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Interior and Cover Designer: Richard Tapp
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ISBN: Print 978-1-64739-819-4
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For all my Reiki students and healing partners.
Contents
Introduction

PART ONE: FIRST DEGREE REIKI

Chapter One: Reiki Energy
Root Chakra • Muladhara
Sacral Chakra • Svadhishthana
Solar Plexus Chakra • Manipura
Heart Chakra • Anahata
Throat Chakra • Vishuddha
Third Eye Chakra • Ajna
Crown Chakra • Sahasrara

Chapter Two: First Degree Reiki Training

Chapter Three: First Degree Reiki Healing Techniques
Chapter Four: Reiki Sequences for Physical Health
Migraine Headaches
Autoimmune Disease
Anxiety
Arthritis
Hypertension
Metabolic Syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Menstrual Issues
Indigestion/Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
Thyroid Disease

PART TWO: SECOND DEGREE REIKI

 Chapter Five: Second Degree Reiki Training
Chapter Six: Second Degree Reiki Healing Techniques
Chapter Seven: Reiki Sequences for Emotional Well-
Being and Spiritual Awakening
Abundance Consciousness
Compassion
Creativity
Forgiveness
Healing the Past
Healthy Sexuality
Karmic Healing
Oneness
Optimism and Joy
Psychic Insight/Intuition

PART THREE: THIRD DEGREE REIKI

Chapter Eight: Master-Teacher Reiki Training
Chapter Nine: The Work of a Reiki Master
Chapter Ten: Reiki Attunements
Basic Ceremonial Attunement (In-Person)
Basic Fast Attunement (In-Person)
Basic Distance Attunement (All Degrees)
Adding the Violet Breath to Attunements

Additional Hand Positions

Adrenal Balance
Arthritis Joint Cupping
Autoimmune Bridge Position
Baby Balance
Baby Colic
Back Pain Bridge Position
Dental Pain Position
Headache Bridge Position
 Kidney Pain Position
Small Pets Allover Reiki

Resources
References
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Introduction

Reiki exists in abundance all around us, and everyone and

everything can benefit from its warm, unconditionally loving,
generous energy. I’ve taught and attuned hundreds of Reiki
practitioners and channeled Reiki both hands-on and at a distance
to thousands. It is one of my greatest joys to watch another connect
with the Reiki energy and realize what a powerful tool it is to create
energetic resonance and bring balance to our lives.
I originally studied Usui Ryoho Reiki because I had been
interested in studying Reiki for years, and it’s what was available to
me in my small Pacific Northwest town. I have studied many other
forms of Reiki since my initiation into this healing art, but I always
return to my roots of Usui Ryoho Reiki because of its simplicity,
easy-to-follow system, and powerful love energy that it imparts to
all who practice and receive it.
When my sensei, Howard, first taught me to channel Reiki
energy many years ago, I had no idea what a major part of my life
Reiki healing would become. I am now a Reiki Master-Teacher, and
Reiki flows through me like blood flows through my veins. It is a
practice I engage in daily, and virtually no aspect of my life remains
untouched by Reiki energy.
When I travel, I send my dogs Reiki energy so they can feel its
calming presence while I’m away. When friends and family
experience any type of energetic disturbances of a physical, mental,
emotional, spiritual, or situational nature, I ask if I can send them
healing energy to support them in their life’s journey. When
difficult circumstances arise in the world, I send Reiki energy to the
people involved, as well as to the planet, to provide energetic
support.
In the morning when I wake, I reflect on the Reiki principles
(here). When I meditate, I combine meditation with self-Reiki. I
channel Reiki energy to my car every time I get into it to help it
continue running well. I channel Reiki energy to my food, water,
plants, pets, friends and family, home, and energy healing tools
(such as crystals and singing bowls), as well as to the electronics I
use and the world at large. Then, each night before I go to sleep, I
reflect on the Reiki principles again. Finally, I fall asleep with my
hands on my heart, channeling Reiki and love energy so they fill me
as I sleep.
Although Reiki is ancient, universal energy that is accessible to
everyone and everything, not everyone is aware it exists, nor do
they avail themselves of its intelligent warmth. I believe the world
needs Reiki and the loving, healing energy it provides now more
than ever as we move into and through difficult times. Therefore,
I’ve made it one of my missions in life to make Reiki accessible to
those who want to learn to work with its energy.
This book, then, is part of that ongoing mission. It is intended to
serve as a guide for people who wish to learn to channel Reiki
themselves, whether for personal enrichment or to support the
energetic harmony of all that inhabit this planet. This book can also
serve as a resource for instructors who wish to teach Reiki, as well
as for people who are curious about Reiki energy and simply wish
to learn more. And, although working with Reiki energy requires an
attunement from a Reiki Master-Teacher to channel it, this book
will tell you everything you need to know so that when you are
ready to be attuned to this beautiful and beneficial healing energy,
you will receive your attunement with the knowledge of what Reiki
is, how it works, and what you need to do to channel it to serve the
greatest good of all involved.
 PART ONE

First Degree Reiki

I practice and teach Usui Ryoho Reiki, the West’s primary
system of Reiki healing since the 1940s. In Usui Ryoho
Reiki, practitioners typically start their journey through
the three degrees of Reiki healing by learning and
receiving attunement to First Degree Reiki, something I
often refer to as hands-on or friends and family Reiki. It’s
a gentle, intelligent, loving form of healing touch that can
benefit anyone who chooses to draw it into their bodies
when a Reiki practitioner places their hands upon them to
channel the energy.
In this section, we’ll discuss everything you need to
know to become a First Degree Reiki practitioner,
including the history of Usui Ryoho Reiki, the hows and
whys of Reiki energy, and the basics of channeling the
energy through a series of hand positions. To channel all
degrees of Reiki energy (First Degree, Second Degree, and
Reiki Master-Teacher), you must be attuned to that
degree of energy by a Reiki Master. This section contains
all the information you’ll need to understand the nuances
of First Degree Reiki. Once you’ve finished this section,
you’ll only need to find a Reiki Master-Teacher to provide
the attunement (see the Resources section here to find a
Reiki Master-Teacher), and you’ll become part of a wide
network of healers sharing Reiki with the world.
 CHAPTER ONE

Reiki Energy
Once attuned to Reiki energy, anyone can channel it.
However, it does help to have an understanding of what
Reiki is and its benefits, how it works, and how it affects all
types of energy. To that end, in this chapter I’ll provide
some background information that will be helpful for you
on your Reiki journey. It’s also essential information for
those of you who wish to move further along in your Reiki
journey to become Reiki Master-Teachers to teach and
attune others to Reiki energy.

Universal Healing Energy

Reiki is the name given to a system for sharing universal healing
energy (as well as to the healing energy itself) that flows through the
practitioner and into the person receiving the energy. Channeled
Reiki is a partnership between the person channeling the energy
and the person receiving it. The person channeling the energy is
called a Reiki practitioner, and I prefer to call the person receiving
the Reiki energy a healing partner because the term conveys that in
the healing process, the person receiving the Reiki is as active as, or
more active than, the person channeling the Reiki.
Energy exists all around us. In fact, everything and everyone
you can see or sense is made up of vibrating strands of energy held
together by energy fields that we perceive as being solid objects.
Although these “solid objects” appear to take different forms, at
their very core they are all made up of the same energetic substance
that underpins the entire universe.
Reiki is part of this universal energy, and when it is channeled
through the practitioner and into the healing partner, it can
support the energetic structures (chakras, auras, and meridians)
that affect the health of the body, mind, and spirit of both the
practitioner and the healing partner.
Because everyone and everything is made up of energy, it is
essential that energetic flow remains in balance. Energetic flow can
become overactive, underactive, or blocked for various reasons.
And when energy does not flow optimally because there is either
too much or too little, it can cause a lack of ease in the body, mind,
and spirit. You’ll often hear energy healers refer to this as dis-ease.
Just as medical doctors attempt to work with disease in the body,
Reiki practitioners and other energy healers work to balance dis-
ease in the body, mind, and spirit to allow the optimum expression
of physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional health.
When Reiki energy is channeled, it brings energetic balance to
whomever or whatever is receiving the energy through a principle
of physics called entrainment. When two objects vibrating at
different frequencies are placed in proximity to one another, both
begin to vibrate at the same frequency, locking into phase or
entraining.
In the case of Reiki, the vibration of the Reiki energy flowing
through the practitioner vibrates at a high frequency, and the
healing partner’s energy vibrates at a lower frequency. When Reiki
flows to the healing partner, the two meet somewhere in the middle
(entrain) to help balance the energy in both the person receiving
and the person channeling the Reiki. This entrainment brings
energetic balance and optimizes energy flow to allow the
intelligence of the body, mind, and spirit to take over and create the
conditions for optimal physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual
health.

The Benefits of Reiki Healing

I like to describe the function of Reiki in a way that others can
easily understand by drawing the analogy between the flow of
energy in the body, mind, and spirit and the flow of electrical
impulses through the nerves in the body.
Imagine that somewhere in your body, a bony structure is
pinching off the flow of energy along one of your nerve pathways.
For example, perhaps a misalignment in your neck bones is
obstructing the electrical flow along the nerves that run to your
heart. What would happen if, for days, weeks, months, or years,
your heart didn’t receive the proper flow of electrical energy from
your nerves? Over time, your heart would weaken and begin to
malfunction until it started to manifest symptoms, which are
signals your body sends telling you something is wrong. By the time
your body started sending these signals, it’s likely your heart
wouldn’t be functioning as well as it did when it was receiving
electrical impulses properly.
Therefore, the best way to treat the heart malfunction would be
to remove the impingement on the nerve and restore proper flow of
electrical impulses. Once nerve flow was properly restored, the
intelligence of the body could take over and healing would begin.
Reiki is the energetic equivalent of this for your body, mind, and
spirit and its main benefit is to restore the proper balanced energy
flow to allow the intelligence of your body, mind, and spirit to
create the conditions for healing. In short, Reiki balances your
energetics so that the wisdom of body, mind, and spirit can restore
well-being.

The Reiki Origin Story

First Degree Reiki practitioners learn of the origins of Reiki during
their training. As Reiki practitioners, we feel deep respect for how
Reiki came from Japan and into the West and for the people who
brought us this gentle and intelligent system of healing.
Although Usui Ryoho Reiki is considered a reasonably modern
healing practice, originating in Japan in the 1920s, the energy used
in Reiki is as ancient as the universe itself. However, our story,
which is the history of the Western practice of Reiki, begins in
Japan in the 1920s with Dr. Mikao Usui, also known as Usui Sensei.

Japanese Practitioners Before Usui

We start our story with Usui Sensei because it is his system that
was spread in the West, so a significant portion of Western Reiki
practitioners can trace their lineage back to his teachings.
However, even before Dr. Usui developed his system, there is
evidence of at least four forms of energy healing called Reiki being
practiced in Japan, and some evidence suggests Reiki has been
practiced in some form or another for thousands of years. It is likely
Dr. Usui built his system on the foundations of thousands of years
of energy healing practices in Japan.

MIKAO USUI
Mikao Usui was a Buddhist monk from a wealthy family. He had a
deep interest in medicine and in finding a form of energy healing
that could bring balance of the body, mind, and spirit. While he was
studying in the monastery, Usui Sensei ascended Mount Kurama,
where he meditated, fasted, and prayed in a cave for 21 days. On the
21st day, he had a spiritual awakening. He saw Sanskrit symbols
appear on the cave wall and was inspired to develop a system of
energy healing that we know today as Usui Ryoho Reiki. In 1922, he
founded a Reiki clinic and school in Tokyo. It was there that he
trained a number of Japanese practitioners, including Dr. Chujiro
Hayashi.

CHUJIRO HAYASHI
Chujiro Hayashi was a medical doctor and naval officer who
learned Reiki at Dr. Usui’s Tokyo clinic and school. After learning
from Usui Sensei, Dr. Hayashi also developed a series of hand
positions that enhanced the Reiki treatments, and he began
teaching and practicing Reiki at a clinic in Tokyo. He trained
several Japanese Reiki practitioners, as well as a Japanese
American woman from Hawaii named Mrs. Hawayo Takata. After
visiting Mrs. Takata in Hawaii in the 1940s, Dr. Hayashi returned to
Japan. The government wanted him to share secrets from his
experiences in America and what he had learned there. Dr. Hayashi
chose seppuku (ritual suicide), which was considered an honorable
death, rather than comply with what the government was asking.

HAWAYO TAKATA
Mrs. Takata is responsible for the spread of Reiki in the West. She
further enhanced Dr. Usui’s and Dr. Hayashi’s treatments by
adding a system of hand placements she called Foundation
Treatment (the hand positions taught today). To honor the Reiki
traditions and the work of Drs. Usui and Hayashi, Mrs. Takata was
extremely careful about who she taught Reiki to and how she
taught it. She insisted Reiki be taught as an oral tradition—
humankind’s first and most ubiquitous form of communication—
and charged $10,000 to teach and attune Reiki practitioners to
honor the traditions she learned. In her lifetime, Mrs. Takata
trained and attuned 22 Reiki practitioners in the West, and all Usui
Ryoho Reiki practitioners can trace their lineage back through Mrs.
Takata to Drs. Hayashi and Usui.

REIKI TODAY
Today, there are thousands of Reiki practitioners throughout the
West, and Reiki continues to expand in amazing ways. In fact, it’s
gone mainstream. Many health care practitioners—such as massage
therapists, nurses, and physical therapists—add Reiki to
complement their healing arts. Reiki is also available in some
hospitals, as well as in nursing homes and hospices.

Reiki Healing Traditions

Modern Reiki is a mix of Japanese, Western, and nontraditional
forms of Reiki. Many Western Reiki practitioners follow the
system originally taught by Mrs. Takata. Some follow her systems
very strictly, whereas others branched off and made Reiki their
own. For example, Reiki is no longer considered strictly an oral
tradition. Both Dr. Hayashi and Dr. Usui provided written
materials about Reiki to their students, and many Reiki Master-
Teachers today (including me) feel it is beneficial to supplement
oral and hands-on teachings with written materials. In this way,
Reiki has become a blend of old and new healing traditions.

The Usui Ryoho Reiki Healing System

The Usui Ryoho Reiki healing system offers the following:

♦ 12 hand positions for healing others

♦ 13 hand positions for healing self
♦ Three degrees of Reiki (First Degree, or Shoden; Second Degree,
or Okuden; and Master-Teacher Degree, or Shinpiden)
♦ Three traditional healing symbols in Second Degree Reiki for
physical, emotional, spiritual, and distance healing
♦ One Master symbol for Master-Teacher Degree Reiki
♦ A Reiki lineage tracing back through Mrs. Takata, Dr. Hayashi,
and Usui Sensei

Nontraditional Reiki
Other systems of Reiki have made it to the West as well. Although
they use the same energy and have similar principles to Usui Ryoho
Reiki, they may rely on different symbols and processes during
Reiki treatments. Some less common forms of Reiki you might
come across in the West include Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki, Karuna Ki
Reiki, Saku Reiki, Raku Reiki, and many others.
Though all traditions use the same energy, some are older
systems that come directly from Japan, and others are Reiki
systems that have been developed in the West relying on different
practices, hand positions, intentions, and more. Some are even a
hybrid of Reiki and other energy healing practices.
I urge you to find the system of Reiki that resonates most for
you; none is inherently wrong or right, as Reiki is an intelligent
energy that goes where it is needed and serves the greatest good
regardless of the system of delivery. Therefore, as a Reiki
practitioner, you are free to select the system of Reiki that makes
the most sense to you.

Chakra Healing and Related Conditions

Although you don’t need to know every aspect of energy anatomy
(also called subtle anatomy) to practice Reiki, having a basic
understanding of the chakra system can help you when you work
with your own healing and with healing partners.
Human beings are a combination of body, mind, emotions, and
spirit. When considering human health, it is impossible to separate
one of these from the other three. All are interconnected and affect
how health manifests in your body. Your body and mind are of the
physical body. Your emotions and spirit are of the etheric
(spiritual) body. Your energy anatomy—consisting of your
meridians, chakras, and aura—is the point of energetic connection
between your physical body and your etheric body. Energetic
balance of your subtle anatomy is essential for health of the body,
mind, emotions, and spirit.
Though each part of your subtle anatomy affects your overall
health picture, chakras are the easiest to visualize and understand,
which is why I tend to teach them as part of the Reiki curriculum.
Your chakras are energetic centers that exist to connect your
physical body to your spiritual body. They are visualized as
spinning wheels of colored light that run roughly along your spinal
column. Each chakra vibrates at the frequency of a different color,
and each affects and is affected by various aspects of physical,
mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
Root Chakra • Muladhara
LOCATION: Base of your spine/tailbone
COLOR: Red

Your root chakra—also known as the first chakra or by its Sanskrit

name Muladhara—is located at the base of your spine near your
tailbone. This is the energetic center of grounding, safety, and
security. When this chakra is out of balance, you may feel insecure
or unsafe. You may struggle with meeting your basic safety and
security needs. Physically, imbalances may manifest in issues such
as depression, autoimmune disease, and physical problems of the
legs, knees, feet, and toes.
Tips for Keeping It Healthy

Practice grounding. Visualize roots growing out of your feet into

the Earth and spend time with your bare feet connected to the
Earth.
Channel Reiki or healing energy to your root chakra.
Work with red or black crystals such as garnet and black
tourmaline.
Visualize a red wheel of light spinning in your root chakra, and
imagine bright white light passing easily through the spinning
chakra.
Enjoy root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, or turnips to
support the energy of this chakra.
Practice grounding movement, such as child’s pose in yoga.
Diffuse grounding essential oils, such as patchouli or cinnamon.
Sacral Chakra • Svadhishthana
LOCATION: About a handbreadth below your navel
COLOR: Orange

Your sacral chakra—also known as the second chakra or by its

Sanskrit name Svadhishthana—is located in the center of your
body about a handbreadth below your navel. This is the energetic
center of confidence, motivation, prosperity, and sexuality. When
this chakra is out of balance, you may experience issues such as low
libido, financial problems, and blocked creativity. Physically,
imbalances will often manifest in your intestinal and lower
abdominal organs and sexual organs as well as your hips.
Tips for Keeping It Healthy

Dance. Dancing of all types opens up sacral chakra energy,

especially when it’s unselfconscious dancing.
Channel Reiki or healing energy to your sacral chakra.
Work with orange or brown crystals such as carnelian and
smoky quartz.
Visualize an orange wheel of light spinning in your sacral chakra,
and imagine bright white light passing easily through the
spinning chakra.
Orange natural foods such as carrots, orange peppers, and orange
fruits are perfect for balancing this chakra.
Yoga poses that open the hips, such as pigeon pose or seated
forward bend, can help balance this chakra.
Diffuse essential oils that support the sacral chakra, such as
orange or grapefruit.
Solar Plexus Chakra • Manipura
LOCATION: Base of your sternum
COLOR: Yellow

Your solar plexus chakra—also known as the third chakra or by its

Sanskrit name Manipura—is located at the base of your sternum
near the xiphoid process. This is the energetic center of self, ego,
willpower, and personal power. When this chakra is out of balance,
you may have poor boundaries, have a poor sense of self, or be
overly ego-invested. Physically, imbalances may affect your
adrenal glands, kidneys, gallbladder, liver, and other abdominal
organs as well as your rib cage and middle back.
Tips for Keeping It Healthy

Practice physical balance. Engaging in exercises of upright

physical balance such as walking on a balance beam or Hula-
Hooping can activate and engage this chakra to bring balance.
Channel Reiki or healing energy to your solar plexus chakra.
Work with yellow or gold gemstones such as yellow tigers eye,
citrine, or pyrite.
Visualize a yellow wheel of light spinning in your solar plexus
chakra, and imagine bright white light passing easily through
the spinning chakra.
Consume yellow or golden foods and spices such as ginger,
bananas, and turmeric to help bring balance to the solar plexus
chakra.
Yoga balancing movements, such as tree pose, boat pose, and
warrior pose, are excellent for balancing solar plexus energy.
Diffuse essential oils that support the solar plexus, such as lemon
or ginger.
Heart Chakra • Anahata
LOCATION: Center of your chest
COLOR: Green

Your heart chakra—also known as the fourth chakra or by its

Sanskrit name Anahata—is located in the center of your chest. This
is the energetic center of love, and it serves to bridge the physical
and the etheric. When this chakra is out of balance, you may
experience anger, bitterness, or unwillingness to forgive.
Physically, imbalances may manifest in the heart, lungs,
circulatory system, and chest region.
Tips for Keeping It Healthy

Repetitive aerobic activity, such as walking, running, and

swimming, can help keep heart energy balanced.
Channel Reiki or healing energy to your heart chakra.
Work with pink or green gemstones such as emerald and rose
quartz.
Visualize a green wheel of light spinning in your heart chakra,
and imagine bright white light passing easily through the
spinning chakra.
Enjoy green fruits and vegetables such as kale, spinach, or limes
to support the energy of this chakra.
Practice heart-opening yoga asanas, such as upward dog, cobra,
and bow pose.
Diffuse heart energy essential oils, such as rose and jasmine.
Throat Chakra • Vishuddha
LOCATION: Center of your throat
COLOR: Blue

Your throat chakra—also known as the fifth chakra or by its

Sanskrit name Vishuddha—is located at the center of your throat
over your thyroid. This is the energetic center of truth, integrity,
and self-expression. When this chakra is out of balance, you may be
highly critical or judgmental, or you may feel you are unable to
express yourself. Physically, imbalances may manifest in issues of
the throat, thyroid, jaw, mouth, shoulders, teeth, and neck.
Tips for Keeping It Healthy

Express yourself truthfully. Speak your truth in any way that

works for you, whether through writing, singing, or talking.
Channel Reiki or healing energy to your throat chakra.
Work with blue crystals such as sodalite or celestite.
Visualize a blue wheel of light spinning in your throat chakra,
and imagine bright white light passing easily through the
spinning chakra.
Enjoy blue foods such as blueberries and blackberries, and foods
that soothe your throat, such as honey or chamomile tea.
In yoga, vocalize mantras such as Om to open throat chakra
energy.
Diffuse essential oils that support the throat chakra, such as
chamomile or peppermint.
Third Eye Chakra • Ajna
LOCATION: Center of your forehead
COLOR: Violet

Your third eye chakra—also known as the sixth chakra or by its

Sanskrit name Ajna—is located in the center of your forehead. This
is the energetic center of reason, intellect, intuition, and spiritual
guidance. When this chakra is out of balance, you may overthink
things or have disturbed dreams or sleep. Physically, imbalances
may manifest in headaches, mind fog, and eye and sinus issues.
Tips for Keeping It Healthy

Meditate. Meditation is an activity that helps you connect with

your third eye chakra and with higher guidance.
Channel Reiki or healing energy to your third eye chakra.
Pay attention to flashes of insight and dreams, which are your
higher guidance trying to communicate with you through your
third eye chakra.
Work with violet or purple crystals such as charoite and
amethyst.
Visualize a violet wheel of light spinning in your third eye
chakra, and imagine a bright white light passing easily through
the spinning chakra.
Purple foods such as eggplant, purple yams, and purple cabbage
can help balance the energy of this chakra.
In yoga, practice breathing techniques such as alternate nostril
breathing to activate this chakra.
Diffuse essential oils to support the third eye energy, such as
lavender.
Crown Chakra • Sahasrara
LOCATION: About an inch above the top of your head
COLOR: White

Your crown chakra—also known as the seventh chakra or by its

Sanskrit name Sahasrara—is located just above the crown of your
head. This is the energetic center that connects you to a higher
power and your higher self. When this chakra is out of balance, you
may struggle with spiritual issues or feel a disconnection from the
universe. Physically, imbalances may manifest as systemic issues
such as fibromyalgia, as well as issues of the bones and skin.
Tips for Keeping It Healthy

Meditation or prayer is essential for connecting and maintaining

active crown chakra energy.
Channel Reiki or healing energy to your crown chakra.
Work with clear or white crystals such as clear quartz or
howlite.
Visualize a white wheel of light spinning in your crown chakra,
and imagine bright white light passing easily through the
spinning chakra.
Brief fasting and clear liquids such as water or coconut water
can support the energy of this chakra as well.
In yoga, sitting with hands in prayer position while chanting Om
can help activate this chakra and keep it balanced.
Diffuse essential oils that support the crown chakra, such as
sandalwood or jasmine.
The Hara Line Chakras
These seven chakras make up the hara line chakras. The hara line
flows through these chakras and connects you to the energy of the
Earth (through your feet) and the energy of the cosmos (through
your crown). During a Reiki attunement, the Reiki Master-Teacher
connects the Reiki energy to each of these chakras to allow you to
serve as a conduit for the energy.
It is essential for energy to connect to and flow through each
chakra to maintain balance. Imbalances can be related to a single
chakra, as noted in the previous sections, or to the interaction
between a few chakras. For instance, if you get plenty of creative
ideas (which are born in the sacral chakra), but you have trouble
with creative expression (which arises in the throat chakra), there
may be a disconnect between these two chakras and working with
both to provide balance can help.
As another example, autoimmune disease itself is generated in
the root chakra, but its symptoms often manifest in a different
chakra. For example, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is an autoimmune
condition that manifests in the throat (thyroid) region and affects
both the root and throat chakras. Therefore, seeking to balance and
connect these two chakras can help when you work with this
condition.
Methods to Balance the Hara Line Chakras

To connect chakras using Reiki, you can hold your hands in a

bridge position (one hand on one chakra, the other on another)
and visualize the Reiki energy running between the two
chakras.
To connect the hara line chakras all together with Source and
Earth energy, visualize an energy shower. Imagine you are
standing under a waterfall of white light. See the light flowing
down from the waterfall, in through your crown chakra, down
the hara line through each chakra, and then out of your feet and
into the Earth.
You can also connect the hara line chakras from the Earth up.
Visualize white light coming from the Earth, up through the
bottoms of your feet, flowing through all your chakras along the
hara line, and then coming out your crown chakra and
connecting you to the energy of the cosmos.
Other Chakras
The chakras of your hara line are your major chakras, but you also
have minor chakras. Minor chakras exist in each of the following
locations:
Ears (linked to heart chakra)
Sides of rib cage (intercostals, linked to heart chakra)
Shoulders (linked to throat chakra)
Elbows (linked to root chakra)
Knees (linked to root chakra)
Clavicles (linked to third eye chakra)
Either side of groin (linked to third eye chakra)
Either side of belly button (linked to throat chakra)
Hands (linked to crown chakra)
Feet (linked to crown chakra)

Complementary Practices and Tools

Reiki works wonderfully well as a modality by itself, but it is also a
great tool to combine with other practices. I seldom practice Reiki
in a vacuum. Depending on the needs of my healing partner, I may
weave in a number of other complementary practices that help
direct and support the Reiki energy.
It’s important to understand that each of these practices deals
with the same substance—vibrating universal energy—but
different modalities may be appropriate for different healing
partners. I rely largely on my intuition to determine which of these
practices to use, although if a healing partner requests a specific
complementary practice, I make it a point to work with that
modality during their sessions as well.

Meditation
Whether using guided meditation, visualization, affirmation, or
mindfulness, meditation is a wonderful complement to Reiki
healing. Meditation is simply allowing a state of mindfulness. It can
be as easy as sitting and focusing on breathing, or it can be
something more complex. Prayer is a form of meditation, as is
reciting affirmations or visualizing. All allow your healing partner
to become an active participant in the process of their healing
through their own intention.

Crystals
I adore working with crystals and gemstones. The different colors
and structures of the crystals cause them to vibrate at various
energetic frequencies to support different types of healing.
Although there’s a lot to learn about crystals, a simple guideline is to
work with crystals that match the color of the chakra you are
balancing. For example, if you’re working on heart chakra energy,
you may wish to place pink or green healing crystals on the heart
chakra and channel Reiki to your healing partner right through the
crystals.

