Understanding Reiki I

PARTICIPANT’S HANDBOOK
UNDERSTANDING REIKI I

Alternative Views on Health

Patricia Guerard, Reiki Master

Patguerard@gmail.com
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How to Practice Meditative Breathing

1. Sit in a comfortable position. Holding hands loosely in your lap. Feet flat on
the floor or folded in your lap.

2. Close your eyes, keep your spine straight, and let your shoulders drop a
bit. (Later you can meditate with your eyes open).

3. Bring your attention to your belly, noticing it rise gently with each in-
breath, and fall softly with each out-breath. The rise and fall of your
abdomen as you breathe will be the focus of this meditation.

4. Keep your focus on your breathing - the rise and fall of the belly - “being
with” each in-breath for its full duration and “being with” each out-breath
for its full duration, as if riding the waves of your own breathing.

5. Every time you notice your attention is wandering, notice where your
attention has gone, then gently bring it back to the rise and fall of your
tummy as you breathe.

6. If your mind wanders a hundred times, then your “job” is simply to bring it
back, non-judgmentally, a hundred times. By non-judgmentally I mean
you do not judge the fact that your mind has wandered - because that's
what minds do! You simply bring your attention back to the rise and fall of
your belly without judgment.
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CAM Therapies
 Movement therapies
o Alexander technique
Acupuncture*
 Ayurveda* o Feldenkreis

 Biofeedback* o Pilates

 Chelation therapy* o Trager psychophysical

integration
 Chiropractic or osteopathic
manipulation*  Natural products
(nonvitamin and nonmineral,
 Deep breathing exercises such as herbs and other
products from plants,
 Diet-based therapies
enzymes, etc.)
o Atkins diet
 Naturopathy*
o Macrobiotic diet
 Progressive relaxation
o Ornish diet
 Qi gong
o Pritikin diet
 Tai chi
o South Beach diet
 Traditional healers*
o Vegetarian diet
o Botanica
o Zone diet
o Curandero
 Energy healing
o Espiritista
therapy/Reiki*
o Hierbero or Yerbera
 Guided imagery
o Native American
 Homeopathic treatment
healer/Medicine man
 Hypnosis*
o Shaman
 Massage*
 Yoga
 Meditation
An asterisk (*) indicates a
practitioner-based therapy.

https://nccih.nih.gov/
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Clearing a Sacred Space

“A Sacred Space can be
as small as the breath taken in during prayer,
as large as a cathedral or
as expansive as an ocean view”.
By Phylameana lila Desy

1. Sacred Space: This is a space that is set aside

intentionally for your personal connection with the
sacred. Pick an area or room and make it your own.
Remember the five senses – smell, touch, sight,
hearing and taste. Use colors that are calming, play
music that is soothing, scents that inspire and tastes
that inspirer focus. Only put things in this space that
remind you of your connection with the divine and
the sacred.

2. Space clearing: is making a space clean (energy-wise) for meditation or

just living. You can clean a space with intent, sound, scent, sun or salt.

 Ring a bell to begin.

 Light a candle to bring light into your space.
 Burn or spray incense to clear the air.
 Think thoughts of clearing the energy away and visualize it disappear.
 Next, place positive energy in the space by meditation or prayer. You
can charge a statue or crystal. You can paint the area a soothing color
or put up a poster. In your mind, dedicate this space to your practice of
spirituality.
 Put out your candle and incense, and ring a bell to signal the space is
cleared and you have finished.

Unless you already have a special peaceful place set up in your home I
suggest you challenge yourself to create a "sacred space" somewhere within
your living area. Perhaps you are fortunate enough to have an extra room you
can use to retreat to when you need some time to yourself. Consider setting
up a simple altar in an empty a closet and toss a couple of pillows on the floor
for use for quiet prayer or meditation. In other cultures, even the smallest
homes have altars and sacred areas; it is only in America that we seem to
have lost this custom.

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Origins of Reiki

Reiki means:
Rei – Sacred Chi – Life Force or flow
Chi can be translated as “sacred breath” or “spirit”
(Latin: spiritus or “breathing”) also called Prana, Qi, or Ki

What is Reiki Therapy?

Reiki Therapy promotes healing by using light touch and guided energy as
tools for pain management, stress/anxiety reduction, spiritual support and
more. It creates a quiet, peaceful space for healing during an otherwise
stressful, frightening time of illness.

The practice of Reiki is based on the concept that everything in the universe
is made of energy flowing around us and through us nourishing our cells,
organs and glands. This energy can be low, imbalanced, or restricted during
times of stress, injury, or illness, making us more susceptible to agitation,
discomfort, further illness, and disease.

To restore and balance our energy levels, Reiki Practitioners have learned
how to feel and use the energy around us, enabling the practitioners to
guide these resources into the recipient’s subtle energy system and awaken
the body’s own innate healing abilities.
Reiki is a spiritual practice developed in 1922 by Japanese
Buddhist Mikao Usui, who used a technique called palm healing as
a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
Through the use of this technique, sometimes referred to as
"tenohira" (meaning "the palm" in Japanese) practitioners work
with the chi energy in the bodies of their clients.
There are two main branches of Reiki, known as: Traditional
Reiki and Western Reiki. Within both forms, there are three
degrees - First, Second, and Master/Teacher degree.
According to Reiki tradition, a First Degree Reiki practitioner is
able to balance themselves and others, a Second Degree is able
to work with specialized symbols and balance others at a distance
(commonly called distant healing), and a Master/Teacher level is
able to teach and attune others to Reiki.
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Basic Spiritual Precepts of Reiki:

o All healing begins on the spiritual level.

o There needs to be an equal exchange of energy.

Five Principles of
Reiki
I. Just for today, I will not anger

II. Just for today, I will not worry

III. Just for today, I will be grateful

IV. Just for today, I will do my work honestly

V. Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing

“Every morning and every evening,

Join your hands in meditation and say this with your heart:
Invite your mind and chant with your mouth,
For the improvement of mind and body”.
Mikao Usui
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What are the benefits of Reiki?

o Restores the natural balance of chi energy in the body

o Promotes relaxation

o Alleviates pain

o Assists in creating a healthy mind/body environment

o Makes stress manageable

o Promotes a healing and restful sleep

Reiki goes to the deeper levels of the person’s being, where many diseases have
their origin. Reiki addresses causes, not just the results (symptoms). This makes Reiki
a method of healing with unpredictable effects. You don’t always consciously know
which part of your life needs healing most, but the Reiki energy will go to this area
first. Usui describes Reiki as “intuitive” because it goes where it is useful, it works
wherever it is most needed within the body, mind or spirit, releasing blocked
energies, cleansing the body of toxins and working to create a state of balance.

Reiki reinforces the ability to take responsibility of one’s life and helps you make the
necessary changes in attitude and lifestyle to promote a happier and healthier life.

Channeling Reiki does not deplete the practitioner’s energy. It energizes and
revitalizes.

Anyone can channel Reiki, even children. The beauty of Reiki is its simplicity. You do
not learn Reiki, you accept Reiki. It enhances and increases your natural ability to
heal. Working with Reiki increases your self-awareness and accelerates your spiritual
growth.

 The Reiki practitioner activates the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

 This energy comes from the Universe not the practitioner.

 Practitioners can direct this energy anywhere.

 This energy can only be used for positive purposes; it is spiritual,

vibrational, all encompassing and loving. It cannot be used for harm.

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Origins of Reiki
Dr. Mikao Usui
Dr. Mikao Usui (1865-1926),
Or” Usui Sensei” as he is called by his
students in Japan, is the founder of
the Usui System of Reiki.

He was born August 15, 1865 in the

village of Yago, in the Gifu Prefecture,
Japan, where his ancestors had lived
for eleven generations. His family
belonged to the Tendai sect of
Buddhism and so at age four, he was
sent to a Tendai Monastery to receive
his primary education.

He received a doctorate in literature.

He spoke numerous languages and
became well versed in medicine,
theology and philosophy.

Dr. Usui rediscovered that “chi” energy is in all of us and if used properly can
affect those around us. In order to give another person positive energy all we
need to do is to tap into our most positive spiritual energy and see it as light
flowing into the other person.

 The Practice of Reiki is focused on the flow of this energy, not the
energy itself.

 You can understand this energy in your own body by using Qi Gong.

 This energy will go where it is needed; in others, we cannot direct it.

 This energy will bring healing only if the recipient wants to heal.

 This energy if life affirming and energizes the practitioner as well as

the patient.

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Chujiro Hayashi,
A naval officer, studied with Usui from 1922. He received
his attunement in 1925. Hayashi was one of the first of
Usui’s non-Buddhist students.

Hayashi was a Methodist Christian, with very strong

beliefs, and was not open to the esoteric nature of what
Usui was teaching. Usui eventually sent Hayashi on his
way. Hayashi used the knowledge learned from Usui to
open a clinic in Tokyo.

