Reiki History, Origins and Lineage            

AAlthough the history of reiki, pronounced ‘Ray Key’, is not absolutely clear, it is widely accepted that its modern form was introduced by Dr Mikao Usui in the early 1900s.

Reiki, when translated, literally means universal (Rei) life force energy (ki). Practitioners work both intuitively and by concentrating on the seven main chakras which feature in many Eastern mind and body spiritual concepts.

In Japan, the reiki path is seen as a course of life that is followed through many decades to the end of a person’s days. Here in the West, reiki has developed in a direction that more closely corresponds with our culture.

Reiki Hand Positions

In reiki, the hand positions cover the entire system of the endocrine glands as well as all of the inner organs. They energise the human being on a number of levels at the same time:

• physical level through the warmth of the hands 

• mental level through the reiki symbols 

• emotional level through the love that flows through them 

• energetic level through the presence of the initiated person as well as the reiki power itself. 

More on Reiki:

Dr Usui passed his ‘Reiki Power’ and learning to Dr Chujiro Hayashi and Madam Hawayo Takata, who is widely recognised as being the person who brought reiki to the West. 

Usui reiki practitioners practise five main principles:

• Just for today, do not anger.

• Just for today, do not worry.

• Honour your parents, teachers and elders.

• Earn your living honestly.

• Show gratitude to every living thing.

Reiki was taught and learned very intensively under Dr Usui. Students met once a week to meditate, apply reiki together, and practise scanning the body until they succeeded in reaching a type of energetic diagnosis. Once identified, the corresponding areas of the body were treated immediately. Some reiki students were immediately successful in doing this, while others required a few weeks, months or even years.

Each Usui practitioner prepares prior to attunement through meditation and by cleansing the body of toxins to loosen up blocked energy, to raise their vibrational frequency and let go of any unwanted emotions. Practices, processes and principles are then continued once practitioners have been attuned to reiki and beyond; this ensures the flow of ‘energy life force’ to others is easy and full of positivity. 

Each practitioner should be able to show lineage of their own, passed down from Dr Usui himself. My lineage can be found above and I have been practising Usui reiki principles since 2003.