What is Reiki?

by Curtis Lang		print version
		print version (graphics)

In Japanese, the ideographic characters of the alphabet are called kanji.The word Reiki is made up of two kanji – Rei and Ki . Reiki is a Japanese word. In Japanese, Rei means Universal and Ki means Energy.

Thus the word Reiki is often translated as Universal Life Force Energy, electrical excitation or aura. This energy is called chi by the Chinese, prana by Hindus. 

Reiki is also a Twentieth Century Japanese system of natural healing and spiritual enlightenment, introduced to the world by Dr. Mikao Usui. Usui called his system Usui Shiki Reiki Ryoho , which means The Usui System of Reiki Healing.

 Dr. Usui traveled all over Japan practicing Reiki healing, and taught over 2000 students in his lifetime. He died March 9, 1926.

Today millions of people around the world have experienced the benefits of Reiki.

Since Dr. Usui’s death, a holistic approach to health has opened Western minds to the ancient arts of Eastern energy healing as practiced in the Ayurvedic, Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese traditions.

Yoga, meditation, t’ai chi, martial arts, acupuncture, Chinese and Tibetan herbal medicine, homeopathy and more recently Reiki, have brought us new perspectives on health and wellness.

We now know that the flow of energy in our spine, and throughout our bodies, may be just as important to our health as the strength of our bones and muscles.

“Health, according to the energy model, is the harmonious flow of life energy, while imbalances in this flow (due to unhealthy habits) result in illness,” says Dr. Andrew Weill in his bestselling book, "Spontaneous Healing".

"The prana in the human body flows along subtle channels, known in Sanskrit as nadis," explains Shri Anandi Ma, Guru of Kundalini Maha Yoga, along with her husband, Dileepji Patak, in the liner notes to their beautiful CD Healing Mantras. "It is said that there are 72,000 nadis in the human system, which extend in every anatomical region. Like branches, they flow into a central "trunk" called the shushumna. The shushmna lies within the spinal cord and runs from the base of the spine to the top of the head. It is the center of the pranic flow in the human system."

"Inside the shushmna are seven major intersections where large groups of nadis flow together," Shri Anandi Ma and Dileepji continue. "These seven junctions, known as chakras (literally, 'wheels'), serve to regulate all pranic flow in the human system."

"Nadis and chakras are not physical entities," say Ma and Dileepji, "but subtle structures that are very sensitive to the vibrations of prana."

Reiki practitioners balance and fine-tune this complex system of subtle energy pathways and circuits that nourish the body and equilibrate mind, body and emotions. Reiki energy replenishes both the physical body and the subtle body, called the aura, with a strong flow of Universal Life Force Energy.

Reiki energy treatments optimize the chakra system and strengthen the meridians and the nadi system that transmits energy throughout the human energy field and the body, enhancing the flow of energy throughout, improving the body’s immune system and natural healing ability.

Reiki treatments can reduce the imbalances in the flow of prana, and restore a healthy, strong flow of energy throughout the human body and aura. This is the basis for all energy healing, including Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic (Hindu) medicine, shamanic healing, and healings done through the power of prayer and other spiritual practices.

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