He replaced some of the format of Usui’s teachings and

created a system of degrees. He also developed a
more complex set of hand positions suitable for clinic
use.

Hawayo Takata
Hayashi subsequently passed his knowledge to Mrs.
Hawayo Takata (1900- 1980) who features
prominently in Reiki history as the master who
brought Reiki to the Western world.
She lived in Hawaii and before her death in the
1970's, and taught 22 Reiki masters. Most of the
Reiki that we know in the western world comes
through the Takata lineage. This is the lineage that
we learning here.
Born December 24, 1900 in Hawaii, she visited
Japan to find healing and discovered the Reiki clinic
of Dr. Hayashi. With his support, she started a clinic
and school of her own in Hawaii. She was given the
master attunement in 1938.

She was known to charge $10,000 for Master Reiki

training as a means to create respect for the value of the Reiki system.

For more information:

The Spirit of Reiki - Lubeck, Petter and Rand

http://www.practicalreiki.com/modernhistory.htm

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Chakra System and Self Care

Seeing red, feeling blue, being green with envy are just some of the cultural
expressions that show colors have a significant influence on us, not to
mention music, scents or textures. Note the relationship between the
rainbow, the notes of the scale and the days of the week with the chakras.

Simple Chakra Exercises

1. Crown Chakra Exercise:
Activate this center through prayer, meditation or spiritual contemplation.

2. Brow Chakra Exercise:

Activate this center with visualization, creative imagination and lucid dreaming.

3. Throat Chakra Exercise:

Activate this center, gargling with saltwater, singing, or chanting.

4. Heart Chakra Exercise:

Activate this center by expressing love, appreciation, compassion
or swimming (breast stroke), and hugging.

5. Solar Plexus Chakra Exercise:

Activate this center by dancing, belly dancing especially and becoming
aware of your intuitions. (Gut feelings)

6. Sacral Chakra Exercise:

Activate this center with pelvic thrusts and circular pelvis movements.
Sexual energy needs little activation explanation.

7. Root Chakra Exercise: Activate this center by stomping your feet upon
the ground, sitting on the earth, going barefoot, feeling rooted to the earth.

Aura Cleansing Activities

Showering: consciously let the soap wash all you worries and woes away, down
the drain, and let the water - like light – energize and fill your aura with clean
energy for a new day.

Soak an Epsom salt bath, (! Part Epsom salt, ½ sea salt, ¼ baking soda and
add your favorite essential oils. Be aware that anything you put in the tub is
absorbed into your body. Only use food grade products.
Smudge yourself with a sage wand(Native American) , or sandalwood.
Take deep cleansing breaths when at work, wash your hands.
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Classic Chakras:

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7th: Sahasarara – top of the head –

Intelligence, God consciousness, spirituality
Transparent, white – Pituitary, hypothalamus
Clear quartz, diamond, Herkimer, zircon
Peppermint, lotus, lavender, myrrh

6th: Ajna - third eye- middle of forehead

Mind focus, wisdom, inner vision, intuition
Violet, indigo or deep blue. – pineal gland
Amethyst, tourmaline, iolite, labradorite, aquamarine,
Star anise, sandalwood, Pine, clove, rosemary

5th: Vishuddhi - throat –

Communication, expression, higher will, creative intelligence
Light blue, turquoise -- Thyroid
Lapis Lazuli, kyanite, blue topaz, selenite sapphire, turquoise, azurite
Frankincense, thyme, parsley, salt, lemon

4th: Anahata – heart –

Love, surrender, balance, acceptance, devotion
Green or pink -- Thymus, red blood cells
Rose quartz, rhodochrosite, lepidolite, kunzite,
or/Emerald aventurine serpentine, (turquoise for USA)
Rose, jasmine, basil, thyme

3rd Manipura – Solar Plexus -

Gut feelings, personal power, fear, simple or base emotions
Yellow – Pancreas, adrenal glands
Citrine, peridot, topaz, tiger eye, calcite
Lemon, ginger, saffron, celery, caraway, carnation, sesame, basil

2nd Swadhistana - Sacral/Genital -

Devotion, physical vitality, sexual desire, earthly attachments
Orange Amber -- ovaries, testes
Carnelian, fire opal,
Chocolate, dates cinnamon, mustard, apple, coriander,
fern, poppy, vanilla, gardenia, musk

1st: Muladhara (root chakra) – base of spine – perineum

Physical body, survival instinct, past impressions, fight or flight response
Red – base of the spine
Ruby, garnet, hematite, smoky quartz, jet, obsidian, agate
Barley, red cedar, curry, garlic, olive, sage, raspberry, angelica, bay

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Basic Self-Healing Hand Positions

Reiki Anywhere

Reiki Any time

Animals love Reiki too!

