Jill C. Lewis, Kundalini Reiki Master Teacher in Austintown, Ohio

Jill Lewis is a licensed massage therapist, and a Level Four Master Teacher of Kundalini Reiki. Her office is called "Jill's Touch," and is located at 4950 Mahoning Avenue, Austintown, Ohio 44515; and her phone number is (330) 792-1557. She has been practicing massage therapy for twelve years and practicing Reiki for almost as long. She said that she never sought Reiki out, but that Reiki found her.

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy. The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."

Jill explained that Dr. Mikao Usui, or Usui Sensei as he is called by his students in Japan, is the founder of Reiki. He was born August 15, 1865 in the village of Yago in the Yamagata district of Gifu prefecture, Japan. Usui Sensei had an avid interest in learning and worked hard at his studies. He traveled to Europe and China to further his education. His curriculum included medicine, psychology, and religion. It is thought that he was from a wealthy family, as in Japan only the wealthy could afford to send their children to school. Eventually he became the secretary to Pei Gotoushin, head of the department of health and welfare who later became the Mayor of Tokyo. The connections Usui Sensei made at this job helped him to become a successful businessman.

In 1914 Usui's personal and business life was failing. As a sensitive spiritualist, Usui Sensei had previously spent much time meditating at power spots on Mt. Kurama. So he decided to travel to this holy mountain, where he enrolled in Isyu Guo, a twenty-one-day training course. We do not know for certain what he was required to do during this training, but it is likely that fasting, meditation, chanting and prayers were part of the practice. In addition, we know there is a small waterfall on Mt. Kurama where even today people go to meditate. This meditation involves standing under the waterfall and allowing the waters to strike and flow over the top of the head, a practice which is said to activate the crown chakra. Japanese Reiki Masters think that Usui Sensei may have used this meditation as part of his practice. In any case, it was during the Isyu Guo training that the great Reiki energy entered his crown chakra. This greatly enhanced his healing abilities and he realized he had received a wonderful new gift - the ability to give healing to others without depleting his own energy!

He first used Reiki on himself, then tried it on his family. Since it worked well for various ailments, he decided to share this knowledge with the public at large. He opened a clinic in Harajuku, Aoyama, Tokyo in April of 1922. He not only gave treatment to countless patients, some of whom had come from far and wide, but he also hosted workshops to spread his knowledge. In September of 1923, the devastating Kanto earthquake shook Tokyo. Thousands were killed, injured, or became sick in its aftermath. Dr. Usui grieved for his people, but he also took Reiki to the devastated city and used its healing powers on the surviving victims. His clinic soon became too small to handle the throng of patients, so in February of 1925, he built a new one outside Tokyo in Nakano. His fame spread quickly all over Japan. On March 9th, 1926, he was hit by a fatal stroke. He was 62 years of age. Dr. Usui had a wife named Sadako; her maiden name was Suzuki. They had a son and a daughter. The son, Fuji Usui took over the family business after Dr. Usui's passing.

Mrs. Takata, a former patient at the Reiki Clinic, brought Reiki from Japan to the West in 1938. Until 1982, Reiki was an oral tradition in the West with no written record of its history of teachings. Until recently, all current information about the history Reiki has come to us through the spoken word of Mrs. Takata.

Jill said that she carries on this tradition of secrecy. The teachings, symbols and ceremonies are never to be written, and are only to be passed down from teacher to student. Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but the skills are passed down through a ceremony called an "attunement." This is a private ceremony where the teacher "attunes" the student to the Reiki energy. During attunement, different energy centers (chakras) and channels are opened. This way you can have access to this energy and can channel it through your hands. You can then "switch on" the energy, just by intention. Jill would not explain how the ceremony is performed, but she explained essentially how it works:

God is pure source energy, and he has a pure frequency, like radio waves. Humans also have their own frequencies. Just because you can't see them, doesn't mean they are not there. Moving to the next level in Reiki is achieved by an attunement. Each attunement moves you closer and closer to the pure, healing frequency of God. This way you are able to channel God's healing power through you. A Reiki practitioner is simply a tool of God. The symbols have their own frequencies as well, and are used in healing others and yourself. Eventually you become the energy, and can feel when your Reiki "turns on" if there is someone nearby who needs it. You learn Reiki until it becomes who you are.

As I stated before, Jill is a Master Teacher of Kundalili Reiki. Kundalini is a Sanskrit word meaning either "coiled up" or "coiling like a snake." There are a number of other translations of the term usually emphasizing a more serpent nature to the word - e.g. 'serpent power'. The caduceus symbol of coiling snakes is thought to be an ancient symbolic representation of Kundalini physiology. It is now used to symbolize the medical practice.

