Reiki

Universal Life Energy

By Danni Coyote

You have probably heard the term reiki at some point, andperhaps your immediate reaction was, Yeah, whatever, as you rolled your third eye to dispel images of healers laying hands on terminally ill patients. Admittedly, it
does sound preposterous and illogical when you consider that we live in a time in which we are so conditioned to disconnect the body from the spirit. So, what exactly is reiki, anyway? The truth is actually a lot less magical and more simple than you would imagine.

Reiki is a Japanese word that means “sacred energy,” derived from rei (sacred; spiritual) and ki (life energy). Reiki is a system of practice created by Usui Mikao, a Samurai and Tendai Buddhist, in the early 1900’s. In this system, a practitioner is trained to become a clearer conduit for this sacred universal energy to flow through to stimulate the healing process, whether that be physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual healing. So, essentially, the practitioner is not a healer, but a vessel for the healing properties of the energy. Everyone has access to this ki energy (also known as the Chinese chi and Indian prana), as it resides in all of us and in all living things. However, the ki is often not flowing with ease, and becomes entrapped and stagnant, resulting in dis-ease and obstruction of our true selves.

The practice of reiki helps to bring in fresh energy flow to facilitate a cleansing energetic shift in the body. Reiki practitioners have received attunements (reiju, or spiritual blessings) from their teacher, and their constant practice of reiki has helped to dissolve some of their own energetic blockages. This makes them a more pure channel for energy to pass through, which is redirected and concentrated into themselves (in the practice of self-reiki) or into another person, animal, or plant. To receive reiki healing is to allow a practitioner to enter your space and direct the flow of energy through their body, and into you. The flow of reiki in the body never diagnoses an illness, and never manipulates, nor harms a client. It only allows a natural flow of healing energy to run its course, being drawn into the body and taken where needed, uncovering the pure self from the proverbial garbage of everyday existence. So, plainly put, the practice of reiki helps us to re-discover that we are, and always have been, reiki in the first place.

Danni Coyote is an alumna of the Alternative Medicine and Nutrition program of Everglades University in Boca Raton, Florida. She is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Yoga Alliance designated 200hr RYT, and an Usui Ryoho Reiki Shinpiden. www.dannicoyote.com

5  R E I K I P R I N C I P L E S

• Just for today, I will not worry.
• Just for today, I will not be angry.
• Just for today, I will be grateful.
• Just for today, I will do my work honestly.
• Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing.