Special Uses for Reiki
There are many contexts in which reiki is used, and in this chapter we’ll take a look at some of the unique settings in which reiki is practiced. Reiki does not require a specific belief system in order to be effective (beyond a willingness to receive the energy); thus, people from all walks of life seek out and benefit from reiki treatment. In my own practice, I see clients who have wide-ranging spiritual beliefs, such as devout Christians, practicing witches, and atheists. People come for many different reasons, too. Some seek guidance on an important decision, need physical healing, desire improved focus and concentration prior to an important event, or feel energetically “off” and want to hit the reset button. Others simply wish to relax and let go of stress.
Medical Reiki
One prominent organization for medical reiki is Raven Keyes Medical Reiki International. Reiki master Raven Keyes developed a set of protocols, which she calls the “Gold Standards and Best Practices,” for practitioners working in medical settings, and she pairs members of her organization with surgeons and healthcare facilities that wish to use reiki during medical procedures. Reiki master Pamela Miles also has extensive experience working in medical settings, has participated in clinical research on the healing effects of reiki, and teaches a course for those who wish to take their reiki practice into the world of conventional healthcare. More hospitals are offering reiki to their patients, citing benefits like stress reduction, pain relief, improved quality of sleep, decreased muscle tension, and accelerated wound healing. A 2017 article in The Cut states that “about 60 U.S. hospitals offer reiki sessions, including New York-Presbyterian, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and UCLA Medical Center; as of 2014, over 800 hospitals offer reiki training.” 1
If you are interested in pursuing reiki training for medical applications, look for a course that will help you hone your ability to present the benefits of reiki to medical professionals and collaborate with healthcare providers to best serve the needs of the patient. Courses will often cover scientific research, allowing you to present well-rounded information about reiki treatment without making claims regarding specific outcomes. Typically, you will learn how to work safely in a medical environment, including adhering to Standard Precautions, which are designed to minimize the transmission of infectious conditions, and administering reiki effectively without obstructing any medical interventions.
One very exciting aspect of bringing reiki into medical facilities is the blending of spiritual and scientific perspectives. Some practitioners feel this compromises or dilutes the practice of reiki, but in my view, reiki is more than robust enough to handle enquiry from many different angles, including a scientific one. It’s likely that we will never definitively answer all our questions about how reiki effects healing, but the process of asking these questions and bringing practitioners from many different disciplines together to explore them, I feel, honors the holistic, collaborative energy of reiki.
Reiki for Children
Most of the techniques already presented in this book can be used with children, using your discretion and based on the child’s comfort level. With reiki treatments, it’s often a good idea to start with shorter sessions, from 5 to 30 minutes, adjusting as needed if the child wants to stop. As with adults and animals, always ask permission before giving reiki. Take some time to explain why you’d like to administer reiki and what the child might expect, such as sensing warmth in your hands or tingling in their body. I also like to show kids how to give themselves reiki. While some feel that the child must be attuned in order to do so, in my experience we are all natural conduits of reiki, and this seems particularly true for children, who typically have less of the energetic filters and blockages that many of us develop throughout life. Whether or not you agree, showing a child how to soothe themselves by placing their hands on their body in a therapeutic manner is a beautiful practice.
Space Cleansing
Turn physical cleaning into an energetic cleanse by charging cleansing implements (dust pans, brooms, spray bottles of natural cleaners, etc.) with reiki: Simply place your hands over the tool and allow reiki to flow. It can be fun (and effective) to chant a mantra together while you do this (see page 152), supercharging the flow of reiki. Then, use your magickal cleaning tools to physically and energetically cleanse the child’s room and play spaces.
Explore fun and easy-to-implement ways to incorporate reiki into your child’s morning and evening routines, such as beginning the day with a little mantra chanting to wake the mind and balance the energy field. Show children how to draw a reiki symbol over their breakfast (Symbol One is a good choice due to its simple design; see page 153), that day’s outfit, homework, or athletic equipment. Before bed, a short reiki treatment is a great way to let go of the day and transition into a peaceful night’s sleep.