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“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience;

but spiritual beings having a human experience”.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Reiki Attunement Information

To be able to channel Reiki you need to be attuned to the 1st Degree. You
will receive four attunements which clear the healing channels and enable the
Reiki energy to flow easily through you. The empowerment is there for life.
You will also practice giving yourself and others healing treatments
under the supervision of the Reiki Master.

Deep spiritual, emotional and physical adjustments are set in motion by the
attunements to Reiki. Practicing Reiki every day and honoring the principles as
taught by Dr. Usui will bring you peace and fill your heart with the light and
love for all.

When you have enjoyed working with Reiki in your life for some time you may
wish to extend your healing capacity by requesting a 2nd Degree. Third degree
is master level when you are ready.

Attunements are the very core of the Usui method. They make this system
unique. Attunements will affect each person very differently depending on
your vibratory rhythm at the time you receive the attunement.
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The energy moves into the body in a clockwise spiraling movement and
begins to move us into the next level of vibration.

There is no limit to the attunements you can receive. Even though you need
only one attunement to have Reiki for the rest of your life, extra attunements
will further refine and strengthen your Reiki.

During the attunement process you will be seated with your hands in the
prayer position in front of your heart. The Reiki Master will touch your head or
neck, stand behind you and guide you to raise and lower your hands. The
Reiki Master is attuning your chakras to accept the new Reiki energies.

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Twenty-one day cleansing period after attunement

With each level in Reiki there is a higher rate of vibration which allows for a
wider channel of Chi (Universal Energy) to pass through the crown chakra. A
clearing of old patterns and thoughts must occur in order to assimilate this
new energy. This clearing takes place along the system of the seven chakra
centers. Beginning with the root chakra on day one and day by day moving up
through each chakra and ending at the crown. This repeats for weeks two and
three.

During this time you may experience a range of effects. Keep a journal of
your experiences and as a practitioner you should keep a record of your Reiki
sessions. This will become a valuable tool for learning and setting your goals
for the future.

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Easing the Cleansing Process:

Physical Purification
Flu-like symptoms may be experienced with minor discomforts.
To lessen the effects: Take long walks, exercise the entire body mildly or do yoga.
Breathe clean fresh air and drink lots of fresh water. Eat light nourishing meals,
which include fresh fruit, vegetables and juices. Try to stay away from alcohol,
caffeine, nicotine.

Emotional Purification
Deeply held emotions may surface for no apparent reason. Some people cry for no
reason.
To lessen the effects: Meditate, breathing in and out gently. Just experience these
feelings as they surface and let them go. Take a long hot bath in Epsom salts and
sea salt. Soak about 1/2 hr. This will relax you.

Mental Purification
Old thought forms, behavior patterns and habits may come to the surface.
Addictive desires for food, beverage, nicotine, caffeine, alcohol etc. may increase or
resurface.
To lessen the effects: Change your thoughts willfully to those of a more positive
nature. Be creative. Be kind to yourself, repeat positive affirmations, mantras, and
listening to your favorite music.

Spiritual Purification
Your beliefs may be shaken and challenged, beliefs in how the world operates, how
relationships should be, religion, what is important in your life. As this occurs,
insights, revelations and new understanding will become clear.
To lessen the effects: Talk to people you trust about your experiences, explore
other spiritual knowledge, read sacred books, think quietly on your own core
beliefs and treat yourself with love and kindness. You are gaining new levels of
understanding. Know that this process is perfectly normal. Be at peace. Let go and
let the Reiki energy move through you.

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How to Apply Reiki in Your Work?

Code of Ethics for Reiki Practitioners

This Reiki ethical code lays out the relationship between the practitioner and the client. It is
a code of conduct that the practitioner should follow with his client at all times.

1. Practice must be conducted with confidentiality and great discretion.

Practitioner-client confidentiality must be maintained at all costs. Anything that is discussed
between the two should not be disclosed. Personal details of the client should not be
revealed, unless the client himself has given you permission to do so. The Reiki practitioner
should not disclose or confirm the fact that a particular person is a client, unless he/she
has prior permission and the consent of the client to do so.

