Reiki is a gentle form of hands-on healing brought to us in the late 1800s by Mikao Usui, a Japanese man who discovered Reiki while meditating on a mountaintop.

During a traditional in-person Reiki session, the Reiki practitioner places his or her hands on or near various locations of the body of the person requiring healing. (These areas generally correspond with the chakras, or energy centers.) During a distance Reiki session, the Reiki practitioner sends Reiki energy to the client directly through means of meditation and visualization.

The Reiki practitioner serves as a “channel” or conduit to an intelligent universal life energy that “knows” how to work with the person who is healing to produce what often can be fast and dramatic results. Healing occurs on all levels: spiritual, mental, emotional and physical. It is up to the person being healed to accept the energy and “heal themselves”; the Reiki practitioner is thus a facilitator and not the actual healer.

Blocked or negative energy may manifest as physical illness or negative emotional patterns. Negative energy may also make you vulnerable to other negative energies that make your life difficult. When you connect to the Reiki energy, negative or stuck energy is moved and transmuted – “healed” as it were – into positive energy. This positive energy creates greater health, both on the physical and emotional level. It also helps you create more positive experiences in life.

Reiki can go beyond just healing to a complete spiritual practice and way of life. The wonderful thing about Reiki is that it is non-denominational and can be a supplement to any number of religious beliefs.