Reiki Boost
To create a healing touchpoint that can be used throughout the day, charge a piece of jewelry, a favorite writing pen or pencil, or other object that your child has ready access to. You can set an intention for the item together, such as “I feel calm and know that I can ask for help anytime” or “I love myself no matter what happens.” With this intention in mind, hold your hands over the object (you can do this with your child), and allow reiki to flow. Whenever the child needs a little reiki boost, simply holding the item will initiate a healing flow of energy.
Working with the Precepts
The reiki precepts (see Chapter 13) are a wonderful tool for spiritual growth for kids and adults alike. You might recite them together, perhaps each morning, or use them as a focus for discussion. For example, at the end of the day, you might have a family check-in and reflect on any challenging situations that triggered anger or worry and how you handled it, listing what you’re grateful for and why, and so on. Kids can also use a precept as a journal or art prompt, helping them go deeper with the concept in a more self-directed manner.
Reiki for Animals
There are numerous practitioners bringing reiki to the animal world, such as the Animal Reiki Alliance, founded by Kathleen Lester, which offers in-person and distance reiki treatments for animals and their caregivers. Lester also provides reiki services through the Loving Pet Care Hospital in Baltimore, MD, as standalone sessions or as a pre-, intra-, and post-operative treatment.
Kathleen Prasad is the founder of Animal Reiki Source and developer of the Let Animals Lead method, which encourages a meditative approach of collaborating with the animal over doing reiki “to” them. On her website, she outlines seven guiding principles for working more effectively with animals, starting with intent.2 Prasad advocates always asking the animal for permission before administering reiki. Allow the animal to initiate touch, and let the animal guide you in where it wants to be touched, if at all. Allow the animal to move freely during the treatment, and relax your focus rather than trying to “beam” or “send” energy to the animal or its specific health issues. Be mindful of your body language, adopting a non-threatening, open attitude without prolonged eye contact or other domineering cues. Release expectations of how the treatment should unfold, including duration and desired behavior, and end with gratitude to the animal for participating in the treatment.
Prasad, with Elizabeth Fulton, is the author of Animal Reiki: Using Energy to Heal the Animals in Your Life, which outlines how to adapt your reiki practice for animal clients. They advise setting aside an hour for each treatment, but stay flexible: some animals may require a longer treatment, while others may only be able to tolerate short sessions. Get comfortable so you can relax and stay focused on the treatment. Ideally, work in a quiet area that is familiar to the animal and where it is able to move freely. Not all animals wish to receive hands-on treatment (and this will not be practical in all cases, either, such as with fish), and the session will be most effective if you allow the animal to dictate the level of contact.
Reiki can be given sitting near the animal, and you needn’t hold your palms out, either, which can feel threatening to some animals and will likely lead to muscle fatigue on your part. Simply rest your hands in your lap, palms facing up, and allow reiki to flow. Further, Prasad and Fulton advise that you always respect the animal’s boundaries, introducing yourself from five to ten feet away, keeping your hands down by your sides, palms forward, allowing the animal to approach you. If the animal is uncomfortable around people, they advocate keeping a safe distance over attempting physical contact.3 Sometimes during a treatment, a formerly skittish or standoffish animal will initiate contact, but it is recommended that you release expectations of how the session will unfold and focus on being a conduit for reiki, delivered in whatever manner is most appropriate for your animal friend.
As with reiki for humans, treatments are meant to be a complement to, not a substitute for, medical care. Coordinate your treatment with veterinary care, and do not advise clients to stop any conventional treatments without the recommendation of their veterinarian.
Food and Water
Draw the reiki symbol of your choice (see Chapter 12) with your finger over an animal’s food and water bowls, then hover your hands over the bowl and allow reiki to flow. You can pair this with specific healing intents if you like: for example, “strong and healthy bones” or “calm during travel.”
Housing and Habitat
Cleanse the animal’s space with reiki: Draw Symbol One (page 153) or any symbols of your choosing in all four corners or cardinal directions of the animal’s space. See the symbols creating a grid of energy that permeates the entire area, cleansing and harmonizing the energy.
