What is Reiki?

Written by The Blue Heron Clinic

Complimentary therapy, also known as oriental medicine, continues to grow in popularity as people seek more natural and safe ways to increase the efficacy of more traditional western treatments. This trend can be seen by looking at any directory listing to discover the myriad of acupuncture professionals, massage therapists and natural medicine practitioners in areas ranging from large cities to small rural towns. One type of alternative treatment which continues to grow in use is energy work, or energy healing. A common form of energy work involves the principles of reiki, which is a spiritual form of treatment used to create healing and relaxation. Many people may ask, what is reiki? This relatively newer practice revolves around helping individuals facilitate their own healing through the natural energy and abilities of the human body.

Origins of Reiki

The origins of Reiki start in Japan around 1922, as part of the spiritual teachings of a Japanese Buddhist named Mikao Usui. Usui developed the practice while on a 21 day training on Mount Kurama. During this training Usui claims he developed the knowledge and mystical ability to attune others through spiritual power flowing into his body through the crown chakra, one of seven centers of spiritual energy. The name given to this spiritual power (or the Japanese loanword reiki) is roughly translated as "supernatural influence". This is exemplified by the practice focusing less on touch and manipulation of the body tissues (as with most other forms of touch therapies like massage) and more on placing the hands just above the person receiving the treatment, or in some cases lightly touching the participant. Mikao Usui created the Usui's Spiritual Energy Therapy Society to train others as masters in the principles of the therapy. This society eventually allowed the practice to continue to evolve and spread outside of the borders of Japan throughout Asia, Europe, North America and the rest of the world long after Usui's passing, as well as expanded the treatments on a larger scale.

Before passing, one of Usui's students named Chujiro Hayashi approached Usui about creating a simplified version of his therapy. Usui agreed. This new breed of the therapy focused more on physical healing, as well as greatly simplified the techniques used for the practice. After Usui's death from a stroke in 1926, Hayashi left and started his own clinic to practice and teach the simplified method. This is the style in which Hawayo Takata learned, who took the practice back to her native Hawaii and augmented her practice to better fit the western mentality of complimentary medicine. This began the spread of the practice throughout the western world. Today, various forms of therapy principles are not only taught from master/teachers, but also often taught as part of traditional massage therapy courses. However, for more in-depth training, practitioners can still seek out specialized training through centers that focus specifically on reiki healing throughout the world.

Reiki Principles

Reiki principles revolve around holistic therapy based on the idea of "ki" (also referred to in other areas of the world as "qi" or "chi"). Ki stands for universal energy, which practitioners believe they transfer through their palms during reiki healing treatments. Practitioners believe they can access and manipulate ki to support the body's natural abilities to heal itself, whether it be for physical, spiritual, mental or emotional healing. While reiki healing is commonly performed by a practitioner, it can also be used as a form of self-care to access similar benefits. This therapy can be practiced on its own, or along with other traditional or complimentary treatments such as acupuncture, massage or aromatherapy.

The Process

During a treatment, participants typically lay out fully-clothed on a massage table. The treatment can also be performed from a seated position. The practitioner places their hands lightly on or just above the participants body with their palms down. Western practices rely on meridian energy lines and the seven main chakras of the body, which moving from the head to the feet includes the crown, the third eye, the throat, the heart, the solar plexus, the sacral and the base or root chakra. Different hand positions are used to access these chakras, largely focusing on the head and neck, and later the other areas of the body as needed. The practitioner holds the hand position over the front or back of the body until they feel the flow of energy slow or stop from their hands. Practitioners liken this feeling to a sensation of warmth or tingling in the hands. More traditional Japanese forms of this healing therapy focus more on specific areas of the body through Byosen-hō and Reiji-hō, which searches out disease or discomforts in the human body, or in the aura surrounding the body. Sessions of the therapy can vary widely in time spans, but most often last between 30 to 90 minutes for each session. These sessions are shorter for people seeking treatment to accompany surgery or other more invasive medical treatments. Participants may only need a few treatments, or may seek out treatments on a regular weekly basis depending on the individual needs.

Reiki Clinic Locations

This practice is commonly seen in clinics that specialize in complimentary or oriental medicine or as part of massage businesses. However, the continued spread and growth in popularity of the therapy has allowed the practice to move to increasingly more places as it gains acceptance among more traditional medicine venues. For example, reiki healing can now be found in hospitals, medical offices and clinics, with patients ranging from those suffering from depression to those undergoing cancer treatments.

What is Reiki Used For?

This form of therapy has been used to treat, or augment the treatment of a wide range of spiritual and body ailments from mental to physical. Many people seek out treatments simply for relaxation and stress reduction. Others use the practice for symptom relief, such as chronic pain sufferers or those with diseases ranging from HIV/AIDS to cancer (which often are accompanied by side effects both from the disease itself, as well as from the medications used to treat the condition). The therapy is common in conjunction with cancer treatment and recovery as no physical touch to the body is necessary for patients to experience or perceive benefits. This can be helpful when other complementary treatments, like massage therapy, are contraindicated. These same benefits apply to those recovering from surgery, another condition where touch-related therapies may be contraindicated, especially in the area of the wound. The therapy also goes beyond the physical and is often used to help spiritual or mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.

