What is Reiki and how does it work?
A quick overview about what is behind Reiki and why it is so incredibly popular
Have you been wondering what exactly this mysterious Reiki is that everyone seems to be talking about recently? Even in Germany this form of energy work is growing in acceptance and popularity.
In this blog I want to provide a little overview of what the meaning of Reiki is and how it works. You will also find a few explanations on why it is trending so much and what the big benefits of Reiki are.
What is the meaning of Reiki?
Reiki is a form of Japanese healing method that uses the never-ending all-encompassing life force to heal body, mind and sould. Rei means "universal" and "higher sphere", Ki means "energy of life".or "life force". Most possibly you are familiar with the expressions Chi, Qi (Chinese), Kundalini or Prana (Indian) - just think about Qigong, Tai Chi and Pranayama. All these names are an expression for the universal energy that permenates the entire universe.
This universal energy is everywhere and fuels all life - she is the source- In the western world there is the relatively new effort to explain this energy with means of quantum physics. In the eastern world and many indigenous cultures, however, since thousands of years this energy is already practically used for healing purposes.
During a Reiki treatment Ki is channeled by the Reiki practitioner and guided through the hands into the (energetic) body of the Reiki recipient. Frehs, pure energy is now flowing through the body and supports self-healing processes.
How exactly this works you can read in the next chapter!
How does Reiki work?
As soon as we establish a basic understanding about how everything in the universe is made and connected through energy, we can also recognize how we can influence our well-being with help of energy work and Reiki.
As mentioned above, everything is energy. You don't need to be spiritual or an quantum physicist to ackowledge the basic principles behind it - just simply remember that we and everything surrounding us is made up of the tiniest subatomic elements that are continuously in exchange with each other. A harmony of giving and taking that we cannot perceive with bare sight, but that we can feel when we are sensitive enough. During Reiki, the energetic exchange happens on a bio-magnetic frequency.
What does this specifically mean for us? How does this principle influence us and our health?
Don't we know it all too well? There are those days when we are bursting with energy, are super active and run around from one social event to the next - not taking time to rest and recharge. Some days later, totally inexplicably, we end up completely depleted and "low". In the most literal sense we need to charge our batteries again.
In another scenario we cannot stop mulling the same thoughts over and over in our mind. Work, studies or private matters are fighting for our attention and we tend to neglect our emotional and creative needs. Again, we feel low and burned out.
It is completely normal that our energy flow is interrupted in one way or another. Sometimes we give more energy away than we take in for ourselves. Sometimes we use one kind of energy more than another. The only important thing is to be mindful to those processes and take time to bring our energies back into balance.
When we don't return to a charged energy balance, those temporary energy lagging can turn into blockages. There blockages hinder an even flow of energy in the system and the exchange between the own energetic body and the surroundings.Imagine a stone in a river bed - the water needs to flow around it, ripples form and the flow is disturbed.
Those blockages form on a very high frequency and cannot be seen or even felt in the beginning. With time, however, they can manifest into lower frequencies impacting the mental, emotional and physical well-being. Most often we experience symptoms associated with the area the energetic blockage is occuring.
This is where Reiki and other energy work come into place. With releasing blockages on the high frequency by guiding pure life force into the area, the energy can flow freely again. The exchange of our energies with the outside world and a balanced state returns.
Obviously Reiki is not a little pill that works instantly by surpressing some symptoms. It works directly on the root cause - the energy imbalance. If the imbalance is small it can be resolved much quicker than a long-term blockage. Especially with chronic diseases and long-term pain there is a chance that there is a larger imbalance in place.
Again, think or the stone in the river. If there is only a little sand caught in a few tiny morsels, this can be removed fairly fast. However, if time has led to more stones accumulating and building a whole dam, then it takes much longer to carefully remove the blockage stone by stone. After all, we do not want to cause a whole flooding by bursting through the blockage.
What happens during a Reiki Treatment?
Each Reiki treatment starts with a short conversation about the current mood and the setting of intentions for the session. After an introductory meditation, the Reiki practitioner opens the space and the own reception for the universal energy with help of Reiki-symbols and initiates the first contact with the energy field of the patient.
Each and every Reiki practitioner has their own methods of treatment. Some let their hands hover above the body of the patient, others use physical contact and laying-on hands. Some use little helpers like crystals, sounds, mantra chanting and much more in combination with Reiki, others purely focus on the energy flow through the hands. Some let themselves be guided intuitively, others use a more systematic approach. There is no right or wrong - it just depends on what is resonating most with you.
Personally, I prefer laying my hands onto my patient's body and work up along the chakra system (energetic wheels according to vedic Indian teaching). Furthermore, I love using symbols, crystals and essential oils to supports the Reiki treatment, as long as I feel guided to do so. That implies that I won't always use all helpers and they can vary with each session and person.
At the end of the session we exchange perceptions and sensations of the experience from both sides. The practitiones might share the perceived blockages and share tipps on how to support the healing process.
Why is Reiki so popular?
The popularity and acceptance of Reiki is on the rise. Here are some reasons for this trend.
Softness - In comparison with many other methods of energy work like breath work or sound treatments, Reiki remains very gentle and is therefore suitable for most people, especially those who receive any kind of energetic treatment for the very first time
Passive Healing - You have no clue how to meditate? You cannot turn your mind off - or you just keep on falling asleep? None of this matters for Reiki. After all, the channeling and cleansing is done by the Reiki practitioner! Obviously it is super interesting to be able to reach a meditative state as you will be able to perceive those subtle changes and vibrations in your energetic field. However, even when you are asleep or up in your head - those vibrations and energies are there and work for you regardless.
(Dis-)Belief - Energy work is just a bunch of Hokuspokus and merely works as a placebo? Nope - that's not true! You are completely entitled to your own opinion it will still work!! The bio-magnetic changes happen whetheer you believe in them or not and can even be proven scientifically. Even the WHO (World Health Organization) acknowledges Reiki as an alternative healing method (view WHO global report on traditional and complementary medicine 2019).
Root - Approach - I mentioned above that Reiki works by cleansing and harmonizing energies on a high frequency. This means that it usually doesn't work instantly, however, it is a lasting sustainable elimination of the root cause. Once the energy can flow freely again and the blockages are removed, it is sufficient to use the own practice of cleansing or an occasional session to keep the flow state. After all, if you keep your appartment tidy all the time, then an occasional deep clease is sufficient as well ;))
Long-term and Inexplicable Symptoms - Especially with chronic complaints the western medicine comes to a halt. While there is no longer a trace of bacteria, virus, etc the symptons pervail. Energy work is a great method to deal with chronic pains as it targets the very root cause that usually lie in higher frequenicies.
Flexibility - My personal recommendation for a first time treatment is a session in person. This is not a necessity though. The universal energy exists at any time and any space, it is all connected and can hence be channeled by the practitioner from any place and can be send anywhere. A Reiki practitioner with a little experience is able to support you from the distance. This can be done through a video call or even completely independent - which brings me to my next point!
Support in important moments - You are nervous about an important exam or presentation? Maybe you need extra power for a competition? Or you crave energetic support for intense events like birthing a child? I can strongly recommend distance support through Reiki. It is based on the same principle like the in-person or online session. The difference is though that the intention is established before and generally the focus is not on cleansing, but on enpowering certain energetic areas/wheels to support you during your moment.
Intuitive Self-Healing - Reiki needs only little explenation. Should you ever feel the calling to learn this method, you can easily do the first Reiki Level within a few days. This enables you to perform self-healing and tune into the universal energies for yourself.
Convinced? Maybe you are buzzing to try Reiki - then shoot me a message and we discuss how to best support you!
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