Sound Healing and Music

Sound has its own vibration and frequency, and it is a great way to
help balance energy. I like to work with singing bowls or recorded
music called solfeggio—a specific tone-based audio file connected to
each chakra—that supports the energy of each chakra, but you can
also use mantras, chanting, singing, or even simple meditative
music to help create a vibrational space conducive to healing
during your Reiki sessions.

Plant Medicine
Plants are living beings with their own vibrational frequency. You
can have live plants present in a session to contribute to the
vibrational atmosphere of the space, or suggest your healing
partners work with the energy of certain plants (such as through
teas or in bath water). Plants allow your healing partners to actively
participate in their own energy healing process by working with
plant energy. Please note that as a Reiki healing practitioner, you
are not allowed to prescribe, so be very careful about the plants you
suggest your healing partners take orally. Instead, recommend
working with plants through activities such as burning herbs or
soaking in a bath with them.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) works with balancing the yin
and yang energy (positive and negative polarity) in the body. And
though you need to avoid prescribing substances unless you’re a
doctor, you can certainly work with other aspects of TCM to
balance elemental energies of earth, wood, fire, water, and metal by
balancing the flow of chi energy with movement and feng shui
practices.

Ayurveda
Ayurveda is another system that works with creating balance of
the different types of elemental energies—earth, air, fire, water, and
space—through energy healing practices. Again, although you
cannot prescribe substances unless you are an Ayurvedic doctor,
you can help your healing partners participate in their own energy
healing by engaging in personal practices involving food or
movement to bring elemental energy balance.

Aroma and Color Therapy

Aromatherapy and color therapy can also help create energetic
balance because different aromas and colors vibrate at different
frequencies. Diffusing essential oils is a great way to bring
aromatherapy into your sessions, and using various colored lights
can also help balance the energy of the chakras.

Acupuncture and Acupressure

Acupuncture and acupressure create energetic balance by ensuring
energy is flowing correctly through the meridian system. These
work quite well as complementary therapies to Reiki if you are
certified to use them. The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), or
tapping, is a simple acupressure method that is helpful for creating
balance, and it allows your healing partner to play an active role in
their healing.

Other Energy Healing Modalities

Other energy healing modalities may be appropriate as well. For
example, I love to work with polarity therapy with my healing
partners, which is a method for creating balance of the elemental
energies of earth, air, fire, water, and ether. Reiki also works well
with neurolinguistic programming (NLP), massage therapy,
Quantum Touch, Healing Touch, and many other energy healing
modalities that support the greatest good of your healing partners.
 CHAPTER TWO

First Degree Reiki Training

First Degree Reiki is what I like to refer to as “hands-on” or
“friends and family” Reiki. It is a great first step on your
Reiki journey because it allows you to learn the basics of
Reiki energy and experience how it manifests in both your
own energy field and in the energetics of your healing
partners. As an attuned First Degree Reiki practitioner,
you’ll be able to channel First Degree Reiki energy through
your hands so your healing partner can draw the energy
in. In this chapter, you’ll learn the information First
Degree Reiki practitioners need to know and understand
to practice First Degree Reiki and lay the foundation for
practicing additional degrees of Reiki.

Five Principles of Reiki

Usui Sensei taught all his students the five principles of Reiki,
which are simple ideals that all Reiki practitioners must strive to
attain. They deal with attitudes and beliefs that support the flow of
Reiki energy in a way that serves the greatest good of the
practitioner and their healing partners. Each of the principles
focuses on living and being in the moment by starting with the
words “Just for today.” This phrase is extremely important, and it
reminds Reiki practitioners to focus on the now and do the best
they can in any moment.
Usui Sensei recommended reflecting on these principles in
meditation. I suggest finding ways to incorporate them into your
life in ways that best serve you. Personally, I reflect on the
principles when I wake each morning and before I go to sleep each
night, as well as before I channel Reiki. The five principles are as
follows.

Just for today, I will not worry.

Worry and fear keep us from working from a place of love, which is
where Reiki energy originates. And Usui Sensei reminds you in this
principle that you do the best you can from moment to moment. If
you catch yourself worrying, then you have slipped out of present-
time focus and into future projection. With this principle, you can
remember to bring yourself back into the Eternal Moment of Now,
which is a focus on the present time that allows you to slip into a
state of being instead of doing.

Just for today, I will not anger.

Just as worry brings us out of love and present-time focus into
future projection, anger brings us out of love and present-time
focus into projection in the past. When we are angry at someone, it
is because of something that was said or done in a past moment, and
anger causes us to dwell on the past instead of focusing on the
present.

Just for today, I will be kind to all living

creatures.
Kindness is at the heart of Reiki, which seeks to share loving energy
from a place of compassion and giving. This principle reminds us of
the compassionate and giving mindset from which Reiki is best able
to flow.

Just for today, I will do my work with truth and

integrity.
Reiki is a pure form of energy that arises from ultimate truth. And
though anyone attuned can channel Reiki energy, the ability to
share and channel this energy requires a great deal of personal
integrity. This principle reminds you to step into a place of truth as
you share Reiki energy with the intention of serving the greatest
good.

Just for today, I will be grateful.

As part of my Reiki practice, I always express gratitude for the
ability to channel this beautiful energy. Gratitude is a principle that
is interwoven throughout the practice of Reiki because it reminds
us that the energy doesn’t come from us, but rather flows through
us—we are merely conduits for universal energy to serve the
greatest good of both the practitioner and healing partner.

Gassho Meditation
Dr. Usui also taught a simple form of meditation for all Reiki
practitioners that he called Gassho. Gassho meditation is
important for Reiki practitioners because it helps bring you into
the present moment and settle into the Reiki energy before you
begin to channel it to another. Usui Sensei recommended
practicing Gassho (or another form of meditation) daily, as well as
for a few moments at the beginning of a Reiki session to invite Reiki
energy to flow.
To perform Gassho:
1. Place your hands in prayer position in front of your heart.
2. Breathe naturally, focusing on the place where the tips of your
middle fingers intersect.
3. If your mind starts to wander, gently return your attention to
the intersection of your middle fingers.
4. If doing this before a Reiki session, ask for the Reiki energy to
flow. When you feel it begin to flow in your hands, begin your
Reiki session.
5. Do this (or another form of meditation) for 10 to 20 minutes
every day.

Three Reiki Degrees

In Usui Ryoho Reiki, there are three degrees to which practitioners
can be attuned. Different Reiki Master-Teachers may teach and
attune the degrees in various configurations, with differing
recommended times between each degree, but the principles,
energetic attunement, and responsibilities of the Reiki practitioner
are standardized for each degree. Some people who are seeking to
learn Reiki mostly for personal growth often choose to stop at First
Degree Reiki. Practitioners who wish to practice Reiki
professionally or as part of another healing practice may choose to
learn First Degree and Second Degree Reiki. Those who wish to
teach and attune others to Reiki will go on to earn their Reiki
Master-Teacher Degree.

First Degree Reiki (Shoden)

First Degree Reiki is hands-on Reiki. Practitioners attuned to this
degree of Reiki are able to place their hands on their healing
partner (or hover them a few inches above their healing partner’s
body) and channel Reiki in-person to that healing partner. All Reiki
practitioners must be attuned to First Degree Reiki and, as with all
degrees of Reiki, you must be attuned by a Reiki Master-Teacher.
Your instructor will also teach you the following in this degree:

♦ The history of Reiki

♦ Your Reiki lineage extending back through Dr. Usui
♦ Hand positions for healing self
♦ Hand positions for healing others
♦ The five principles of Reiki

If you are learning Reiki for personal reasons or to work only

with self-healing, friends and family, and pets, then you may wish
to complete your Reiki journey here, as this will provide you with
everything you need to know to incorporate Reiki practices into
your personal life.

Second Degree Reiki (Okuden)

In Second Degree Reiki, you will be attuned so you can channel a
stronger Reiki energy. You must be attuned to First Degree Reiki
before you can be attuned to Second Degree. During this degree,
you will learn symbols and processes so you can channel Reiki at a
distance across both time and space. Second Degree Reiki builds on
what you learned in First Degree Reiki, and it is strongly
recommended that if you wish to practice Reiki professionally, or
as part of another professional healing practice you engage in, you
learn and are attuned to Second Degree Reiki. In Second Degree
Reiki, you will learn:
♦ The three pillars of Reiki
♦ The three symbols of Second Degree Reiki and their uses
♦ How to work intuitively in a Reiki session
♦ How to channel Reiki across a distance of time or space

Additionally, your Reiki Master-Teacher may also offer some of

the following curriculum:

♦ Best practices for setting up a Reiki practice

♦ More in-depth information about subtle anatomy
♦ Business information about setting up a practice, such as
required paperwork, insurance, and licensing requirements in
your state
♦ Nontraditional Reiki symbols and their uses
♦ How to set up a distance Reiki healing room
♦ How to work with your Reiki guides

Reiki Master-Teacher Degree (Shinpiden)

In Usui Ryoho Reiki, this is the final degree of Reiki that
practitioners can achieve. Some other forms of Reiki may expand
upon this information, but traditional Usui Ryoho Reiki ends its
formal training in this degree.
You must first be attuned to First Degree and Second Degree
Reiki before you can be attuned to Master-Teacher energy. You
should consider attunement to the Reiki Master-Teacher Degree if
you wish to teach and attune others to Reiki, or if you’d simply like
to carry your Usui Ryoho Reiki training to its ultimate conclusion.
In this degree, you will be attuned to Master-Teacher Reiki energy
and will also learn about the following:
♦ How to draw and use the Reiki Master symbol
♦ How to develop your Reiki curriculum for each level and what
information it should contain
♦ Procedures and processes for attuning others to all degrees of
Reiki both in-person and at a distance
♦ Ethics for practicing and teaching Reiki

Anyone can attain and be attuned to any of the degrees of Reiki;

no special talents are required. Instead, if you are called on the
Reiki journey, listen to the guidance of your soul. Because you have
been drawn to Reiki, you are meant to channel its energy.

Reiki Attunements
To channel Reiki energy, a Reiki Master-Teacher must attune you
to that degree of Reiki energy. Once you are attuned to a certain
degree of Reiki energy, you will be for life. You will never need to be
reattuned to the same degree of Reiki energy again.
So, what is an attunement? In an attunement, a Reiki Master-
Teacher aligns your vibrational energy with the energetic
frequency of the degree of Reiki energy you will be channeling. I
look at the alignment as removing a filter or flipping a switch in the
practitioner to allow that degree of Reiki energy to flow in an
unrestricted manner. Attunements only take a few minutes, but
they create a profound change in the Reiki practitioner due to
changes in your personal frequency and vibration.
Because your energetic frequency changes with each successive
attunement to higher degrees of Reiki, I recommend leaving at least
21 days between attunements (the amount of time Usui Sensei
fasted and meditated on Mount Kurama) to become fully
accustomed to the vibrational changes that have occurred.
 Attunements can occur either in-person or at a distance. I
prefer in-person attunements so my students have the opportunity
to practice under my supervision after attunement, but that isn’t
always possible. I have attuned many people using both methods
(in-person and distance), and both methods have always resulted in
the person receiving the attunement aligning with the degree of
Reiki energy they are now able to channel.

What to Expect
Your First Degree Reiki attunement will take just a few minutes; it
may be longer if you are part of a group of people being attuned.
During the attunement, you will sit with your eyes closed and your
hands in Gassho. Although different Reiki Master-Teachers follow
different processes for attunement, most will likely have the
following elements:
1. At the start of the attunement, the Reiki Master-Teacher will
ask you to silently affirm your desire and consent to be attuned
to First Degree Reiki energy.
2. While you sit with your eyes closed, you may hear or sense the
Reiki Master-Teacher moving around you. (When I am
attuning groups, I always gently touch the shoulder of the
person I am attuning so they know it is their turn.) Breathe
deeply and allow any sensations you notice during the
attunement.
3. During the attunement, the Reiki Master-Teacher will use
Reiki symbols to align your energetic system, including your
hara line chakras, with First Degree Reiki energy.
4. At the end of the attunement, the Reiki Master-Teacher will
give thanks to Reiki and to Reiki Masters past, present, and
 future for your attunement, affirming that you will move
forward as a powerful and confident First Degree Reiki
practitioner.
5. The Reiki Master-Teacher may also ask you to take a moment
to reflect in gratitude and to affirm your willingness to move
forward as a powerful and confident First Degree Reiki
practitioner.

Possible Reactions
You may experience some reactions during or immediately
following your attunement, or you may not experience anything—
all reactions are natural. The following are possible reactions to
your attunement:

♦ You may experience a deep sense of peace or relaxation.

♦ You may have visions or notice swirling colors behind your
eyes.
♦ You may feel an emotional release or feel rapidly shifting
emotions.
♦ You may experience a profound sense of joy.
♦ You may notice warmth or tingling in your hands and chakras.
♦ You may notice a slight, allover buzzing in your body.
♦ You may notice no changes at all.

You may also experience a vibrational shift as you align with

the First Degree Reiki energy in the period following your First
Degree attunement. This can cause mild symptoms as your body
adapts to the new frequency, or it may not cause any issues at all.
Again, all reactions are natural.
During this period, you are encouraged to care deeply for
yourself. Channel Reiki to yourself daily by using the hand
positions you will be provided for self-care, or by channeling small
amounts of Reiki to yourself when you have time, such as while
you’re watching television, meditating, or drifting off to sleep.
During this 21-day period, you should also drink plenty of water
and seek to move and eat in ways that nurture your good health.
You will be able to channel First Degree Reiki energy to yourself
and others immediately following your attunement.
Some reactions people have noticed following their First Degree
Reiki attunement include the following:

♦ You may notice ongoing warmth or tingling in your hands, or

you may notice that your hands “turn on” at certain times. If
your hands turn on, either ground the energy by touching the
ground or channel the Reiki to yourself.
♦ You may be a bit more emotional than usual. Be gentle with
yourself and allow these emotions.
♦ You may experience mild physical symptoms, such as a stuffy
nose or mild sleep disturbances. These will generally go away on
their own as your body adapts to the energy.
♦ You may notice you have more intense dreams than you have
had in the past. This is often guidance from your higher self or
spirit guides, so see if you can discover what your dreams mean
using a dream analysis dictionary.
♦ You may notice you are feeling more intuitive in general. Try to
listen to your intuition and act upon it.

