Reiki Basics: Universal Life Force Energy Healing Guide
Share
What Is Reiki? Healing Hands, Universal Energy
Reiki (pronounced "RAY-kee") is a Japanese energy healing technique that channels universal life force energy through the practitioner's hands to promote healing, balance, and wellness. The word Reiki comes from two Japanese words: "Rei" (universal/spiritual) and "Ki" (life force energy). Together, they mean "spiritually guided life force energy."
Developed by Dr. Mikao Usui in Japan in the early 1900s, Reiki is based on the principle that a universal life force energy flows through all living things. When this energy is low or blocked, we experience illness, stress, or imbalance. When it flows freely, we experience health, vitality, and wellbeing. Reiki practitioners act as channels for this healing energy, allowing it to flow through them to wherever it's needed most.
This comprehensive guide will teach you Reiki basics, how it works, the principles and symbols, and how you can begin working with this gentle yet powerful healing modality.
How Does Reiki Work?
The Concept: Everything is energy vibrating at different frequencies. Illness, stress, and imbalance are areas of low or blocked energy. Reiki raises the vibration and clears blockages, allowing the body's natural healing abilities to activate.
The Process: The Reiki practitioner places their hands on or above the recipient's body. Universal life force energy flows through the practitioner (who acts as a channel, not the source) and into the recipient. The energy goes where it's needed most—the body's innate wisdom directs the healing.
The Experience: Recipients often feel warmth, tingling, or deep relaxation. Some see colors or have emotional releases. Others simply feel peaceful. The energy works whether you feel it or not.
The Science: While Reiki is spiritual in nature, studies show it can reduce stress, anxiety, and pain, improve sleep, and support overall wellbeing. It's used in many hospitals as complementary therapy.
The Five Reiki Principles
Dr. Usui created five principles (or precepts) as a spiritual foundation for Reiki practice:
Just for today, I will not worry.
Release anxiety about the future. Stay present.
Just for today, I will not anger.
Let go of anger and resentment. Choose peace.
Just for today, I will be grateful.
Practice gratitude for all blessings, big and small.
Just for today, I will do my work honestly.
Live with integrity. Do your best in all things.
Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing.
Show compassion to yourself and all beings.
Practice: Recite these principles daily, especially before giving Reiki. They cultivate the mindset for healing work.
Reiki Levels & Attunements
Reiki is traditionally taught in three levels, each requiring an "attunement" from a Reiki Master.
Level 1 (Shoden): Physical Healing
What You Learn:
• Reiki history and principles
• How to channel Reiki energy
• Hand positions for self-healing
• Hand positions for healing others
• Basic energy concepts
Attunement: Opens your energy channels to receive and transmit Reiki. This is a sacred ceremony performed by a Reiki Master.
After Level 1: You can give Reiki to yourself, others (in person), animals, and plants.
Level 2 (Okuden): Mental/Emotional Healing
What You Learn:
• Three Reiki symbols and their uses
• Distance healing (sending Reiki across time/space)
• Mental and emotional healing techniques
• Deeper energy work
Symbols Received:
• Cho Ku Rei (Power symbol)
• Sei He Ki (Mental/Emotional symbol)
• Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen (Distance symbol)
After Level 2: You can send distance healing, work with symbols, and do deeper healing work.
Level 3 (Shinpiden): Master/Teacher Level
What You Learn:
• Master symbol (Dai Ko Myo)
• How to perform attunements
• How to teach Reiki
• Advanced techniques
• Spiritual development
After Level 3: You can teach Reiki and attune others. This is a serious commitment to the practice.
The Reiki Symbols
Note: Traditionally, symbols are kept sacred and only shared with attuned students. Here's what they do:
Cho Ku Rei (Power Symbol)
Meaning: "Place the power of the universe here"
Uses:
• Increases Reiki power
• Focuses energy on specific area
• Protection
• Cleansing spaces
• Sealing energy after treatment
How to Use: Draw or visualize the symbol, say its name three times, and direct energy where needed.
Sei He Ki (Mental/Emotional Symbol)
Meaning: "God and humanity become one"
Uses:
• Emotional healing
• Mental clarity
• Releasing trauma
• Addiction recovery
• Balancing left and right brain
• Clearing negative patterns
Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen (Distance Symbol)
Meaning: "No past, no present, no future" or "The Buddha in me reaches out to the Buddha in you"
Uses:
• Sending Reiki across distance
• Sending to past or future
• Healing past trauma
• Sending to future events
• Connecting across time and space
Dai Ko Myo (Master Symbol)
Meaning: "Great shining light" or "Treasure house of the great beaming light"
Uses:
• Spiritual healing
• Soul-level work
• Attunements
• Highest vibration healing
• Connecting to divine source
Reiki Hand Positions
Self-Reiki Hand Positions
Hold each position for 3-5 minutes, or until you feel the energy shift:
1. Crown: Hands on top of head
2. Eyes: Hands over eyes
3. Ears: Hands cupping ears
4. Throat: Hands on throat (gently)
5. Heart: Hands on chest
6. Solar Plexus: Hands on upper abdomen
7. Sacral: Hands on lower abdomen
8. Root: Hands on hips or upper thighs
9. Knees: Hands on knees
10. Feet: Hands on feet
Full Session: 30-60 minutes
Treating Others
Front of Body:
• Head (crown, eyes, ears, throat)
• Shoulders
• Heart
• Solar plexus
• Lower abdomen
• Hips
• Knees
• Feet
Back of Body:
• Shoulders
• Upper back
• Mid back
• Lower back
• Backs of knees
• Feet
Full Session: 60-90 minutes
How to Give Yourself Reiki
Note: Ideally, receive Level 1 attunement first. However, anyone can work with healing energy and intention.
