Reiki

Reiki is a spiritual practice that is used as a complementary therapy. It was developed in 1922 by Mikao Usui in Japan who then began his own school and began teaching his practices to his students who have spread the practice around the world. Practitioners use a technique similar to the laying on of hands, which they say channels "healing energy" (a form of ki) through their palms. Reiki teachings claim that there is an inexhaustible, universal life force or spiritual energy that can be used to induce a healing effect and believers say that anyone can gain access to this energy by means of an attunement process carried out by a Reiki Master.

Reiki is described by adherents as a holistic therapy which brings about healing on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. The belief is that the energy will flow through the practitioner's hands whenever the hands are placed on, or held near a potential recipient, who are usually clothed. Some teachings stress the importance of the practitioner's intention or presence in this process, while others claim that the energy is drawn by the recipient's injury to activate or enhance the natural healing processes.

In a typical whole-body Reiki treatment, the practitioner asks the recipient to lie down, usually on a massage table, and relax. Loose, comfortable clothing is usually worn during the treatment. The practitioner might take a few moments to enter a calm or meditative state of mind and mentally prepare for the treatment. The treatment proceeds with the practitioner placing his hands on the recipient in various positions. However, practitioners may use a non-touching technique, where the hands are held a few centimetres away from the recipient's body, for some or all of the positions. The hands are usually kept still for 3 to 5 minutes before moving to the next position. Overall, the hand positions usually give a general coverage of the head, the front and back of the torso, the knees and the feet. Between 12 and 20 positions are used, with the whole treatment lasting 45 to 90 minutes.

It is reported that the recipient often feels warmth or tingling in the area being treated, even when a non-touching approach is being used. A state of deep relaxation, combined with a general feeling of well-being, is usually the most noticeable immediate effect of the treatment, although emotional releases can also occur. As the Reiki treatment is said to be stimulating natural healing processes, instantaneous 'cures' of specific health problems are not usually observed and a series of three or more treatments, typically at intervals of 1 to 7 days, is usually recommended if a chronic condition is being addressed. Regular treatments on an on-going basis can be used with the aim of maintaining well-being. The interval between such treatments is typically in the range of 1 to 4 weeks, except in the case of self-treatment when a daily practice is common.

Localised Reiki treatments involve the practitioner's hands being held on or near a specific part of the body. Recent injuries are usually treated in this way with the site of injury being targeted. There is great variation in the duration of such treatments, though 20 minutes might be typical. Some practitioners use localised treatments for certain ailments and some publications have tabulated appropriate hand positions. However other practitioners prefer to use the whole body treatment for all chronic conditions on the grounds that it has a more holistic effect. Another approach is to give a whole body treatment first followed by a localised treatment.

More information about Reiki can be found on Wikipedia.