A lot of people are Reiki practitioners, but what is it, what can it do, and what goes into the training?

It is the form of energy healing that has been studied the most and has the most evidence to support its efficacy. Many hospitals use it, and nurses can receive continuing education credits for it. I had a handful of nurses from City of Hope come through all three levels a number of years ago. It is complimentary with all other forms of healing. It works especially well with massage and acupuncture, and is an excellent companion to crystals, colored light, and sound. Newborns respond well to it, and dogs love it most of the time. Cats, on the other hand, run Reiki naturally, and can be judge-y about your technique. I know mental health practitioners who use it, and one of my favorite tattoo artists is trained in it.

Studies have shown that Reiki is an effective approach to decrease the levels of pain, depression, and anxiety. Qualitative analyses have found that individuals report that Reiki induces relaxation and enhances spiritual well-being. Another study suggests both biochemical and physiological changes in the direction of relaxation during and after a 30 minute Reiki treatment.

Reiki is a form of energy work that anyone can use, once trained. It flows naturally through us once the correct channels have been opened and all blocks removed. I find that a certain amount of information and training certainly helps; I have had students over the years take my classes to supplement an original class, simply because their original training was fairly surface level. It is understandable that some Third Level Reiki Practitioners offer attunements without in depth training (I do not), since it is a flow we can all have access to. That being said, people who would like to use it professionally usually want to have a solid grasp of all of its aspects.

The majority of the Reiki classes in the United States are the American form of Reiki brought through Hawayo Takata. It is formatted for Westerners, with strict forms, and the training somewhat simplified. The training in Japan is less strict, in some ways, but also has a lot more practice involved in the certification process; it also has a stronger emphasis on the spiritual philosophy aspects. As such, there are some other techniques brought to the table.

My training goes over anatomy as well as energy centers, goes into ethics and legality, as well as best practices for working with clients – it is heavy on the practice end of things. I also incorporate some of the Japanese information, and we take a more analytical look at the history and legends. I put levels one and two into one weekend because so much of the information flows together, and if you want to work on other people, it’s better, in my opinion, to have level two training. I incorporate the Japanese information, because it’s important. And, like so many of my classes, as new information is revealed to me, it gets added to the class, so no two classes are ever quite the same.

I prefer to work with new students in person, because supervising and training someone in the work, to me, requires being in the same place. I will work online with people with whom I have worked in the past, or people who are trained but looking for a refresher. I’m offering an online refresher course February 11th and 12th, 2023. Let me know if you’re interested!