Step-by-Step:
1. Prepare: Find quiet space, sit or lie comfortably
2. Ground: Take deep breaths, feel connected to earth
3. Set Intention: "I open myself to receive Reiki healing for my highest good."
4. Invoke: Ask Reiki energy to flow through you (or simply intend it)
5. Hand Positions: Follow the positions above, 3-5 minutes each
6. Feel the Energy: Notice warmth, tingling, or peace
7. Trust: Energy goes where needed, even if you don't feel it
8. Close: Thank the energy, ground yourself, drink water
Daily Practice: Even 10-15 minutes of self-Reiki daily makes a difference.
How to Give Reiki to Others
Preparation:
1. Get Permission: Always ask before giving Reiki
2. Create Space: Quiet, comfortable, warm room
3. Wash Hands: Physical and energetic cleansing
4. Ground Yourself: Be centered and present
5. Set Intention: For highest good of recipient
During Session:
1. Recipient Lies Down: Fully clothed, comfortable
2. Invoke Reiki: Silently or aloud
3. Scan Energy: Hold hands above body, feel for hot/cold spots
4. Hand Positions: Follow traditional positions or intuition
5. Stay Present: Be a clear channel, don't force
6. Notice Sensations: Heat, cold, tingling, pulsing
7. Trust: Energy knows where to go
After Session:
1. Seal Energy: Use Cho Ku Rei or visualize sealing
2. Ground Recipient: Have them rest, drink water
3. Wash Hands: Release any absorbed energy
4. Ground Yourself: Shake off energy, ground
5. Hydrate: Both of you drink water
Distance Reiki (Level 2+)
How It Works: Energy transcends time and space. Using the distance symbol, you can send Reiki anywhere, anytime.
How to Send:
1. Get permission (or send to highest good)
2. Create representation (photo, name written, teddy bear, etc.)
3. Draw or visualize distance symbol
4. State recipient's name and location
5. Give Reiki to the representation
6. Energy reaches the actual person
7. Close and seal
Uses:
• Sending to loved ones far away
• Healing past trauma
• Preparing for future events
• Sending to situations or places
• Group healing
What Reiki Can Help With
Physical:
• Pain relief
• Faster healing from injury/surgery
• Reduced inflammation
• Better sleep
• Increased energy
• Immune support
Mental/Emotional:
• Stress reduction
• Anxiety relief
• Depression support
• Emotional release
• Mental clarity
• Peace and calm
Spiritual:
• Spiritual growth
• Connection to higher self
• Chakra balancing
• Aura cleansing
• Increased intuition
• Sense of purpose
Important: Reiki complements but doesn't replace medical care. Always see doctors for medical issues.
Reiki for Animals & Plants
Animals:
• Love Reiki! Very receptive
• May move away when they've had enough
• Great for anxiety, illness, end-of-life comfort
• Can be done hands-on or at distance
Plants:
• Respond beautifully to Reiki
• Hold hands near plant
• Send energy to roots, stems, leaves
• Plants often grow faster and healthier
Common Reiki Experiences
During Session:
• Warmth or heat from practitioner's hands
• Tingling or pulsing sensations
• Deep relaxation or falling asleep
• Seeing colors or visions
• Emotional release (crying, laughing)
• Feeling nothing (energy still works!)
After Session:
• Deep peace and calm
• Increased energy or need to rest
• Emotional processing
• Vivid dreams
• Detox symptoms (drink water!)
• Shifts in perspective or clarity
Becoming a Reiki Practitioner
Finding a Teacher:
• Look for certified Reiki Master
• Check lineage (traceable to Usui)
• Trust your intuition
• Ask about their training and experience
• Ensure they teach all levels properly
Training:
• Level 1: Usually 1-2 day workshop
• Level 2: After practicing Level 1 (varies)
• Level 3: Serious commitment, often requires apprenticeship
• Practice between levels is essential
Cost: Varies widely. Traditional teaching involves energy exchange (payment), but should be accessible.
Final Thoughts: Healing Hands, Open Heart
Reiki is a gift—a simple yet profound way to channel healing energy for yourself and others. It requires no special abilities, just an open heart and willingness to be a channel for universal love and light.
Whether you receive Reiki, give it to yourself, or become a practitioner, you're tapping into an ancient healing tradition that recognizes the fundamental truth: we are all energy, and energy can heal.
The beauty of Reiki is its simplicity. Hands on body. Energy flows. Healing happens. It's that simple, and that profound.
Ready to experience Reiki? Find a practitioner for a session, or seek out a Reiki Master to begin your training. The healing energy is waiting.
Reiki works whether or not you understand how it works — the life force energy it channels doesn't require belief to flow, which is one of the things that makes it so accessible as a first energy healing practice. Reiki Healing: Complete Guide to Universal Life Force Energy gives you the deeper theoretical and practical framework that this introduction opens the door to, and Chakra Healing: Complete Guide to Balancing Your Energy System shows you how reiki and chakra work integrate naturally — reiki flows most powerfully when the chakras are open and aligned. The Reiki Healing Symbols Mandala Flag brings the sacred symbols of reiki into your healing space as a visual anchor — a beautiful way to hold the energy of your practice between sessions. For deepening that connection, I personally find the Sacred Space Cleanse invaluable for preparing the energetic field before any reiki work, and the Emotional Filter Ritual Kit feels like a natural extension for clearing the emotional residue that reiki often brings to the surface. The Void Whisper Audio is wonderful for the deep rest that follows a reiki session, while the Inner Sunlight Audio helps sustain that radiant calm. And for those drawn to the lunar rhythms that so beautifully align with reiki's flow, the 13 New Moon Rituals has become a quiet companion in my own practice.