The Mechanics of Reiki Healing

So how, exactly, does First Degree Reiki work, and what will you or
your healing partners notice? Although the experience is different
for everyone, there are some generalizations we can make to help
you and your healing partners better understand the process. With
your deeper understanding, you can also better explain the process
to your healing partners before and after their Reiki sessions.

How Reiki Flows

First Degree Reiki is universal energy that comes from the Source
(what others may refer to as the Universe, the Zero Point Field, or
God). Your First Degree attunement has aligned you to this
universal energy so that it can flow from the universe, through you,
and out of you through your hands, auric field, gaze, or breath. From
there, your healing partner draws the Reiki energy into their
energetic field and body.
The Reiki energy is all around you. You can draw it into you
through your breath, pull it from the Earth through your feet, feel it
entering through your skin from all around you, or visualize it
flowing from the universe in through your crown chakra and out
through your gaze, breath, auric field, and/or hands.
Reiki energy is intelligent energy. It always flows in ways that
serve the greatest good of both the Reiki practitioner and the
healing partner, and it is never harmful or dangerous. Because this
universal energy is so intelligent, Reiki will always flow where it’s
needed. This means that if someone has a headache, you could put
your hands on their foot to help with the headache, and the energy
would naturally flow there. However, I’m a big fan of meeting your
healing partners right where they are. If you told me you had a
headache and I put my hand on your foot, you might not feel heard.
Therefore, I’d likely place my hands on your head, both because the
energy can get their more quickly and directly, and because I want
you as my healing partner to feel validated and heard in what you
have told me.
Although your hands are the most common means of delivering
Reiki energy, you can also direct it through your gaze, by beaming it
from your auric field, or even through your breath. You may wish
to use a combination of all these techniques during your Reiki
sessions, although channeling it through the hands is the most
common way First Degree Reiki practitioners deliver the energy.

Turning Reiki On and Off

Most First Degree Reiki practitioners can feel the flow of Reiki as
warmth, tingling, pushing, pulling, or other changes of sensation in
their hands. Likewise, your healing partner will often experience
the drawing in of Reiki as warmth, relaxation, tingling, or other
changes of sensation in the area where the Reiki is being channeled.
Intention is your main tool to “turn on” Reiki. Although it can,
and does, turn on spontaneously from time to time, when you are
working in a Reiki healing session, you simply ask to have the Reiki
flow. I suggest doing this by starting every Reiki session with your
hands in Gassho and asking for the Reiki energy to move through
you. After a session, you can “turn off” the Reiki by grounding the
energy and breaking the energetic link between you and your
healing partner. To ground the energy, place your hands on the
ground. To break the energetic link, run your hands under cool or
cold water. Grounding and breaking the energetic link is an
important step, and one you should do at the end of every Reiki
session.

Typical Healing Sessions

You will develop your own practices and be guided by each
individual healing partner, and it is helpful to first understand a
typical Reiki healing session. By working within the structure of a
healing session, you can then begin to add your own touches based
on intuitive information you receive about each of your healing
partners during a session. However, even if you don’t receive any
intuitive information during a session, you can follow the basic
session structure and still provide a complete Reiki treatment that
serves the greatest good for your healing partner. Having a basic
structure for a session provides the form that then allows you the
freedom to act on intuitive information if you receive it.

Preparing for a Session

I always take about 10 minutes before my healing partner arrives to
prepare for a session. This allows me to get into the meditative and
energetic space where I can listen to my intuition and work with it
in ways that serve my healing partner’s greatest good. Before your
healing partner arrives, take five to ten minutes to meditate or sit
with your hands in Gassho. During this time, you can express
gratitude to Reiki, ask the energy to flow, and ask to receive any
intuitive information that may help you as you work with your
healing partner. Additionally, you may wish to ensure any
necessary objects are available and any environmental settings are
prepared.

SELF-TREATMENT
To prepare for and perform a self-treatment:
1. Find a place where the session won’t be disturbed.
2. Adjust the environment for comfort by ensuring the lighting is
soft, the temperature is comfortable, and the space allows you
to sit or lie comfortably during your self-treatment.
3. Sit with your hands in Gassho and ask for the Reiki to flow.
4. When you feel the Reiki flow, use the self-treatment hand
positions (beginning here), holding your hands in each position
for three to five minutes. You can use a Reiki timer to do this—
there are many Reiki timer apps as well as YouTube videos that
play music with a discreet chime when it’s time to switch hand
positions. If you feel intuitively guided for alternative
placements, listen to this guidance and move your hands as
guided. If the guidance stops, return to the basic hand positions.
5. At the end of treatment, return your hands to Gassho and offer
thanks to the Reiki energy for flowing in ways that serve your
greatest good.
6. Run your hands under cold water to ground yourself and shut
off the flow of Reiki energy.

TREATING A HEALING PARTNER

Your healing partner can be fully clothed during a treatment. I
typically ask healing partners to remove their shoes and cellphones,
and I remove mine as well so I can be grounded during a session. I
also ask that they remove their watches and glasses, if they wear
them. Remove any jewelry you’re wearing that may get in the way—
jingly bracelets, long pendants that can bump them on the head, etc.
Ask your healing partner to tell you if there is anything you can
supply to make them more comfortable.
To perform a treatment for a healing partner:
1. Set up in a place where the session won’t be disturbed. If
possible, use a massage table for treatment. Alternatively, you
can have your healing partner sit in a chair that you can move
around easily. Clean the table or chair.
2. Adjust the environment for comfort by ensuring the lighting is
soft and the temperature is comfortable. Add other things
conducive to a good atmosphere, such as diffusing essential oils.
3. Have a light blanket, pillows, bolsters, tissues, and a glass of
water available.
4. Have your healing partner fill out any necessary paperwork
and conduct a brief consultation. Ask why your healing partner
is seeking Reiki and explain what they might experience during
the session.
5. Ask for permission to touch. If you don’t receive permission,
during the session you can hover your hands a few inches
above your healing partner’s body.
6. Have your healing partner stand in front of you. Sweep their
aura by running your hand a few inches away from their body
down through their auric field along the front, sides, and back.
At the end of each sweep, flick excess energy into the ground
from your fingers. The Earth will neutralize the energy.
7. Have your healing partner lie on the table on their back with
their arms and legs uncrossed or sit in a chair.
8. Stand in Gassho for a moment until you feel the Reiki energy
flow.
9. Place your hands on your healing partner’s shoulders and stand
that way for a few moments to allow you to get used to one
another’s energy. Watch your healing partner for a subtle sign
of release, such as a sigh or a shift in position, signaling they are
ready for the session to begin.
10. Conduct a Reiki session using the hand positions beginning
here. Hold each hand position for three to five minutes using a
 Reiki music timer. If you feel intuitively guided during the
session, move your hands as your intuition directs. Always
keep your eyes open during the session so you can observe your
healing partner’s reactions.
11. Upon completing the session, give thanks to Reiki and affirm
that the Reiki energy serves your healing partner’s greatest
good.

Ending a Session
At the conclusion of the session, have your healing partner sit up on
the table or, if seated, open their eyes.
1. Sweep their aura again, touching the ground at the bottom of
each sweep.
2. Give your healing partner a glass of cool water to ground them
and step out to run your hands under cold water to break the
energetic connection between the two of you.
3. After the session, allow your healing partner to ask questions or
share any experiences they wish to with you.

Range of Results
Your healing partner may experience a range of results. It’s always
best to suggest they drink plenty of water throughout the
remainder of the day, as water can flush out any toxins that have
been released into the body as a result of the vibrational shift that
occurred during the Reiki session.
All experiences that result from a Reiki session exist to serve
the greatest good of your healing partner. Some things your healing
partners might experience include:
♦ Emotional release, rapid emotional shifts, or slight emotional
shifts as a result of vibrational change
♦ A brief uptick in symptoms followed by a lessening of
symptoms, or sometimes just a lessening of symptoms
♦ Increased intuition
♦ Increased spiritual awareness
♦ Vivid dreams
♦ Deeper sleep or mild sleep disturbances
♦ A sense of relaxation or deep peace
♦ Sleepiness
♦ Increased energy
♦ A “buzzing” feeling throughout the body
♦ Sensations of warmth
♦ No noticeable results

All these results are normal, as each individual will receive

what they need from the Reiki session. In general, I explain the
possible experiences after a Reiki session and invite them to reach
out to me if they need help or assurance. In general, most of these
effects will be mild.

Receiving Reiki
The best way to understand what it feels like to receive Reiki is to
work with another Reiki practitioner or to channel Reiki to
yourself if you’re a newly attuned practitioner. However, it’s
always helpful to understand the range of experiences people might
have during a Reiki session in order to explain to your healing
partners what they might experience while they’re on your table.
Who or What Can Receive Reiki?
Because everything is made up of the same energy that simply
takes different forms, anything or anyone can receive Reiki. Here
are some examples:

♦ Friends and family

♦ Clients/healing partners
♦ Plants and/or the water/food you give your plants
♦ Electronics
♦ Cars and public transportation
♦ Crystals
♦ Your home and the spaces where you live, work, and play
♦ Pets
♦ Food and beverages
♦ Bathwater
♦ Jewelry
♦ Gifts
♦ Clothing and shoes
♦ Paper (with your affirmations written on them)

There are also a few people you should not channel Reiki to:

♦ Anyone who tells you they don’t wish to receive it

♦ People who have a pacemaker (it can affect the energy)
♦ Anyone whose medical doctor has told them they shouldn’t
receive energy healing

Getting Ready
Before a healing partner receives Reiki, they may wish to do the
following:

♦ Eat healthy foods and drink plenty of water for 24 to 48 hours

before the treatment.
♦ Engage in gentle but not overly strenuous movement.
♦ Ask that the Reiki serve their highest good.
♦ Avoid alcohol and intoxicants for 24 to 48 hours before a
treatment.

Sensing Energy
During a treatment, you may sense the energy of your healing
partner, and your healing partner may sense energy from you or
from the Reiki.

SENSING ENERGY AS A PRACTITIONER

As a practitioner, you may sense energy in various ways:

♦ You may notice changes in sensation in the palms of your hands,

such as increased or decreased temperature, tingling, pushing,
pulling, or prickling.
♦ You might see colors or wavy energy patterns where energy is
needed.
♦ You might suddenly be aware of changes in energy as a
“knowing.”
♦ You may “hear” voices or words as persistent thoughts in your
head.
♦ You might notice sensations in your body directing you to
where your healing partner needs the energy.
♦ You may notice differences in pressure such as increased ear or
sinus pressure or similar sensations.
♦ You may “see” images in your mind’s eye that direct your
treatment.
♦ You may sense a release of energy as a “whoosh” or rushing
sensation.

SENSING ENERGY AS A HEALING PARTNER

Your healing partner may also notice shifts in energy. This may
manifest in various ways such as:

♦ They may experience rapid or mild emotional shifts, or have an

emotional release.
♦ They might see colors or images in their mind’s eye.
♦ They may notice warmth, coolness, or tingling sensations in
their body.
♦ They may feel peaceful and relaxed or slightly “buzzy.”
♦ They may experience a “whoosh” or rushing sensation either
physically or emotionally.

Aftercare
After a session, I try to talk minimally to my healing partners
because I want them to have as much space as they need to
experience anything that arises as the result of energetic shifts.
However, I do typically ask if they have questions. Additionally, I
advise my healing partners to:

♦ Drink lots of water.

♦ Avoid alcohol or intoxicants for 24 hours.
♦ Go home and take a warm bath with sea salt or Himalayan pink
salt in the water.
♦ Eat light, nourishing food for the next few meals.
♦ Meditate for 10 to 15 minutes.
♦ Try to get a good night’s sleep.
♦ Keep a journal to record feelings, insights, or dreams that arise.

Managing Your Energy

I find that many people drawn to the energy healing arts have a
deeply empathic nature. And with that deep compassion and
empathy comes a desire to help their healing partners feel better,
regardless of the energetic cost to themselves as the practitioner.
Managing your own energy is essential to your well-being during
Reiki treatments because you don’t want to make your healing
partner feel better while you feel worse. The goal is for you both to
leave the session vibrating at a higher frequency.
Reiki energy comes through you and not from you, so in an ideal
world, there shouldn’t be a transfer of your personal energy to your
healing partner. However, in many cases, especially when the Reiki
practitioner is empathic, such a transfer occurs anyway unless you
engage in deliberate practices to manage your own energy.
Grounding and clearing practices can help you maintain good
energy hygiene (keeping your own energy clear and protected)
before, during, and after a Reiki session.

Basic Grounding Practices

Grounding is essential before, during, and after a session because it
helps you maintain your own energetic boundaries so you’re not
giving away your energy to another or depleting your personal
energy.

♦ Always work with your feet flat on the floor. If it’s feasible, have
your feet bare during the session.
♦ After the session, run your hands under cool or cold water to
ground you and break the energetic connection to your healing
partner. Ground your healing partner by sweeping their aura,
ensuring you finish by touching the ground, and offering them a
glass of cool water.
♦ After your healing partner leaves, sit or stand with your feet flat
on the floor and visualize roots growing from your feet and
extending deep into the Earth.

Basic Clearing Practices

Clearing is essential before, during, and after a session as well.

