and ticking off as we go will ensure our confidence in our final decision, if we are talking to our perfect teacher, they will understand and encourage this. Asking any additional questions we have before committing to a class will instill certainty and enthusiasm for the new chapter of our journey.

Reiki is a spiritual practice, we are likely to have new experiences and our practice will deepen by discussing these with a Reiki Master. The suggestions above will help in finding that trusted Reiki Master, coupled with intentional Reiki assisting the search, we are guaranteed to find the perfect Reiki teacher 🙂

23/10/2019

What Can I Expect In My Reiki Treatment

My human Reiki treatments are rather systematic, this was born from the human need to experience the expected in order for us to relax enough to succumb to our innate healing instinct. Especially when many clients were unfamiliar with Reiki and relaxation is imperative for equilibrium of our mind and body, as if they are two separate entities.
So with this in mind, I start by clarifying any previous experience with Reiki and then explain what I expect of you and what you can expect from me. It usually goes like this:

You will lay face up on the massage table and stay here for the duration of the treatment, unless you have specific reasons why this is not comfortable, in which case you may lay face down or sit in a chair. Comfort and relaxation is my initial intention.
I will then engage in Reiki and a short guided relaxation, helping you disconnect from the day.
The hand positions I move into begin at your head and follow the teachings of Usui Shiki Ryoho, covering the head, chest, abdomen and limbs. There are so many variations of hand positions, none of which should feel imposing in any way, remember, relaxation and comfort are key.
The time I spend in each position is guided mostly by my intuition, my intuition may tell me that one area needs more time than another, or that you would benefit mentally from the same amount of time in each hand position. This, I leave to the moment.
If you have come with a specific issue or illness, there may be specify hand positions that will help. For example, if you are stressed with worry, I will treat your head, but will spend as much time on your stomach because this is where worry manifests physically. If you are wrought with grief, I will spend more time in the heart space and hara. And if you have arthritic knees, I would spend more time here.
During the treatment I will play relaxing music and diffuse essential oils, both can be changed to your preference. We habitually create triggers in our life and these are notably unhelpful and stress inducing, when we actively create helpful triggers, such as sounds and smells, during a Reiki treatment for example, you can play the music or use the fragrance to invoke the blissful trigger. It’s a simple and easily applied anchor.
The end of the treatment is signalled by three full strokes down the sides of your body, this is gentle way to wake you if you have dropped off or to rouse you from your meditative state. I will ask you to take your time and allow any yawing and stretching to feel complete before sitting up and drinking some water.

Every Reiki treatment is likely to be different, your experiences can range from a warm tingling feeling, to seeing visions and colours. Some people experience nothing except a serene space in which to completely relax, there is no definitive list.
It may also take a few sessions to relax into the treatment, often thanks to busy schedules and incessant self talk but rest assured, this does become quiet with a little persistence. Helping us create the space to heal.

23/10/2019

How Do I Learn Reiki?

Reiki is a practice. Not the most inviting start to a conversation I know, (your yawn is infectious) but it is the truth. To reap the benefits of anything we ‘do’, we generally need to do it often. My point is that once we have received the initiations, or attunements as they are also known, we must engage in self practice to create the space our body and mind needs to heal past traumas and habits.

The initiations are short rituals carried out by the Reiki Master and consist of a series of symbols and movements. These are kept secret out of respect for the practice and intended to re-open you to the energy of the universe.

In Usui Shiki Ryoho there are four initiations performed over two days in Reiki I and one initiation in Reiki II, these details differ between forms of Reiki but you will always be initiated or attuned in some way.

I like the initiations and I enjoy giving them, with each new student I feel a deeper connection to the practice of Reiki and a connection is formed with the student. This connection adds joy and sincerity to the commitment I make as their Reiki Teacher, which is to support them for life in their Reiki journey, no matter how involved or distant that may be.

The capacity for learning in a group class is magnified and the intellectual and experiential contributions invaluable. My recent experience of single student classes have proved to offer a more personal teaching approach, which becomes tailored, to their current needs and situation. Whichever style a Reiki Teacher offers, I would advise careful consideration, this person will be available for support and guidance in Reiki for life. Make sure you like the sound of them first

During the teaching time, we also learn the history and application of Reiki. The knowledge of where it comes from and how it reached the Western World offers understanding and compassion for the practice, as well as many options for further learning if we desire. And of course, when taught a systematic method of treatment, for self and for others, we are armed with the confidence to develop our own practice that will ensure an effortless transition into a daily routine.

It is in this daily routine that we really begin to learn from Reiki, and although epiphanies do and will happen, most reports of transformation are gradual. It begins with the realisation the we can arrange our routine to include space for healing, we may notice the thoughts that have been causing our headaches no longer linger, or that we no longer notice that the person on the train who plays music too loud through their head phones, even though they still do. We find that our general stress levels have reduced giving us the energy to utilise that gym membership or take that yoga class. And when we start creating these little pockets of space for healing, bigger pockets magically appear, starting each day from a calmer, more organised and grounded place, leaving plenty of room for the day’s challenges. In essence we learn to listen to ourselves, our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual selves and respond in ways that build resilience and emotional flexibility while encouraging our actions to align with our thoughts.

The simplicity of Reiki as a practice helps create space to heal the complexities of our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health.

23/10/2019

What Is Reiki?

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.