Reiki Healing

Reiki is a hands on method of healing that uses the Ki, or Chi, the universal life force, manipulating it and helping the body to detoxify itself and purge the system of impurities. To learn how to become a Reiki healer it is wise to first know a little bit about where Reiki came from. A Japanese Buddhist named Mikao Usui is believed to have discovered Reiki. Legend says that he went through a long period of mediation, fasting and prayer. He believed that he had gained knowledge and spiritual power through mystical revelation, and called this Reiki. The idea was to enhance the ability of an individual to access life force energy. All people he believed had a natural ability to connect with the Ki, and Reiki tuned the abilities, allowing healing. The first people who wished to become Reiki healers were the disciples of Usui. One of these disciples, Chujiro Hayashi, began to teach a simplified set of Reiki techniques . He came up with fixed hand positions that should be used during treatment. Usui however said the hand positions were for beginners and preferred a method he called scanning to detect imbalances.

When learning to become a Reiki healer it is necessary also to chose a school. There are two groups of schools in Reiki, the traditional school and the independent school. The members of the traditional school believe that they practice Reiki as it was taught from the time of Usui to the time of Takata, the Reiki disciple who brought the practice to the United States. There is also a branch of traditionalists who adhere to what they call the rediscovered Japanese school methods. Independent schools can vary greatly in their practice and their methods. They include those that came form the line of Iris Ishikuro who adhere to traditional Reiki practice but do not believe in the practice Takata had of charging $10,000 to attain Reiki Master level. There are also newer schools which add elements to traditional Reiki or claim to have been developed independently.

As Reiki has grown in popularity it has become recognized by many organizations. The National Health Service of the UK for instance includes Reiki as part of its CAM or Complementary and Alternative Medicine program.