♦ Before and after a session, clear the healing space by burning

sage, incense, or palo santo; striking a singing bowl; or visualizing
white light filling the room.
♦ During the session, if you receive intuitive information—
especially as sensations in your body—act on the information,
thank the universe for providing it, and then flush it by
visualizing white light coming down through your crown,
through your body, and pushing the information or sensation
out through your feet and into the Earth.
♦ After the session, take a “Reiki shower” by visualizing Reiki
energy as a waterfall above you. Step into the Reiki energy and
allow it to flush throughout your body and flow from the
bottoms of your feet into the Earth.

Maintaining a Healthy Reiki Practice

Maintaining a healthy Reiki practice means using energy hygiene
and practices that create a safe space for your healing partner as
well as an energetically sound space for yourself. A healthy Reiki
practice looks out for your physical, emotional, and spiritual health
with the following methods:

♦ Maintain healthy boundaries with your healing partners.

♦ Always ground and clear energy before and after every session.
♦ Practice self-Reiki and Gassho or meditation for at least five
minutes every day.
♦ Intend for your Reiki to always serve the greatest good for you
and your healing partners.
♦ Set aside expectations for you or your healing partners. Instead,
enter each Reiki session in the spirit of “allowing” and let the
Reiki energy guide you throughout the session.
♦ Focus on the Reiki principles.
♦ Always express gratitude for the Reiki energy.
♦ Seek to learn as much as you can about Reiki and energy healing
through continuing education.
 CHAPTER THREE

First Degree Reiki Healing

Techniques
Now that you’ve learned the background information
essential for practicing First Degree Reiki, it’s time to get
into the details. One of the things I love about First Degree
Reiki is that it provides a complete, structured system of
techniques that serves as a step-by-step plan for a Reiki
session. With the information in the previous chapter, the
techniques in this chapter, and attunement from a Reiki
Master-Teacher, you’ll be ready to start providing hands-
on Reiki to yourself and others as soon as you are attuned.

Methods to Share First Degree Reiki

First Degree Usui Ryoho Reiki is primarily a hands-on form in
which you provide Reiki energy in-person by placing your hands
on your healing partners in different hand positions. However,
touch may not be feasible or comfortable for some practitioners
and healing partners for various reasons, so First Degree Reiki
offers other ways of delivering the energy to in-person healing
partners. At the beginning of every in-person Reiki session, ask for
permission to touch and then respond within the session according
to your healing partner’s wishes. In some cases, licensing
requirements in your state may prohibit touch as a professional
practice unless you have a “license to touch” (often, a massage
therapy license), so it’s important that if you are practicing Reiki
professionally, you do so in accordance with your state’s laws and
licensing requirements.

Hands-On
In hands-on Reiki healing, place your hands directly on your
healing partner (or yourself) using direct touch. This is the best
method to use if your healing partner gives permission for touch, as
many people don’t have much loving touch in their lives and Reiki
is a way to provide it. Hands-on Reiki also generates a gentle,
healing warmth that is calming and relaxing. You can use the Reiki
hand positions (here) or place your hands intuitively depending on
what you feel guided to do.

Hovering
If you don’t receive permission to touch, or you don’t have a license
to touch when you’re practicing professionally, hover your hands
between one and four inches above your healing partner’s body
using the Reiki hand positions or hand positions you are intuitively
guided to take. Although this isn’t as intimate as hands-on touch, in
some cases it may feel safer or more comfortable for your healing
partner.

Directing Reiki with Your Gaze

You can also direct Reiki with your gaze by standing near your
healing partner and gazing softly at the place where you would
typically place your hands. Visualize the Reiki energy coming down
through the crown of your head and flowing through your eyes and
into your healing partner. You need to be in the presence of your
healing partner to do this.

Intuitive Healing
Even though First Degree Usui Ryoho Reiki provides a system of
hand positions, I always encourage my students to work with their
intuition as much as possible during a Reiki session. If you feel
intuitively guided to place your hands in a certain spot, listen to
that guidance. Your intuition exists to guide you as a Reiki
practitioner. Following this guidance can help direct the Reiki
energy quickly and efficiently to where it is most needed.
I understand that it can be difficult or stressful to rely on
intuition during a Reiki healing session with a healing partner,
particularly when you’re new to the practice, but it doesn’t have to
be. It’s actually simple: If you’re guided to place your hands
somewhere, follow that guidance. When you feel guided to move
your hands to a different location, move them there. If you don’t
notice any intuitive guidance, follow the system of hand positions,
always allowing room for guidance to arise throughout a session.
If you’d like to try working with intuition in a session, ask for
intuitive guidance at the start of the session. Stand at your healing
partner’s head with your hands in Gassho, holding your fingertips
in front of your third eye chakra. Then, ask to be guided during your
session. Once you feel guidance, move your hands to where you feel
you should place them. If you don’t notice any guidance, start with
the hand positions, holding space for the possibility of guidance
during a session.
Guidance may arise in the following ways:

♦ The desire to move or place your hands in a certain location

♦ A “knowing” that you should place your hands there
♦ Visual signals such as the appearance of wavy lines (similar to
heat waves) or color inlays over a certain part of the body
♦ Signals such as words appearing in your mind (or being heard
with your ears), like “left arm” or “head”
♦ Pain in various areas of your body that you know aren’t related
to anything physically happening with you (for example, if you
experience a shoulder pain and you know nothing is wrong with
your shoulder, it may be your intuition telling you to place your
hands on your healing partner’s shoulder)

Hand Positions for Self-Healing

Self-healing is extremely important for Reiki practitioners of all
degrees. I channel Reiki to myself daily—even if it’s only for five
minutes—and I also receive Reiki (hands-on or at a distance) from
many of my friends who are Reiki practitioners themselves. Even if
it’s for only five minutes a day, channeling self-Reiki can help you
feel invigorated, maintain energetic balance throughout your
subtle anatomy, and help you work through any mental, physical,
spiritual, or emotional dis-ease you may encounter. Practice a full
hands-on self-Reiki treatment, using intuition or the hand
positions that follow, daily for 21 days after each Reiki attunement
or when you are ill.
When using the Reiki hand positions for yourself or others:

♦ Use a light touch—don’t press too hard or rest the weight of your
hands and arms on yourself or your healing partner.
♦ Cup your hands lightly with your fingers lightly pressed
together and your thumbs tucked into the sides of your palms as
illustrated, unless otherwise indicated.
♦ Hold each hand position for three to five minutes, or or until
until you are guided to move your hands.
♦ If any hand position is uncomfortable for you, adapt it so you are
able to hold the position comfortably for three to five minutes.
♦ For self-Reiki, either lie on your back in a comfortable position
or sit upright in a chair with your feet resting flat on the floor.

Eyes
This hand position channels Reiki to your third eye and crown
chakras, as well as to your eyes, brain, forehead, and sinuses.
1. With your hands cupped and thumbs tucked into the sides of
your hand, lightly rest the heels of your palms on your
cheekbones.
2. Rest your fingertips lightly on your forehead at your hairline.
Cheeks

This hand position channels Reiki to your crown and third eye
chakras, as well as to your cheeks, ears, and jaw.
1. Lightly hook your thumbs behind each ear.
2. Rest the pinky side of your cupped hands along your jaw, outer
 eyes, and eyebrows.
3. Rest your fingers lightly on your temples.

Back of Head

This hand position channels Reiki to your brain, pineal gland, skull,
and the upper vertebrae of your neck. Some people may find this
hand position needs to be adapted depending on individual
shoulder and arm flexibility, so always adapt for your own comfort.
1. Place your cupped hands along the back of your skull.
2. Rest the pinky ridge of your upper hand where your skull
begins to curve.
3. Rest the thumb ridge of your lower hand along the occiput at
the bottom of your skull.
4. Try to keep your shoulders down and relaxed. If the position is
uncomfortable in a seated position, lie back with your arms and
shoulders supported.

Sides of Neck
This hand position channels Reiki to your throat chakra, as well as
your neck and shoulders. Some people may find this hand position
needs to be adapted depending on neck length, so always adapt for
your own comfort.
1. Place your cupped hands lightly on either side of your neck.
2. Rest the edges of your pinkies along the underside of your
jawbone.
3. Rest the edges of your thumbs lightly on your collarbones.
4. Rest your fingertips along the sides of your neck, starting just
below your earlobes.
5. Avoid pressing too hard here, as your hands will be along your
carotid artery, and too much pressure can cut off or impede
blood supply.

Throat and Heart

This hand position channels Reiki to your throat and heart chakras,
as well as to your lungs, heart, shoulders, chest, upper thoracic
vertebrae, thyroid, parathyroid, thymus gland, upper rib cage, arms,
and collarbones. In this position, spread the thumb away from your
upper hand while keeping your hands in the lightly cupped
position. Adjust to the most comfortable position for you.
1. The base of your upper hand’s palm rests lightly over your
sternum at the center of your chest.
2. Separate your thumb from your fingers, resting your thumb
lightly on one side of your collarbone and your fingertips lightly
on the other side.
3. Cup the lower hand with the thumb tucked in, as guided
previously.
4. Rest the heels of your palms lightly just off to the side of your
sternum at approximately the level of the xiphoid process, with
your fingertips resting upward at an angle along the side of
your chest.

Ribs
This hand position channels Reiki to your solar plexus chakra, as
well as to your lower thoracic vertebrae, adrenal glands, upper
abdominal organs, sternum and xiphoid process, and the lower part
of your rib cage.
1. Lightly rest your fingertips of each hand along the bottom part
of your sternum, with your middle fingers touching.
2. Extend your cupped hands parallel to the floor, with the heels
 of your palms lightly resting along your rib cage on each side.
3. Rest the edges of your pinkies along the bottom of your rib cage
parallel to the floor.

Abdomen

This hand position channels Reiki to your sacral chakra, as well as

to your lower abdominal organs, sexual/reproductive organs, and
upper intestines.
1. Lightly place the tips of your middle fingers right on your belly
button.
2. Extend your cupped hands out to either side, with the sides of
your hands parallel to the floor.

Groin
This hand position channels Reiki to your sacral chakra, as well as
to your hips, lower intestines, rectum, groin, and upper thighs.
1. Place your hands lightly in your lap, with your thumbs resting
along the crease between your torso and your thighs.
2. Rest your hands comfortably along your thighs with your
middle fingertips touching, if possible.

Shoulders and Upper Back

This hand position channels Reiki to your shoulders, scapulae, and
upper thoracic vertebrae. Some people may find this hand position
uncomfortable due to differences in flexibility, so always adapt for
your own comfort. You can cross your arms in the front of your
body, keep them uncrossed, do one side at a time, or lie on your
back, if that makes you more comfortable.
1. Place one hand gently on each shoulder on either side of your
 neck.
2. Lightly rest the heels of your palms just above your collarbones
on either side of your neck.
3. Wrap your fingertips over your shoulders, extending down
your back perpendicular to the floor.

Middle Back
This hand position channels Reiki to your solar plexus chakra, as
well as to your lower rib cage, thoracic vertebrae, and upper
abdominal organs and glands including the gallbladder, liver, and
adrenal glands. Some people may find this hand position
uncomfortable, so always adapt for your own comfort. You might
adjust to one hand at a time or do this hand position while lying on
your back if it’s uncomfortable to use both hands at the same time
sitting in an upright position.
1. Place your middle fingertips together at your spine in the mid-
thoracic region.
2. Extend your hands outward at the most comfortable angle,
with the base of your palms resting lightly along the bottom
part of your rib cage.

Lower Back
This hand position channels Reiki to your lower back, lower
abdominal organs, lumbar vertebrae and tailbone, sciatic region,
pelvis, and pelvic organs. Some people may find this hand position
uncomfortable, so always adapt for your own comfort. You might
adjust to one hand at a time or do this hand position while lying on
your back if it’s uncomfortable to use both hands at the same time
sitting in an upright position.
1. Place your middle fingertips together comfortably along your
 lumbar vertebrae.
2. Rest the edges of your thumbs along the tops of your buttocks.

Knees

This hand position channels Reiki to your knees and upper and
lower legs (thighs and calves). If possible, sit comfortably upright in
this position, with your feet flat on the floor.
1. Place the base of your palms lightly on your lower thighs just
above your knee joint.
2. Bend your fingers down so your fingertips rest lightly along the
lower part of your kneecap (patella), just above your shins.

Feet
This hand position channels Reiki to your feet. Although this is
listed as a single hand position, you’ll actually perform it twice, once
on each foot. Adjust your posture in any way that makes this a
comfortable position for you to perform.
1. Cup the bottom of your foot with one hand.
2. Cup the top of your foot with the other hand.
Hand Positions for Healing Others
These hand positions for healing others work best when your
healing partner is lying on an adjustable massage table at a height
that is comfortable for you. Adjust the height of the table so you can
sit or stand comfortably without having to lean or rest your
forearms and so you can hold your hands in the positions for three
to five minutes.
Using the hand positions for healing others allows you to
channel Reiki to every aspect of your healing partner’s body in a
quick and efficient manner. Hold each position for three to five
minutes. If you feel intuitively guided during a session to move your
hands elsewhere, please listen to that guidance. If you’re in the
midst of an intuitive session and you feel your guidance stop,
return to the hand positions.
To use the hand positions for healing others:

♦ Have your healing partner lie comfortably on the healing table,

with their arms and legs uncrossed. Generally, they will start on
their back and roll onto their stomach as the session progresses.
♦ Ask for permission to touch. If no permission is given, hover
your hands a few inches above your healing partner’s body.
♦ Use an extremely light touch. Avoid resting your weight or your
forearms along your healing partner’s body.
♦ Keep your hands cupped and thumbs tucked for all hand
positions unless otherwise indicated.

Eyes
This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s crown
and third eye chakras, as well as to their eyes, sinuses, brain, head,
and pineal gland.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their back,
stand or sit at their head.
2. Place the base of your palms along their forehead just above
their eyebrows.
3. Lightly rest your fingertips along their cheekbones.

Ears

This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s crown

and third eye chakras, as well as to their ears, brain, jaw, cheeks,
mouth and teeth, and pineal gland.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their back,
stand or sit at their head.
2. Lightly hook your pinkies behind their ears.
3. Rest the heels of your palms gently along their temples.
4. Rest your fingertips gently along the sides of their jawbone.

