By Laura Gordon
Believe it or not, energy work has been done since man came into being. Whether carefully rubbing a pumped head or gently holding a new born baby in lovingly arms, people of all walks of life have experienced energy work. It has only been in the last century that Eastern awareness of energy work has come into the awareness of Western thought.
Reiki is one such Eastern form of energy work. Rei is interpreted as “God’s Wisdom
or the Universal Mind” and Ki is “life force energy”. Reiki has come to mean “Spiritually guided Life Force Energy” and looked upon by all who experience it, offer it, and teach it as a natural and safe form of spiritual healing and self-improvement.
The healing power of Reiki has become so well documented that it is included in many medical and recovery fields such as cancer treatment centers, drug and alcohol treatment centers, and pain management offices to name a few.
Reiki comes to us from Japan. It was in 1922 that Mikao Usui developed the first hands on Reiki technique which was called in his time Usui System of Healing.
A student of Mr Usui, Dr Hayashi, further developed Usiu System of Healing and over the years added and further developed Reiki into the style much like is used today.
Reiki was brought to the USA by Hawayo Takata. She received 
her training from Dr. Hayashi in Japan and returned to Hawaii, her native home, and began teaching it in the 1970’s. Much of what Reiki is today came from her teaching.
Today it is taught around the world and has become the most familiar, if not the most popular, of all energy work. The work can be performed on oneself, one’s friends, family and clients as well as animals, and plants.
I hope this brief introduction has opened the door of possibilities for you in expanding your awareness and knowledge of this work.
Self Treatment:
The following images 
show two of the positions used in Reiki. You can attempt this on yourself or on a partner
1.) Find a comfortable position to relax.
2.) Place your hands in these positions until you feel them warm up or you get a feeling of “done.”
3.) Move to the next position.
If you enjoyed this or just want to learn more about training in Reiki, please contact me at lgordon@communitycarecollege.edu. I’d be happy to connect you to someone in your area.
Resources:
http://www.reiki.org/faq/whatisreiki.html
http://www.reikiworld.net/Reiki/Levels_of_Reiki.htm
Find Us:
https://www.facebook.com/communitycarecollege
https://www.facebook.com/clarysagecollege
The Alpha group was very fortunate to have a Reiki demo this past Thursday. I find the practice and the ideaology behind it incredibly fascinating. If being honest, watching ‘how’ to perform reiki is rather boring, however, I still found myself just as fascinated and interested in exploring reiki therapy further in the future.
Reiki sounds really interesting, I would like to try it sometime.
Reiki is a unique form I wasn’t aware existed. I was a bit sceptic in the beginning but it has peaked my interest.
This is something that I am very interested in. I have experienced it from a friend who attended a few meetings with a group that meets here in Tulsa. I would love to find out more information and plan on contacting you!
I find Reiki very interesting. Think it’s a easy way to help relieve stress and I like that you can teach people how to do it to themselves. I’m wanting to learn more about reiki.
I never had heard of energy work until we discussed it in class. I am now very interested in learning more on the subject. Thanks Laura for the good read! 🙂
I had the pleasure of being the demonstration for reiki during class. It was definatly interesting and would be a good thing to learn.
Interesting to read the history, I have been wanting to learn the practice of reiki for awhile now!
I really do believe in the healing touch. I know very little about Reiki itself. I have witnessed the healing power of touch first hand!
It is amazing how energy work .
I enjoyed learning Reiki it was very relaxing it’s pretty cool you can do it yourself.
This is an interesting article.
I liked studying Reiki it was very calming. I am looking forward to learning more about this.
This was not a modality that I was aware of before this class, and I have to admit I don’t really have much interest in it at this point. Maybe I need to do some more research in it.
Reiki is fun!!! and I love doing it!!