A Brief History of Reiki

Life-force energy, variously known as chi, ki, prana, pneuma or ka, has been used for healing purposes by all cultures since the beginnings of human civilization. Acupuncture, which directs and unblocks chi in the body (according to the classical Chinese understanding of the subject) is one example of using life-force energy to relieve pain and rebalance health. Reiki is another method, and it was formalized by a Buddhist civil servant named Mikao Usui, in Japan, circa 1921. Usui had encountered some personal difficulties, and had gone to a Japanese holy site, Mount Kurama, to fast and meditate. On the 21st day of the fast, close to death, he was overcome by a huge burst of life-force energy, which he was later to name Reiki.

Dr. Usui found that after this extraordinary experience he was able to promote healing in others by projecting Reiki energy through his hands towards them. His healing work was acknowledged by the Emperor, who awarded him a gold commemorative coin, one of only a few bestowed annually upon persons making remarkable contributions to society.

In the past, when healers managed to harness life-force energy for the purpose of healing, their methods were usually retained as closely guarded family secrets, with the knowledge being passed down from father to son, or from mother to daughter, for generations. That family would become known as the village’s healers. What is remarkable about Mikao Usui and about Reiki is that Usui was willing to share his method with all of humanity, and devised a simple method, known as giving attunements, to do so. Reiki can be learned in a weekend.

In the Reiki method of healing the practitioner puts her hands on or above the client’s body, usually in a mixture of 12 standard hand positions. The practitioner guides universal chi or ki into the individual client’s personal system of ki, relaxing, refreshing and rebalancing the client. The most usual sensation experienced by the client is one of profound relaxation – and it is in this state that the body is best able to heal itself. Clients suffering pain usually experience the relaxation as pain relief.