Back of Head

This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s crown

and third eye chakras, as well as to their skull, brain, pineal gland,
and upper vertebrae of their neck. If you do not have permission to
touch, you will need to skip this hand position or have your healing
partner lie on their stomach so you can hover your hands. The body
holds a lot of tension here, so this is an especially beneficial hand
position for people experiencing tension headaches. In this
position, many people will try to hold their head up to take the
weight from your hands. If you notice them holding tension in their
neck in this position, wiggle your fingers gently and ask them to
allow you to hold their head.
1. With your healing partner lying down, stand or sit at their
head.
2. Place the sides of your pinkies together and cradle your their
head in your hands.
3. Make sure you take the full weight of their head.
4. Gently rest your fingertips along their occipital ridge and the
heels of your hands along the top of their skull as it starts to
curve.

Throat
This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s throat
chakra, as well as to their thyroid and parathyroid, neck vertebrae,
collarbones, shoulders, arms, and upper chest region. This hand
position may be triggering for some healing partners with a history
of certain types of trauma, so be careful with it. When I ask for
permission to touch, I always tell my healing partner that this is one
of the hand positions I may use and ask if they would be
comfortable with it. If they are not, hover your hands instead of
touching them directly.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their back,
stand or sit at their head.
2. Rest the thumb side of your hands just below their jawbone.
3. Rest the sides of your pinkies along their collarbones.
4. Use a very light touch in this region.

Heart
This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s heart
chakra, as well as to their heart, lungs, sternum, upper rib cage, and
upper thoracic region. This hand position may be triggering for
some healing partners, so be careful with it. When I ask for
permission to touch, I always tell my healing partner that this is one
of the hand positions I may use and ask if they would be
comfortable with it. If they are not, hover your hands instead of
touching them directly.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their back,
stand or sit at their head.
2. Place the heel of one palm lightly in the center of your healing
partner’s chest along the sternum, with your fingers extending
at an angle upward so your fingertips rest lightly above their
breast.
3. Place the heel of your other palm along their collarbone, with
your fingers extending downward overlapping your other
hand.

Solar Plexus
This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s solar
plexus chakra, as well as to their adrenal glands, upper abdominal
organs, rib cage, sternum, xiphoid process, and thoracic region.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their back,
stand or sit to one side of them.
2. Place the middle fingertip of one hand on your healing
partner’s xiphoid process and extend your hand perpendicular
 to their sternum, with the heel of your palm resting lightly
along their rib cage.
3. Place the heel of your other hand up against the fingertips of
your first hand and extend your hand out parallel so your
fingers are resting lightly on their rib cage.
4. You may need to experiment with which hand is the most
comfortable in which position.

Navel
This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s sacral
chakra, as well as to their abdominal organs, lower thoracic region,
bottom of the rib cage, upper intestines, and sexual organs.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their back,
stand or sit to the side of them.
2. Place the middle fingertip of one hand on your healing
partner’s belly button.
3. Extend your hand perpendicular to their rib cage, with the heel
of your hand resting lightly along your healing partner’s side.
4. Place the heel of your other palm along the tip of your middle
finger from the other hand.
5. Extend your fingers forward so they rest on your healing
partner’s other side.
6. You may need to experiment with which hand is most
comfortable in which position.

Hara
This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s hara, as
well as to their mid-abdominal organs, upper intestines, and sexual
organs. Your hara is the center point of energetic balance in your
body, and it sits just below your navel.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their back,
stand or sit to the side of them.
2. Rest the thumb side of one hand just below their belly button,
 with your palm extending out to one side.
3. Rest the heel of your other hand with the thumb side lightly
touching the index finger of the first hand. Extend your
fingertips out to your healing partner’s side.

Groin

This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s root

chakra, as well as to their groin region, lower intestines, sex organs,
pelvis, pelvic organs, and upper thighs. This hand position may be
triggering for some healing partners, so be careful with it. When I
ask for permission to touch, I always tell my healing partner that
this is one of the hand positions I may use and ask if they would be
comfortable with it. If they are not, hover your hands instead of
touching them directly.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their back,
stand or sit to the side of them.
2. Place each hand in the crease where the torso meets the hips in
the position that is most comfortable for you and your healing
partner.
3. Your hands should extend outward, perpendicular to their
outer thighs.

Knees

This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s knees

and legs.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their back,
stand or sit to the side of them, even with their knees.
2. Place one hand over each of their knees, resting your fingertips
and palms on either side of the kneecap (patella).

Ankles
This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s ankles,
shins, calves, and Achilles tendons.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their back,
stand or sit to the side of them, even with their ankles.
2. Place your hands gently over the fronts of their ankles, with
your palm resting on one side and your fingertips on the other.

Feet
This hand position channels Reiki energy to your healing partner’s
feet.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their back,
stand or sit to the side of them, even with their feet.
2. Place the palms of your hands over the top of each of their feet,
with the heels of each hand on one side of their feet and the
fingertips cupped and touching the other side of their feet.

Shoulders and Upper Back

This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s neck,
upper back, spine, lungs, heart, upper rib cage, shoulders, and
scapulae. To perform the remaining hand positions, ask your
healing partner to roll onto their stomach, with their legs and
ankles uncrossed. Their arms can be at their sides or folded above
their head.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their stomach,
stand or sit to the side of them, even with their shoulders.
2. Place the middle fingertip of one hand along their upper
thoracic vertebrae at shoulder height, with the heel of your
hand extending perpendicular to their spine and resting along
their shoulders.
3. Place the palm of your other hand so it is touching the fingertip
of your first hand and extends perpendicular to their spine,
with your fingertips lightly resting on the back of their
shoulder.
Middle Back

This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s middle

back region, thoracic spine, heart, lungs, and mid portion of the rib
cage.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their stomach,
stand or sit to the side of them, even with their mid-thoracic
region.
2. Place the middle fingertip of one hand along a thoracic vertebra
(near where the bra strap lies on a woman).
3. Extend your hand perpendicular to their spine, with the heel of
that hand resting lightly on their rib cage.
4. Place the heel of your other hand against the middle fingertip
and extend your fingers perpendicular to their spine to rest
your fingertips of that hand along their rib cage.
Lower Back

This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s lumbar

region, tailbone, sexual organs, hips, and pelvis.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their stomach,
stand or sit to the side of them, even with their pelvis.
2. Place the middle fingertip of one hand along a lumber vertebra
so that the bottom of your hand skims along their buttock,
running perpendicular to their spine, with the heel of your
hand touching their side.
3. Place the heel of your other hand at the tip of the middle finger
of your first hand. Extend the hand perpendicular to their
spine so your fingertips touch their other side.

Tops of Legs
This hand position channels Reiki to your healing partner’s root
chakra, tailbone, rectum, and hamstrings.
1. With your healing partner lying comfortably on their stomach,
stand or sit to the side of them, even with their buttocks.
2. Place one hand along the crease of where their buttocks meets
their hamstrings, extending perpendicular to their spine, with
your fingertips lightly touching their inner thigh and the base
of your palm lightly touching their other thigh.
3. For the other hand, place it in a similar position along their
other thigh.

Clearing the Aura

Sweep your healing partner’s aura at the beginning and end of
every Reiki healing session. Sweeping the aura helps remove any
energetic disturbances in your healing partner’s energetic field and
grounds and sets the changes from a Reiki session in the body. To
sweep the aura:
1. Have your healing partner sit on the edge of the healing table or
stand next to the table.
2. Stand facing your healing partner.
3. Beginning at the top of the head 2 to 3 inches above their crown
chakra, sweep one or both hands along the contours of their
body, down toward the floor, maintaining a few inches of
distance between your hands and your healing partner.
4. At the end of each sweep, touch the floor with your hands to
ground the energy.
5. Sweep 4 or 5 times, always starting at the crown of their head
and moving downward, moving around all planes of your
healing partner’s body.

Bridge Position
The bridge hand position allows you to move Reiki from one area to
another with the placement of your hands. For example, if someone
gets lots of creative ideas (born in the sacral chakra) but has trouble
expressing them (throat chakra), then you may wish to create a
Reiki bridge to connect the sacral chakra to the throat chakra. To do
this, you place one hand over the throat chakra and the other hand
over the sacral chakra and visualize the Reiki energy flowing
between the two. You can use this position—with one hand in one
position and the other in another—to connect energy anywhere you
feel it isn’t flowing properly.

Hand Positions for Quick Healing

Sometimes you or your healing partner lack the time (or the table)
to do a full Reiki session. In such cases, you can always complete a
quick healing session, in which you have your healing partner sit in
a chair with their bare feet flat on the floor and you pursue hand
positions for one to five minutes that cover each chakra as well as
the knees and feet. This allows Reiki to go where it’s needed without
taking as much time as a traditional session.

Hands on Shoulders
This hand position allows you and your healing partner to get used
to each other’s energy and start the Reiki process for a quick
session.
1. Stand up straight behind your healing partner.
2. Place one hand gently on each of your healing partner’s
shoulders with the heels of your palms resting on the backs of
their shoulder blades and your fingertips resting on their
 collarbones.

Crown Chakra

This hand position channels Reiki to the crown chakra and all areas
of the body it affects, including the brain, head, skin, and skeletal
system.
1. Stand behind your healing partner.
2. Hold your hands cupped over the crown of your healing
partner’s head, hovering them 2 to 4 inches above.

Third Eye Chakra

This hand position channels Reiki to the third eye chakra and all
areas of the body it affects, including the brain, sinuses, and eyes.
1. Stand to the side of your healing partner.
2. Place one hand across their forehead running parallel to their
brow.
3. Place your other hand across the back of their head at the same
height in a similar position.

Throat Chakra
This hand position channels Reiki to the throat chakra and all areas
of the body it affects, including the thyroid, neck, jaw, ears, and
parathyroid. This hand position may be triggering for some healing
partners, so be careful with it. When I ask for permission to touch, I
always tell my healing partner that this is one of the hand positions
I may use and ask if they would be comfortable with it. If they are
not, hover your hands instead of touching them directly.
1. Stand to the side of your healing partner.
2. Place one hand lightly and gently over their throat chakra,
running parallel to their chin.
3. Place your other hand along the back of their neck in a similar
position.

Heart Chakra
This hand position channels Reiki to the heart chakra and all areas
of the body it affects, including the heart, lungs, and ribs.
1. Stand or kneel (depending on which is most comfortable for
you) to one side of your healing partner.
2. Place one hand in the center of their chest, with the pinkie edge
of your hand running just along the tops of their breasts
parallel to the floor.
3. Place your other hand along the back of their body in a similar
position.

Solar Plexus Chakra

This hand position channels Reiki to the solar plexus chakra and all
areas of the body it affects, including the rib cage, adrenal glands,
middle back, and upper abdominal organs.
1. Sit, stand, or kneel to one side of your healing partner.
2. Place one hand over their solar plexus chakra, with your palm
directly over their solar plexus. Extend your fingers parallel to
the floor so they fall just underneath their breast.
3. Place your other hand along their back in a similar position.

Sacral Chakra
This hand position channels Reiki to the sacral chakra and all areas
of the body it affects, including the abdominal organs, sexual
organs, and lumbar spine.
1. Sit or kneel to one side of your healing partner.
2. Place one hand along the front of their body with the thumb
side of your hand running just underneath their belly button
and your hand running parallel to the floor.
3. Place your other hand along the back of their body in a similar
position.

Root Chakra
This hand position channels Reiki to the root chakra and all areas of
the body it affects, including the pelvis, colon, sciatic region,
tailbone, and hips.
1. Sit in front of your healing partner on the floor, facing them.
2. Place each hand along the tops of their thighs in the crease
where the thigh meets the torso, with the heel of your hands on
their outer thighs and your fingertips on their inner thighs.
Knees

This hand position channels Reiki to the knees and legs.

1. Sit in front of your healing partner on the floor, facing them.
2. Place each hand along the tops of their knees, with your
fingertips resting on the inside of their knees and the palms of
your hands resting on the outside.
Feet

This hand position channels Reiki to the feet and ankles.

1. Sit on the floor in front of your healing partner, facing them.
2. Place each hand along the tops of one of your healing partner’s
feet, with the heels of your hands resting on the outside of their
arches and your fingertips resting on the inside of their arches.
 CHAPTER FOUR

Reiki Sequences for Physical

Health
Migraine Headaches
Autoimmune Disease
Anxiety
Arthritis
Hypertension
Metabolic Syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Menstrual Issues
Indigestion/Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
Thyroid Disease

In this chapter, you’ll find common Reiki sequences to help

with common physical ailments. These sequences are not a
substitute for proper medical care, but they can serve as
an adjunct to it and help spur the healing process. And
though the ailments treated here are physical, the Reiki
sequences seek to support the energetic issues that may
lead to such illnesses as well as help manage the symptoms
associated with dis-ease. It’s important to remember that
as a Reiki practitioner, you should never diagnose a
healing partner, nor should you counteract or oppose any
doctor’s recommendations. Your role is to support your
healing partner as they work with the energetic conditions
surrounding their dis-ease.
For all sequences, hold each hand position for three to
five minutes, or until you notice signs of release. Your
healing partner should be lying on their back unless
otherwise indicated. End each session by sweeping their
aura and having your healing partner sip from a glass of
cool water for grounding.
Migraine Headaches
According to the Migraine Research Foundation, migraines are the
third most prevalent medical condition in the world, affecting
about 12 percent of the population, including men, women, and
children of all ages. Migraines can present in many different ways
—from “classic” migraine headaches with auras that precede them
to less common ocular migraines. Migraines may have a cluster of
triggers that can range from infrequent and mild to chronic and
severe.
Affected Chakras

Crown
Third eye
Throat
Heart
Solar plexus
Sacral
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Make sure the lights are low and any music is soft. For all hand
positions, use an extremely light touch.
2. Stand at your healing partner’s head and hold the following
sequence of hand positions: Eyes – Ears – Back of Head –
Throat.
3. Move to your healing partner’s side and hold the following
hand positions: Heart – Solar Plexus – Navel.
4. Ask your healing partner to roll onto their stomach and,
standing at their side, complete the following hand positions:
Shoulders and Upper Back-Middle Back.

