Reiki is an ancient healing practice that allows initiates to tap into universal life-force energy and direct it with our intention and attention.
The form of Reiki healing as it is commonly practiced here in the west has its roots in 20th century Japan. Usui Sensei, beloved founder of the practice (not the energy, the energy was/has always been available in nature), had a spiritual awakening while fasting and meditating on a mountain.
Reiki was the result of this awakening. He developed a style of accessing and utilizing this life-force energy that was very useful. I call it “traditional” Reiki.
It is a very linear process. Step A, B, C, etc. It works very well for people who like structure and want to know exactly what comes next.
Fast forward 100+ years and jump over to a very different culture, a different landscape, a different pace, in a world with very different needs; traditional Reiki, while still amazing, can feel constrictive to many.
Usui was a student of Buddhism, of meditation, of awakening the vast consciousness found in stillness. Some would call this a masculine approach to spirituality.
Not because it’s for men. No, this has nothing to do with gender. But because in the system of polarity, consciousness, linear thinking, working with the mind is considered to be masculine.
It’s one part of the puzzle of healing, but leaves those of us who revel in the feminine, the dance, the mystery, the depths of emotion and intuition can feel left out.
Neither is right or wrong. Just like night and day, they are both important, yet very different.
I teach a blend of the traditional, formulaic approach and the intuitive approach that has organically emerged in my practice.
I believe that there is something here for everyone and it’s my goal to help students find their own unique style.
Recently I told a student (who is finishing Master Teacher training with me after doing levels 1 and 2 elsewhere) that I almost always start a session at the feet.
She stared at me, mouth hanging open for a moment before sharing that her instinct is to do this too, but she had been chastised in her earlier training that this goes against tradition.
Yes. Yes, it does. Tradition says start at the head. This doesn’t make sense to me for many reasons and I find that beginning at the feet provides much-needed grounding and a less in-your-face start to a session. Literally.
I’ve done it this way for twenty years and it works well for me. My clients seem to enjoy it.
The history of Reiki is riddled with similar stories of evolution: students breaking the mold that was handed down but never really fit.
I offer something different. Let’s call it a buffet. On the buffet you’ll find a structure that you can use to get your bearings. Like training wheels. Then, maybe you learn to let go of the support when it becomes unnecessary over time. You can either continue going in that same direction or allow your intuition to guided you.
For me, this is a very personal practice. The more authentic I am, the more healing energy can flow through me.
If you’ve been trained in a strictly traditional fashion and feel too cramped, I invite you to spread your wings and experiment. The most important thing you can know about Reiki is that it can do no harm. Even when you start at the feet. I promise!
If you’d like to learn a different, less traditional, less restrictive way, what I call a natural evolution for those of us who aren’t monks in Japan in the 1900’s… well, I can teach you.
There’s a level 1 training coming up in Philly. I also teach virtual classes. Live classes, in real time, not recorded. I’m happy to discuss setting something up if that appeals to you.
Luminous Heart Reiki & Massage 