Jill explains that, basically, Kundalini means that certain healing channels and chakras have been opened and you have thereby gained access to the Earth's energy. Unlike most other Reiki, Kundalini Reiki uses both Reiki (God) energy and Kundalini (Earth) energy. The root chakra, which is the energy center near the base of the torso, acts as an entrance for the Kundalini energy. Then the energy runs all the way up through the body, through the "main energy channel", and out of the crown chakra. This energy channel goes from the root chakra to the crown chakra on the top of the head. An open Kundalini means that over a period of time, a complete cleansing of the chakras, the body parts and the energy channels is obtained.

Chakra is a Sanskrit word and means "wheel." They exist within us all. In the same way that we have a physical body we also have a subtile body. Our chakras are parts of a large network of subtile energies. Today we know that living cells from humans, animals and plants give off invisible energies or "auras." The aura can be viewed as an energy field surrounding the body, interacting through the chakras. In other words the aura is an energy field that surrounds the physical body and cannot be seen. The seven main chakras have their origin in the physical body but they also exist in all the layers of the aura. The speed and vibration level of the energy is increased with each level. One can say that the human consciousness is manifested on seven levels or in the seven layers that is the aura.

The human body's system consists of sensory, breathing, circulation, digestion, reproduction and secretion. There are six corresponding chakras for these bodily functions. The brain and the whole being also has one chakra, making a total of seven major chakras. These chakras are situated at the top of the head, forehead, throat, heart, solar plexus, the navel, and at the bottom of the pelvis. Every chakra has a corresponding organ in our physical system:

· The root chakra belongs together with the large intestine and the rectum. It also has a certain influence on the function of the kidneys.

· The navel chakra belongs to the reproduction system, the testicles and ovaries and also the urinary bladder and kidneys.

· The solar plexus chakra is in relation to the liver, gall bladder, stomach, spleen and the small intestine.

· The heart chakra belongs to the heart and the arms.

· The throat chakra relates to the lungs and the throat.

· The third eye (forehead) chakra belongs to the brain, face, nose, eyes etc.

· The crown chakra does not have a corresponding organ but is related to the whole being.

There is a clear connection between the condition of a chakra and the condition of the corresponding organ. A chakra can be over active, under active or in balance. Using Reiki can give the chakras balance and the organs health.

The chakras change energy from one level to another by distributing Ki to the physical body. This is partly done through the endocrine system that regulates other systems in the body. According to tradition each chakra also corresponds to one of the major glands in the body. The Reiki hand positions not only cover the chakras but also major organs and glands.

· The root chakra is in relation to the adrenal gland.

· The navel chakra to the ovaries or testicles.

· The solar plexus chakra is related to the pancreas.

· The heart chakra belongs together with the thymus.

· The throat chakra corresponds to the thyroid gland.

· The third eye chakra has a connection to the pituitary gland.

· The crown chakra is usually connected to the pineal gland.

The endocrine system plays a major role for the body's daily health. The glands release hormones directly into the blood stream and control all aspects of growth, development and daily activities. Physical problems are often the result of a blockage in the energy flow in the system made up of meridians and chakras causing the organs or glands to not function properly.

She goes on to explain that there are two systems of channels or meridians, namely primary and secondary meridians. Primary meridians pass through internal organs but secondary do not. There are twelve pairs of primary meridians with Ki flowing in continuous circulation through the following organs: lungs, colon, stomach, spleen, heart, intestines, urinary bladder, kidneys, pericardium, triple warmer, gall bladder and liver. Almost all points used in acupuncture and acupressure are situated along the primary meridians.

This Ki contains two polar forces, the yin and the yang. When the yin and yang are balanced, the living system exhibits physical health; when they are unbalanced, a diseased state results. Overly powerful yang results in excessive organic activity. Dominate yin makes for insufficient functioning. Either imbalance results in physical illness. The ancient art of acupuncture and acupressure focuses on balancing the yin and the yang. A Reiki treatment will balance the yin and yang and facilitate a smooth flow of Ki through the meridian system. Blockages in meridians can be dissolved by Reiki and help restore the body's healthy flow of Ki.

When Jill performs a Reiki treatment, the subject is fully clothed and lies on her massage table. The treatment starts with "scanning" the subject with her hands just above the body, she does not touch the subject during scanning. The Reiki energy guides her hands through the subject's aura. She said, "All healing happens in the aura field. Sometimes I don't need to touch them at all. I trust the energy flow, and that my hands will go where they need to go."

At the close of our meeting, she let me feel her Reiki energy. She asked me to hold out my hand, and then she positioned her hands on either side of mine, but not touching me. I could feel a kind of indescribable force between her hands and when she took her hands away, the feeling was gone. It was amazing. I truly enjoyed meeting with her. I learned so much from just the short amount of time that we spent together, and I am now even considering learning Reiki myself.