Tip:
♦ If you have an essential oil diffuser, diffuse lavender essential
oil, which can be helpful for headaches and creates a relaxing,
peaceful atmosphere.
♦ An amethyst crystal placed on the third eye chakra can help
with migraine energy.
Autoimmune Disease
According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases
Association, there are more than 100 different autoimmune
diseases affecting different body parts, organs, and systems.
Common autoimmune diseases include type 1 diabetes, asthma,
rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, lupus, celiac disease, Graves’
disease, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
Affected Chakras

Two primary chakras affect autoimmune disease—the crown

chakra and the root chakra. Generally, there’s also a third chakra
involved, which is the chakra supporting the location in the body
where the disease symptoms manifest (such as the solar plexus
chakra/pancreas in type 1 diabetes). The following lists some of the
affected chakras for common forms of autoimmune disease.
Crown—lupus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma
Third eye—multiple sclerosis, ankylosing spondylitis,
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), narcolepsy
Throat—Graves’ disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
Heart—rheumatic heart disease, arthritis, autoimmune
myocarditis, asthma
Solar plexus—type 1 diabetes, autoimmune hepatitis
Sacral—endometriosis, interstitial cystitis
Root—celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, gout
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Stand at your healing partner’s side. Hold the following hand
positions: Hara – Groin.
2. Stand at your healing partner’s head. Hold the following hand
positions: Eyes – Ears – Back of Head – (chakra associated with
symptoms of autoimmune disease).
3. Hold a series of bridge hand positions with one hand on each
location:

♦ Hara – Crown (from Quick Healing Hand Positions—hand on

crown of head)
♦ Hara – Third Eye (from Quick Healing Hand Positions—hand on
forehead)
♦ Hara – chakra associated with autoimmune disease
♦ Crown – chakra associated with autoimmune disease (from
Quick Healing Hand Positions)

Tip: Snowflake obsidian is an excellent crystal to use as you

work with someone who has autoimmune disease, as it
connects root and crown chakra energy, allowing for better
flow of energy through all the chakras. During treatment, place
a piece of snowflake obsidian under the treatment table or on
the treatment table at about hara height next to your healing
partner.
Anxiety
Anxiety disorders affect more than 18 percent of the American
population, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association
of America. Anxiety disorders can take multiple forms, such as
generalized anxiety, social anxiety, phobias, and obsessive-
compulsive disorders, just to name a few. Anxiety disorders can
have both physical and mental causes, but the effects of the
disorder often manifest physically.
Affected Chakras

Third eye
Solar plexus
Root
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Start at your healing partner’s head and hold the following

hand positions: Eyes – Ears – Back of Head.
2. Move to your healing partner’s side and hold the following
hand positions: Solar Plexus – Navel – Hara – Groin.
3. At the end of the session, have your healing partner stand with
their bare feet flat on the floor to sweep their aura and ground
the anxiety.

Tip: During the session, ask your healing partner to focus on

this deep, calming breathing pattern:
 ♦ Inhale deeply through your nose into your abdomen for a
count of 4.
♦ Hold the inhale for a count of 4.
♦ Exhale through your mouth for a slow count of 8, expelling
all your air.

Your healing partner can return to this breathing pattern in

their daily life when they feel their anxiety arise.

Additionally, if your healing partner is in a calm and relaxed

state at the end of a Reiki session, you can teach them a simple
technique from neurolinguistic programming (NLP) called
anchoring to recall their relaxed state when they start to feel
anxious again. After grounding your healing partner as noted
previously:

♦ Have them create some type of a gesture (such as touching the

tips of their middle finger and thumb together in a circle like an
okay sign).
♦ Have them hold the gesture for one or two minutes, or until
their state of calm relaxation begins to fade. This anchors the
feeling of peace and calm in the gesture.
♦ Now, whenever they feel anxiety arising, they can repeat the
gesture to recall the feeling they had at the end of the Reiki
session.
Arthritis
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that more
than 54 million adults in the United States (about 23 percent) have
some form of arthritis, with the most common form being
osteoarthritis. Arthritis is caused by inflammation of the joints,
and the condition can be painful and debilitating.
Affected Chakras

Crown
Root
Step-by-Step Instructions

Along with treating the crown and root chakras, you will also want
to hold hand positions over the locations where the arthritis is most
prevalent. For example, if your healing partner presents with
arthritis in the shoulders, then one of your hand positions should
be a nontraditional hand position where you stand at your healing
partner’s head with your hands over each shoulder. Use a very light
touch to avoid making symptoms worse.
1. Stand at your healing partner’s side and hold the following
hand positions: Hara – Groin.
2. Stand at your healing partner’s head and hold the following
hand positions: Eyes – Ears – Back of Head.
3. Hold your hands very lightly over the area where the pain
manifests, such as hands, ankles, elbows, shoulders, or knees.
Tip: Sea salt or Himalayan pink salt baths are especially
beneficial for people suffering from arthritis. Encourage your
healing partner to take 10-minute warm baths with a quarter
cup of Himalayan pink salt or sea salt dissolved in the water 3
to 5 times per week, as well as during periods of pain and
immediately following a Reiki session.
Hypertension
According to the World Health Organization, about 1.13 billion
people worldwide experience hypertension, also known as high
blood pressure. Hypertension is often a symptomless physical issue,
but the results of long-term untreated hypertension can be
catastrophic, leading to heart attack, heart failure, and other life-
threatening physical health problems.
Affected Chakras

Crown
Heart
Solar plexus
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Stand at your healing partner’s head and hold the following

hand positions: Eyes – Ears – Back of Head.
2. Move to your healing partner’s side and hold the following
hand positions: Heart – Solar Plexus.
3. Next, have your healing partner roll onto their stomach and
complete the following hand positions: Shoulders and Upper
Back – Middle Back – Lower Back.

Tip: Always encourage your healing partner to follow their

doctor’s instructions for treatment of hypertension. High blood
pressure is a function of overactive heart energy, so working
with opaque crystals that support heart energy can help absorb
some of the excess energy. Choose an opaque green crystal,
such as jade or ruby in fuchsite. Place the crystal directly over
the heart chakra as you channel Reiki energy through the stone
into heart chakra.
Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms and conditions that
occur together, according to the Mayo Clinic. These conditions can
increase your risk of health issues such as type 2 diabetes, heart
disease, and stroke. Conditions that make up metabolic syndrome
include high blood pressure, excess body fat around the middle, high
blood sugar, and high cholesterol or triglycerides.
Affected Chakras

Crown
Heart
Solar plexus
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Stand at your healing partner’s head and hold the following

hand positions: Eyes – Ears – Back of Head.
2. Move to your healing partner’s side and hold the following
hand positions: Heart – Solar Plexus.
3. If your healing partner has issues associated with type 2
diabetes, such as neuropathy, also use the following hand
positions: Groin – Knees – Ankles – Feet.
4. Next, have your healing partner roll onto their stomach and
complete the following hand positions: Middle Back – Lower
Back.
5. At the end of the session, have your healing partner stand with
 their bare feet flat on the floor.
6. Sweep your healing partner’s aura, visualizing the unhealthy
energy you have cleared as black shadows flowing down
through the body as your hands sweep, draining through the
soles of the feet into the Earth, where it is neutralized.

Tip: Grapefruit and peppermint essential oils can help with

symptoms associated with metabolic disorder. Diffuse one or
both of these oils during the session.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a painful cluster of symptoms that is still poorly
understood. According to the American Chronic Pain Association,
fibromyalgia affects roughly 2 to 4 percent of the population, with
an overwhelming majority of people with fibromyalgia being
women (about 90 percent). Research into this debilitating illness is
ongoing, but some research suggests the causes may be
neurological.
Affected Chakras

All
Step-by-Step Instructions

Hands-on healing, if tolerated, is especially helpful for fibromyalgia

because the warmth from the hands is soothing to pain. However, it
is important you use a very light touch to avoid aggravating pain
points. In spots where touch is not tolerated, hover your hands 2 to
3 inches above the body.
1. Stand at your healing partner’s head and hold the following
hand positions: Eyes – Ears.
2. Move to your healing partner’s side and hold the following
hand positions: Heart – Solar Plexus – Navel – Groin – Knees –
Ankles – Feet.
3. Next, have your healing partner roll onto their stomach and
complete the following hand positions: Shoulders and Upper
Back – Middle Back – Lower Back – Tops of Legs.
4. While your healing partner is on their stomach, use a bridge
position with one hand at the base of the spine held over the
coccyx, and one hand gently resting at the top of the head.

Tip: During your session, ask your healing partner to visualize

any pain points as black shadows that drain out of their body
through the table and into the Earth, where the pain is
neutralized.
Menstrual Issues
Menstrual issues are common for women and can present with a
range of symptoms. Some common menstrual issues women
experience include painful periods, extremely heavy periods,
absent periods, issues associated with menopause, irregular
menstruation, and fibroids. All have similar energetic causes, so
regardless of the way they present, you can manage the energetics
of the issues in the same manner.
Affected Chakras

Menstrual issues are primarily associated with the sacral chakra,

which controls the sexual organs.
Third eye
Throat
Heart
Sacral
Root
Step-by-Step Instructions

In this sequence, instead of working from the top down, as you

would in other health issues, you work from the bottom up. This
raises the vibration through the chakras.
1. Stand at your healing partner’s side and hold the following
hand positions: Groin – Hara – Navel – Heart.
2. Move to your healing partner’s head and hold the following
hand positions: Throat – Back of Head – Ears – Eyes.
3. If your healing partner experiences back pain as part of their
menstrual issues, have them roll onto their stomach and hold
the following hand positions: Top of Legs – Lower Back –
Middle Back.

Tip: Place a piece of carnelian on your healing partner’s sacral

chakra throughout the treatment while they lie on their back.
You can also diffuse orange essential oil to help support sacral
chakra energy throughout the session.
Indigestion/ Gastroesophageal
Reflux Disease
About one out of four people are affected with indigestion,
according to the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute
of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Indigestion can be
occasional and mild, or it can be chronic and severe. Many severe
cases are caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which
arises from a malfunction of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES)
that allows gastric acid into the chest and throat.
Affected Chakras

Throat
Heart
Solar plexus
Sacral
Step-by-Step Instructions

Place a pillow under your healing partner’s head and shoulders to

help manage the symptoms associated with GERD during the
treatment.
1. Stand at your healing partner’s head and hold the following
hand position: Throat.
2. Move to your healing partner’s side and hold the following
hand positions: Heart – Solar Plexus – Navel – Hara.
Tip: GERD and acid reflux are associated with too much of the
chi element of fire. Certain food and beverages—including
spicy foods (such as chiles), coffee, and alcoholic beverages—are
associated with increasing the fire element. Your healing
partner may want to avoid them. Instead, suggest they enjoy
cooling foods such as yogurt and berries and drinking room
temperature to cool (but not cold) water.
Thyroid Disease
Although some thyroid diseases—such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
and Graves’ disease—are autoimmune, others are not. For
autoimmune thyroid disease, you can follow the autoimmune
protocols here, paying special attention to the throat chakra. This
sequence can support both autoimmune and nonautoimmune
thyroid disease.
Affected Chakras

Crown
Third eye
Throat
Solar plexus
Sacral
Step-by-Step Instructions

Nonautoimmune thyroid disease is a malfunction of your body’s

endocrine system, which produces hormones throughout your
body. Imbalances in one hormone (such as thyroid hormones) can
have a cascading effect, leading to imbalances in other hormones as
well.
1. Stand at your healing partner’s head and hold the following
hand positions: Eyes – Ears – Back of Head – Throat.
2. Move to your healing partner’s side and hold the following
hand positions: Solar Plexus – Navel – Hara.
3. Next, ask your healing partner to roll onto their stomach and
 work in the following order: Shoulders and Upper Back –
Middle Back.
4. While your healing partner is on their stomach, use a bridge
position with one hand at the Lower Back position, and one
hand on the Shoulders and Upper Back position. Visualize the
energy rising from your Lower Back hand to your Shoulders
and Upper Back hand, clearing any blockages in energy along its
path as it rises.

Tip: Teach your healing partner the Bija mantra (a single-

syllable mantra that activates the energy for each chakra) for
the throat chakra, which has Ham (pronounced
“hahmmmmmmmm”). If your healing partner feels
comfortable doing so, have them chant Ham as you channel
Reiki to their throat chakra. If they aren’t comfortable doing so,
suggest that they spend five minutes each day with their hands
resting lightly on their throat chakra chanting this mantra.
 PART TWO

Second Degree Reiki

In this part, you will learn everything you need to know as
a Second Degree Reiki practitioner. Second Degree Reiki
allows you to channel a more powerful form of Reiki and
provides you with attunements, skills, and knowledge that
allows you to send Reiki across time and space, such as
to someone across the room or on the other side of the
world, as well as to the past and the future.
 CHAPTER FIVE

Second Degree Reiki Training

Second Degree Reiki (Okuden) steps up your healing
ability so you can open a professional Reiki practice, if
that’s your goal. First Degree Reiki is “friends and family
Reiki” and deals with hands-on, in-person Reiki practice.
Learning the Second Degree Reiki fundamentals and being
attuned to the Second Degree energy and symbols opens
up your practice, allowing you to use a more powerful
form of Reiki energy that you can channel not only in-
person and hands-on but also across time and space. This
distance healing ability opens numerous possibilities for
Reiki healing and makes you a more well-rounded energy
healer. In this chapter, you’ll learn the fundamentals of
Second Degree Reiki.

What to Expect in Second Degree Reiki

Training
At the end of Second Degree Reiki training, you’ll be attuned to the
Second Degree Reiki energy, a more powerful form of Reiki energy
than First Degree. You’ll also learn how to draw and use the
traditional Usui Ryoho Reiki symbols for physical, mental,
emotional, spiritual, and distance healing, bringing more power and
focus to your sessions. Once you are attuned to the Second Degree
Reiki energy and symbols, you are attuned to them for life.