2. Client sessions should be held in a secure and comfortable place. The place
where the sessions are held should have an environment that is safe, supportive and
empowering.

3. At all times treat the client with great respect and honor.

4. Before the healer begins a Reiki session, he/she should give the client an oral or
written description of what he will experience during the session.

5. Each reiki practitioner must respect the opinion, views and methods
followed by other Reiki practitioners. It is entirely up to the practitioner to decide
whether he/she wants to learn from other healers or wants to follow their methods.

6. The practitioner should teach the clients the value of Reiki and explain to
them how to take care of themselves.

7. The practitioner should inform the client that Reiki is not replacement for
medical care. He/she should explain that it is important for the overall well-being of the
person.

8. The practitioner should find out whether the client is undergoing any
medical treatment. If the practitioner thinks that a client requires professional medical
attention then he should suggest to the client that he get it. Reiki is a supplement to
medical treatment and therefore the practitioner should be aware of any medical history of
the client.

9. The practitioner should never prescribe treatment to the client or interfere

with ongoing medical treatment.

10. The practitioner should not tell the client to disrobe unless he is also a legally
licensed massage therapist in the country in which he practices. He should never touch the
genital area or breasts. To treat these areas he should only practice hands-off techniques.

11. The practitioner should work on his own healing so as to embody and express
the essence of Reiki in everything they do.

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Reiki Treatments

1. Stand quietly and connect with the Reiki energy

The first action you take is to put your hands together as in your attunement
and connect with the Reiki energy.

2. Apply your hands to the crown chakra

Initially it is best to start with the crown chakra, you can feel the energy of
the person here and decide if it is best to touch or not to.

3. Combing the aura

This is an easy technique used for a quick grounding
and balancing. It relaxes and centers the client.

4. Chair technique
This is the way to work if you are without a table.
Begin at the head and focus on the flow of energy
throughout the body, from the head to the feet. Stop
at any points you feel need attention. In a wooden
chair you can work both front and back at the same
time.

5. Chakra Tuning
Chakras generally spin in a clockwise motion on the back of the client. Focus
on each chakra, balance it and spin it in the correct direction.

6. Full body scan

When working on a table, start at the head of the client and pass your palms
lightly over the central column of their body, sensing if there are any places
they may need special attention.

7. Individual area treatment

After a scan, if a particular area seems to need attention, place your palms on
or above the area and send Reiki energy here until you sense it is enoug

8. Closing the chakras

After each treatment remember to
 Mentally thank the Reiki energy for working with you
 Close the chakras and aura of your client
 Clean your hands of the energy of the session
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What is a Reiki Share?

A Reiki Share is a gathering of Reiki practitioners. The primary purpose of
having a "share" is for practitioners to work together to learn new techniques
and talk about current information.

Participating in a Reiki share is also a beneficial way of honoring one another

as healers. This type of Reiki treatment is a wonderful and often profound
experience!

Rather than have a single person treating a single person it is possible to have
many people treating a single person. Depending on how many people are
present, the amount of time for a treatment can be reduced. Many
practitioners can treat a client in about 10-15 minutes.

Although most reiki people will do self-treatments at home, it is always nice to

be treated by others. Treat yourself.

We also spend a little time sending some reiki energy out to individuals of our
choosing and to the world as a whole. There is often a meditation to start.

The other advantage of working in a group is that we learn about other reiki
centers, spas, therapies, courses, etc. A share can last anywhere from 2 to 4
hours or be an all day event. It depends on who is hosting and how many
people are attending.

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Resources
Books

Hands of Light
Barbara Ann Brennan

Beyond the Usui System

Karyn Mitchell PhD.Reiki

The Spirit of Reiki

Lubeck, Petter, Rand (Lotus Press) Reiki A
Torch in Daylight
Reiki (Vol I and II) Karyn Mitchell PhD.Reiki,
William Lee Rand
The Chakras
Love is In the Earth C.W. Leadbeater
Melody
Wheels of Light
Rosalyn L. Bruyere

Healer’s Handbook
Patricia Telesco

Essential Reiki
Diane Stein

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Links
US government complimentary therapies http://nccam.nih.gov

American Reiki Organization http://www.reiki.org/

Good reiki site http://www.threshold.ca/reiki/Usui-Gainen.html

For more links: http://www.reiki.org/FAQ/NetResourceLinks.html

Bridging the science and energy medicine http://www.issseem.org

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