What is Reiki?

Reiki (pronounced Ray-Key) is a system of Enlightenment and a Healing Touch
art developed in the early 1900’s by Mikao Usui in Japan. It is an art that is
passed on from Master to Student.

Rei: Spiritual Wisdom
The word “Rei” means universal and this is the definition that most have
accepted, although it may be interpreted to mean a higher knowledge or spiritual
consciousness. This is the wisdom that comes from Spirit, Creator, Divine
Source, God-Consciousness’, which is all- knowing. It understands each person
completely. It knows the cause of all problems and difficulties and knows how to
heal them.

Ki: Life Energy
Ki is life energy. It is also known as the vital life force or the universal life force.
This is the non-physical energy that animates all living things. As long as
something is alive, it has life energy circulating through it and surrounding it;
when it dies, the life energy departs. When your ki is low you are more
vulnerable to sickness, when it is high you are less likely to get sick. Life energy
plays an important role in everything we do. It animates the body and has
higher levels of expression. Ki is also the primary energy of our emotions,
thoughts and spiritual life.
Once attuned to Reiki, all will have the ability to channel and direct this spiritually
guided life force energy. This channelled energy is beneficial to all living beings
including plants and animals as well as our planet as a whole.
The practitioner also receives Reiki during the channelling for personal support
and balance.

How does Reiki work?

Ki, or Life-force, the animating energy that sustains our cells, flows through our physical bodies via pathways called chakras, meridians and nadis. 
It also flows around us in a field of energy called our aura. Life force nourishes the organs and cells of the body, supporting them in their vital functions. When this flow of life force is disrupted, it causes diminished function in one or more of the organs and tissues of the physical body. 

The life force responds readily to thoughts and feelings. It can be upset when we accept negative thoughts or feelings about ourselves. These negative thoughts and feelings attach themselves to the energy field and cause a disruption in the flow of life force, which in turn can disrupt the vital function of the organs and cells of the physical body. 

Reiki heals by flowing through the affected parts of the energy field and charging them with positive energy. It raises the vibratory level of the energy field in and around the physical body where the negative thoughts and feelings are attached, causing the negative energy to break apart and fall away. 
In this way, Reiki clears, straightens and heals the energy pathways, thus allowing the life force to flow in a healthy and natural way.