Toys and Accessories
Energetically cleanse and charge pet leashes, toys, and other accessories by holding the object in your non-dominant hand and place your dominant hand about four inches above the object. Focus on your hara (lower abdomen) and make three horizontal chopping motions over the object with your hand, stopping abruptly after the third chop. Give the object reiki for a few minutes.
Reiki for the Environment
In Chapter 15, we covered methods for giving reiki to plants and seeds, and you can expand this work to entire areas and ecosystems, or the earth as a whole. I believe in cultivating a harmonious relationship with the land I’m living on, so I advocate starting in your own backyard. Don’t have a yard? Not a problem. Cultivating a relationship with the land on which your home sits, no matter how urbanized, is just as powerful. In fact, I have found that these urban spaces are often more in need of healing yet are often overlooked, so your efforts here are likely to be quite beneficial.
There is no one right way to give reiki to the land, but I like to start by asking permission. If this is part of your spiritual practice, you can commune with the land spirits, perhaps using the technique on page 255, Working with Spirit Guides, and specifying that you wish to connect with the spirits of the land. Ask these land spirits to share their story—in what ways do they need healing? How can you aid in this process? You might be guided to take additional steps beyond giving reiki treatments. Once you have permission, you can use a technique like jôshin kokyû hô (page 230), intending that, on each exhale, reiki beam outward, into the land, sky, and everything contained within. I like to envision this energy soaking into the ground, the plants and stones, permeating the air, and so on. You can pair this technique with symbols, too, perhaps drawing Symbol One in the four directions, above and below, chanting its mantra as you intend reiki to heal the land.
This process can be adapted to distant locales by using Symbol Three. Connect to reiki in whatever way works best, perhaps using hatsurei hô or simply hands in gasshô, opening to the flow of reiki. Draw Symbol Three, chanting its mantra three times, as you intend to connect with the location in need of healing. Visualize Symbol Three forming a bridge from here to there, then draw Symbol One, chanting its mantra three times, seeing the energy move across this bridge, bringing with it the powerful flow of reiki. Continue to give reiki until the process feels complete, then redraw Symbol One with the intention that the bridge dissolves, ending the connection and bringing the session to a close. You can finish with kenyoku hô and hands in gasshô, giving thanks.
Local and Global Events
Reiki can be sent to situations in need of healing, such as political conflict or disaster areas. Set the intention that the healing unfold for the highest good, harming none, then use the same method as outlined above for distant environmental healing. For human affairs, I like to use Symbol Two and its mantra for added mental-emotional healing, and this can be done by drawing the symbol and chanting the mantra three times after you use Symbol Three. Follow with Symbol One and proceed with the rest of the instructions.
Reiki helps us remember our True Self. The more ways we have of consciously interacting with this powerful energy, the more we remember who we really are, and the more we live from this expansive, enlightened place. Find ways to work with reiki that feel meaningful for you, and don’t be afraid to make it fun! Sometimes reiki practice is approached with so much reverence, which is beautiful and well-deserved but can sometimes cause us to feel separate from this energy that exists within each and every one of us. Find ways to bring reiki into the very stuff of your life. Yes, respect it, honor it—but live it. Don’t keep it up on a shelf, only to be taken down for special occasions. Or, more accurately, reveal every moment to be the special occasion that it truly is by weaving reiki into all that you do.
If teaching reiki is something you feel called to do, in the next chapter we look at the content typically covered in the various levels of instructions, along with practical tips for leading engaging courses for your reiki students.
1. Arianna Rebolini, “What the Heck Happened to My Body During Reiki?” The Cut, September 25, 2017, https://www.thecut.com/2017/09/what-the-heck-happened-to-my-body-during-reiki.html.
2. “The Let Animals Lead Approach with Reiki,” Animal Reiki Source, accessed June 2, 2019, https://www.animalreikisource.com/animal-reiki-information/the-approach/.
3. Elizabeth Fulton and Kathleen Prasad, Animal Reiki: Using Energy to Heal the Animals in Your Life (Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2006), 84.