Healing Effects

The effects experienced by this treatment vary depending on the individual being treated. When describing what is reiki's effects, those undergoing treatment report feelings of deep relaxation, a warm or tingly sensation, sleepiness, or a feeling of being refreshed, suggests the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine.

Reiki Training

While no specific credentials are required to provide reiki healing treatments, training is necessary. Training is provided through an experienced master/teacher, with techniques varying depending on the philosophies and methods of the master. In general, training is broken down into three degrees or levels. Each degree is marked by an initiation or empowerment. Each initiation signifies a new ability to access ki energy. First degree training, also known as "Shoden", teaches basic methods of the therapy's principles, such as hand placement. This allows participants to practice both on themselves and others. Second degree training, or "Okuden", focuses on practicing the therapy at a distance using special symbols which strengthen the power of the therapy. This allows practitioners to access a participants ki over larger distances, without being in the same room as the participant. First and second degree training can be achieved in as little as eight to 12 class hours over the span of about two days. The final third degree, or "Shinpiden", is training to be a master/teacher. This allows the practitioner to teach others how to master the therapy. The time period to become a master varies widely, with some master/teacher programs taking as little as a day, and other taking as long as a year. There are currently no official professional licensing standards within the industry required to perform the therapy or to denote the level of the practitioner.

Traditional and Western Training Traditions

When going through training, practitioners learn according to the specific traditions of their master teacher. While the origins of reiki began with Mikao Usui, various other traditional teachers have taught their own traditions of the practice. Those who follow the closest to Mikao Usui teach from the Usui Reiki Ryōhō Gakkai, or the Usui Healing Method Learning Society. The second main training tradition comes from master teachers Ryōhō Gakkai and Fuminori Aoki, who started Reidō Gakkai, or the Spiritual Occurrence and Spiritual Energy Society. The third tradition comes from teacher Hyakuten Inamoto, and is the Enlightened Spiritual Energy Meeting Association. The fourth main tradition is Jikiden Reiki, or the Direct Teaching of Spiritual Energy, founded by a mother and son teaching team Mrs. Yamaguchi and Tadao Yamaguchi

Western teachers also have their own training traditions. The tradition closest to the original Western origins of reiki taught by Hawayo Takata is the Usui Reiki Shiki Ryōhō, or the Usui's Spiritual Energy Style of Therapy. Other westerners have also created their own traditions including Gendai Reiki Hō, or the Modern Spiritual Energy Method from Hiroshi Doi, and Arthur Robertson's Usui/Tibetan form.

Five Principles

Those who are trained in any practice of this therapy typically still follow five principles created during the origins of reiki. These reiki principles are part of "The Gokai", summarized from the literary works of the Emperor Meiji. These principles guide the ethics of the practice, and include the following mantras: don't get angry (Okoru na), don't worry (Shinpai su na), be grateful (Kansha shite), work hard (Gyo wo hage me) and be kind to others (Hito ni shinsetsu ni). Practitioners are traditionally encouraged to speak these principles out loud and in their heart during meditation both in the morning and the evening.

Research

Currently no solid research is available to support claims that the therapy can be used to treat any form of illness. However, it's important to note that much of the research surrounding the treatment is lacking or poorly conducted. More research is needed to truly determine the overall effects, or lack of effects, of the therapy on the well-being of participants. Conflict remains regarding whether therapeutic benefits are related more to a placebo effect, or whether actual changes occur in the body. However, regardless of the current level of research, patients continue to seek out the practice and claim benefits. In fact, a 2007 National Health Interview Survey suggests that as many as 1.2 million adults used some form of energy healing, such as reiki principles, as well as an additional 161,000 children.

Safety

In general, reiki principles do not present any safety concerns, since little or no touch is involved between the participant and practitioner. No serious side effects have yet to be reported regarding the use of this treatment. However, concern remains when this therapy solely replaces other forms of treatment, whether Western or alternative therapies. For example, this therapy should be used to compliment, not replace treatments for diseases like cancer or AIDS where chemotherapy, radiation or drug cocktails are necessary to help slow the progression of a potentially deadly disease.

An inscription on Mikao Usui's tombstone suggests that he taught reiki principles to more than 2,000 people during his lifetime. Thousands more in the decades since have continued the tradition, whether through teaching others to become practitioners, or experiencing some form of the therapy as a participant. While conflict remains on the exact benefits of the practice, and more research is needed to solidify what is reiki's true benefits, it's hard to refute that some form of benefits are seen, as shown by the millions of adults in the United States alone who continue to seek out the therapy.

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