What is Reiki?
Today the practice of Reiki is being used at home, in hospitals and in hospices as a complementary therapy that is accessible to all. It is a system first of all of self- development, designed to increase harmony and balance in one’s body, mind spirit and life. Its strenght is that it is easy to learn, anyone of any age and background can practice it. The more you use it, the more it grows within you. Someone who is practising Reiki should be able to trace his or her lineage of teachers back to Dr Usui either via Mrs.Takata or Dr Hayashi or other students of Dr Usui via Usui-do or the Japanese Reiki Gakkai. By the end of his life Dr Usui had taught many students and there are many potential lineages.
The practice of Reiki is an original method of healing,developed by Mikao Usui in Japan early in the 20th century. Reiki is a natural healing energy that works on every, not just the physical, and is understood to promote the body’s regenerative self-healing ability. The National Occupational Standards for Reiki require practitioners to have a Reiki lineage that can be traced directly back to Mikao Usui and to have been attuned/initiated in person. The Reiki Council’s current definition was agreed in June 2009 and is as follows:
Reiki
There are many different styles of Reiki with many different viewpoints. Here is the working definition of Reiki developed by the Reiki Council through consensus at the time of publication (June 2009).
“Reiki”(ray-key)is Japanese for ’universal life energy", a term used to describe a system of natural healing. This healing tradition was founded by Dr Makao Usui in the early 20th century and evolved as a result of his research, experience and dedication. We live in a world of energy that nourishes and maintains all living things. When this energy flows uninterrupted there is balance and harmony within and around us and we experience a sense of well being.
There are many variations of Reiki, but in essence reiki works at bringing us into balance and it is believed therefore to reinforce the body’s natural ability to heal itself at all levels, whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. It is a tradition that is open to any belief system. Reiki is a healing process that anyone can benefit from in the normal course of their life. Research using animals and even bacteria suggests it has the ability to reverse stress-induced conditions. It should not, however be regarded as a cure for conditions. As a natural form of healing Reiki can support and enhance other forms of treatment. The method of receiving a Reiki treatment from a practitioner is simple. The recipient remains clothed and lies on a couch or sits on a chair and relaxes. The practitioner gently places their hands non- intrusively, on or near the body. There is no massage or manipulation and the whole person is treated rather than specific symptoms. It is also possible to receive Reiki at a distance. Reiki practitioners are not trained in diagnosis and will not offer any diagnosis or prognosis.
If people are concerned about their symptoms they should see a doctor. Clients may or may not feel sensations during a Reiki treatment. Benefits reported by clients/ patients include deep relaxation promoting a calm, peaceful sense of well being on all levels. Reiki is taught by Reiki Master/Teachers, who have trained in the tradition passed on in person from Master to student. Students go through a process of initiation/attunement to the Reiki energy. They are then able to treat themselves and others, not only from a healing perspective, but also as an aid to personal development and spiritual growth. Mikao Usui spent time and money pursing his new found spiritual path by studying and collecting Buddhist scriptures. In particular, he studied Buddhist healing techniques and invested an enormous amount of money collecting old medical texts. Usui had good political and academic connections and had many contacts in various countries searching for texts. For example, in Bombay India, merchants travelling the silk route through Tibet to China were given gold to find secret Buddhist healing texts. Usui was particularly interested in obtaining texts from Tibet and China.
