What is Reiki All About ?

Reiki (pronounced "ray-kee") is an energy medicine practice that originated in Japan. In Reiki, the practitioner places his/her hands on or near the person receiving treatment, with the intent to transmit Ki, believed to be life-force energy. Those that practice Reiki, believe that they can treat themselves and send Ki across a short or long distance.

The word Reiki is made up of two Japanese words: Rei, or universal spirit and Ki, which is referred to as life energy. Thus, the word Reiki means "universal life energy." It belongs to an area of knowledge called energy medicine. In this practice, therapies are based on the belief that disturbances in energy cause illness. Reiki practitioners seek to improve the flow and balance of energy in a beneficial way.

Reiki energy has several basic effects: it brings about deep relaxation, destroys energy blockages, detoxifies the system, provides new vitality in the form of healing universal life energy, and increases the vibrational frequency of the body. Reiki is believed to have begun in Tibet several thousand years ago. People in the orient studied energies and developed a system of sounds and symbols for universal healing energies. Various healing systems, which crossed many different cultures, emerged from this single root system. There are many forms of Reiki being practiced now. The two principal forms are the "Usui System of Natural Healing" (named after Dr. Mikao Usui who rediscovered the root system in the late 1800s) and the Radiance Technique.

Reiki was introduced to the Western World in the mid-1970s. Since then, its use has spread dramatically worldwide. Reiki is capable of healing anything because it works at very fundamental levels of reality. In any healing the goal is to find the limitation, recognize the pattern, recognize where it came from, and let it go. Reiki accomplishes this by providing the recipient enough energy to step above (metaphysically) to see all that and have the courage to let go.

Practitioners perform Reiki most often in offices, hospitals, clinics and private homes. The practitioner and client determine the number of sessions together. Reiki is useful in treating sports injuries, internal diseases, emotional disorders and stress related illnesses just to name a few.