Deeper Healing Opportunities

With a more powerful form of Reiki energy flowing, you have the
opportunity to provide a higher vibration of energy healing. Second
Degree energy is more focused and often works more quickly than
First Degree energy.

Distance Healing
Freed from the constraints of time and space, the opportunities for
sharing healing energy are endless. This opens a world of
possibilities that aren’t available to First Degree Reiki
practitioners. Working with Second Degree Energy and the Reiki
distance healing symbol (here) allows you to channel Reiki energy
across time and space; fill entire spaces with Reiki energy; channel
healing energy to situations such as natural disasters or pandemics;
provide Reiki to people, animals, plants, or objects that can’t be in
your physical space; and even channel Reiki energy to entire groups
of people or the planet as a whole. Additionally, you can send Reiki
back into the past or forward into the future to help heal issues that
may contribute to disease.

Spiritual Development
Attunement to and channeling of Second Degree Reiki energy also
provides opportunities for spiritual growth.

♦ You may experience greater intuition because Second Degree

Reiki focuses on intuitive healing.
♦ Many Reiki practitioners also begin working with their Reiki
guides during this degree.
♦ Second Degree practitioners also notice that their own personal
energy vibrates at a higher frequency that provides a deeper
connection to universal (Source) energy.
♦ Second Degree Reiki practices encourage deeper spiritual
awareness through meditation, seeking guidance from higher
sources, and developing a set of ethics about energy healing
focused on serving the highest good.

Healing Past Lives

With the ability to channel Reiki across time and space, Second
Degree Reiki practitioners can also channel universal Reiki energy
in ways that allow both the practitioner and their healing partners
to deal with karmic issues arising from past lives, lives between
lives, and their actions in this life. Karmic issues frequently appear
in our daily lives in forms of energetic imbalance and dis-ease that
offer each of us the opportunity to discover those issues, work
through them, and create a new, balanced state of being that serves
our greatest good.

Second Degree Attunements

You can receive your Second Degree attunement in-person or at a
distance. You must already be attuned to First Degree Reiki, and a
Reiki Master-Teacher must complete the attunement. During the
attunement, you will be attuned to Second Degree Reiki energy and
to three Second Degree Reiki symbols. Attunement to this energy
and these symbols allows you to deepen your practice.
After a Second Degree attunement, the Reiki energy you
channel will have a greater intensity. Because of this increase, just
as you experienced during your First Degree attunement, you will
have a 21-day period of adjustment in which you may experience
some mild symptoms of body, mind, and spirit as you adapt to
having a higher frequency energy flowing through you. During
these 21 days, continue to channel Reiki to yourself daily by using a
full hands-on healing session you learned in chapter 3, or by
channeling Reiki to yourself for at least five minutes every day.
As with your First Degree attunement, you may also notice
psychic changes such as deeper levels of intuition, liberating shifts
in your emotional framework, more intense dreams, and positive
changes in your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health.
Most of my students report to me that with each successive
attunement, they feel more “tuned-in” to intuitive information, and
they feel they can dial into the Reiki energy more quickly and
efficiently. Many also report that they feel more connected to
universal energy as well as to their healing partners.

Common Psychic Gifts

I believe everyone is intuitive, and what differentiates people called
“psychics” from people who don’t believe they are psychic is simply
that those using their psychic abilities have learned to understand
them and have developed them by working with their intuitive
gifts. In other words, although I identify as a psychic because I have
learned to recognize, understand, and work with those gifts, I am no
different from anyone reading this book. You also have intuitive
gifts that, with attention and practice, you can develop into psychic
gifts. Developing these gifts is invaluable to Reiki practitioners of
all degrees.
There are different ways people might experience psychic
information, so the first step is understanding the various ways
your intuition might manifest. Then, you can begin to work with
that information in safe situations, such as during a Reiki session or
with a loved one, to strengthen your psychic “muscle.”

Clairaudience (Auditory Psychic Information)

Clairaudience, or psychic hearing, is a common way people receive
psychic information, and it’s more than just “hearing voices,”
although that can be part of the ability or gift.
Clairaudience can manifest in a variety of ways. Often, the first
way it manifests that people can recognize is through a sense of
pressure in the ears, such as how it feels when your ears might need
to pop as you ascend or descend in an airplane. If you notice such a
sensation, pay attention and see if you notice any of the following
forms of clairaudient information:

♦ Hearing words or phrases in your mind or with your ears

♦ Hearing sounds such as whistling or experiencing a high-
pitched ringing in your ears
♦ Awakening in the morning with a word, sound, or phrase ringing
in your ears
♦ Noticing other sounds or ear sensations such as hearing musical
tones, snippets of music, or bells ringing
♦ In a Reiki session, hearing a simple word—such as “heart,”
“lungs,” or “leg”— directing you where to channel Reiki energy
♦ Experiencing other auditory sensations such as a muffling of
sound, changes in pitch or frequency, rises and drops in volume,
or hypersensitivity to background noise

Clairvoyance (Visual Psychic Information)

Clairvoyance is also known as psychic seeing. You may notice
visions, either with your physical eyes or with your mind’s eye.
Many people expect clairvoyance to be obvious images or like
watching a film with their mind’s eye, and for some people this is
certainly the case. But for many, clairvoyance is more a series of
quick, fleeting images that flash by and are gone as quickly as they
came, much like flickering images on a film that flash by so fast you
almost aren’t aware of them. Some manifestations of clairvoyance
include:

♦ Visual disturbances such as eye floaters or energy waves similar

to heat waves
♦ Flashes of light or color seen either with the eye or in the mind’s
eye
♦ Persistent images in your mind’s eye that return repeatedly or
linger
♦ Flashes of images in the mind’s eye that don’t match anything
you’re thinking, seeing, or doing
♦ Shadows, figures, and visions seen either with the eye or in the
mind’s eye
♦ Symbols that flash in your mind

In a Reiki session, clairvoyance may manifest as a column of

light or heat waves around a body part in need of Reiki energy, or it
might be a vision of a specific body part in your mind’s eye during
the session such as seeing a rib cage or a foot flash through your
brain.

Clairsentience (Somatic Psychic Intuition)

Clairsentience, or clear feeling, is about having feelings or
sensations in your physical body and energy field that transmits
information about other people around you. Some ways
clairsentience may manifest include the following:

♦ Physical sensations in your body that tell you how another is

feeling physically, such as aches and pains, tingling, etc.
♦ The ability to feel changes in energy when you scan your hands
over someone else

These sensations may occur as pushes, pulls, tingling, hot or cold

sensations, and similar changes in pressure felt in the palms of your
hands.

Claircognizance (Psychic Knowing)

Claircognizance, or psychic knowing, is the intuitive gift of
suddenly knowing information. Generally, with claircognizance,
you simply have information “uploaded” to your brain all at once,
and you know something you didn’t know before. Claircognizance
may manifest in the following ways:

♦ Sudden knowing of information you didn’t know before

♦ Knowing your healing partner has an energy imbalance in a
certain part of the body
♦ Suddenly knowing something about someone’s history that
affects their mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, or energetic
health

Clairempathy (Empathy)
Clairempathy is the term for being empathic or feeling another’s
emotions as if they are your own. I find that many people drawn to
energy healing are empaths, although they may not recognize that
they are. Empaths feel other people’s emotions and may have
difficulty differentiating them from their own feelings. Some ways
clairempathy may manifest include the following:

♦ Feeling an emotion that is unrelated to anything you are

currently experiencing, such as being happy at a party and
suddenly feeling sadness of no particular onset when someone
approaches you
♦ Feeling drained after being in the presence of certain people
♦ Feeling a whirl of emotions, rapid mood swings, or other strong
or shifting emotions in crowds

In a Reiki session, you might feel shifts in emotions unrelated to

your Reiki work as you move your healing partner’s energy and
release trapped emotions.

Mediumship
All mediums are psychic, but not all psychics are mediums. A
medium is someone who uses their various intuitive gifts (the
“clairs” listed previously), to communicate with the spirit world. If
you are a medium, your gifts may manifest in any of the ways noted
—for example, a clairvoyant medium may actually be able to see
spirits, whereas a clairaudient medium may hear them. Signs of
mediumship may include the following:

♦ You had an imaginary friend when you were a child.

♦ You have vivid dreams about or visions of people who have died.
♦ You have distinct sensations in haunted locations that indicate
the presence of ghosts.
♦ You believe or know you communicate with the dead in some
 way.

The Team of Light: Reiki Guides

All souls incarnated in human bodies have spirit guides, or beings
existing in the realm of the absolute who provide guidance through
dreams, intuition, and other signs. You may have one spirit guide or
many. People attuned to Reiki have at least one additional
specialist Reiki guide who is there to help them in their Reiki and
energy healing practice.

The Role of Spirit Guides

Some of your spirit guides have been with you throughout
lifetimes, whereas others may arrive during different periods of
your life or lives in order to impart specific guidance and
information. Your guides are not here to tell you what to do, but
they are here to provide signs and information that serve your
greatest good. You are never required to follow guidance from your
spirit guides, although their guidance always exists to help set you
on your life’s path in a way that serves the highest good.
Spirit guides may play various roles in your life:

♦ Some arrive during a particular period to provide love and

support during a difficult situation.
♦ Some are with you daily, providing guidance in the form of
intuition, knowing, psychic information, and dreams.
♦ Some are “specialists,” here to guide you in one aspect of your
life, such as an energy healing practice, your career, or your
form of artistic expression. Reiki guides fall into this category.
♦ Some are loved ones in your soul group (a group of souls you
incarnate with over lifetimes for the purposes of karmic
 balance) who have died in this lifetime and wish to provide
ongoing love and support.
♦ Some come for only a brief time to help create a situation that
serves your highest good.
♦ Some are here to help you with specific initiatives or passions in
your life, such as the pursuit of social justice or
environmentalism.

Types of Spirit Guides

There are many different types of spirit guide. And although it is
impossible to list all types, here are a few common ones.

TEACHER GUIDES
Teacher guides are with you in your life between lives (when you
are in the spirit state) and help guide your overall growth as a spirit.
Teacher guides can incarnate with you into lifetimes to help
provide learning and support, or they may guide you from another
dimension while you are incarnated via feelings, dreams, etc. You
may recognize teacher guides in the following ways:

♦ A friend or family member who plays a mentorship or

significant role in your life
♦ Someone who comes into your life for a brief period who serves
as a catalyst to change everything
♦ A helpful mentor or teacher that appears in your dreams
♦ A voice of inner guidance

ANGELS
Angels are energetic entities that have never been incarnated as
human beings. They are pure energetic spirits who have stepped
outside of karmic cycles to provide love and support that serves the
greatest good for the universe as a whole. Angels may manifest in
the following ways:

♦ As a being of light that arrives to provide a helping hand during a

period of crisis or difficult time
♦ As a voice of guidance during particularly difficult times
♦ As a being of light appearing in dreams providing insight that
leads to change or growth

REIKI GUIDES
Your Reiki guides are spirits that exist in another dimension to
help you with your energy healing practices. Many believe that past
Reiki Masters are Reiki guides that help all practitioners, but each
individual practitioner has their own Reiki guide or guides, too. Call
on your Reiki guides for assistance during Reiki sessions. Support
from Reiki guides may manifest in the following ways:

♦ As information that arises before, during, or after a Reiki session

♦ As a helping presence during a Reiki session
♦ In dreams and intuition

OTHER TYPES OF GUIDES

You have many other types of spirits that may exist to provide
guidance as well, including:

♦ Sympathetic souls who have been incarnated with you in

various lifetimes
♦ Ancestors
♦ Members of your soul group
♦ Ascended masters
♦ Loved ones who have died
♦ Your higher self that exists outside of incarnation

Connecting with Your Guides

Connecting with your guides is a matter of asking for guidance and
listening. Information from your spirit guides may arrive in the
following ways:

♦ Dreams
♦ Intuition
♦ Urges
♦ Voices of reason
♦ Words spoken to you through others
♦ Information provided through psychic insight, channeling,
creative flashes, or writing
♦ Synchronicities
♦ Leaving objects, such as coins or trinkets

To connect with your guides, all you need to do is ask for

guidance and then pay attention to information all around you.
Your guides will respond, but it’s up to you to pay attention to
everything around you to understand that response. When you
receive guidance, always act on that guidance and express
gratitude.

Using Discernment
Whether working with your spirit guides or communicating with
other spirits, it’s important that you discern guidance from noise
coming from your own mind, your healing partner, or a source that
may not have the greatest good as a guiding principle. Ask the
following questions to discern whether the information is a form of
guidance.

IS THIS MINE?
If you have a physical feeling during a Reiki session ask, “Is this
mine?” If the answer is no, act on the physical feeling (move your
hands on your healing partner to the position where you’re having
the feeling in your own body), give thanks for the information, and
then visualize the information pushing downward out of your
body, through your feet, and into the Earth where it is neutralized.

DOES THIS SERVE THE GREATEST GOOD?

If you believe you are receiving guidance, ask yourself, “Does this
information serve the greatest good?” If the information is loving
and will do good and not harm, chances are it is guidance. Act on the
guidance and give thanks for the information.

Asking Spirits to Leave

Everyone deserves privacy, and it’s perfectly fine to set boundaries
for receiving guidance or interacting with spirits. To ask a spirit to
leave, you can simply say, “Thank you for the information. Please
leave now; if you’d like to share more, you can talk to me (set
boundary).”
In a few cases dealing with the spirits of people who have died
that are trying to communicate, they might be less willing to abide
by boundaries, so you can also put up an energetic barrier to keep
them away until you’re ready to hear their information or
guidance. To do this, visualize pushing an energy field from your
solar plexus that surrounds you completely. When you’re ready to
communicate with spirits, you can visualize the barrier retreating
into your solar plexus.

A GUIDED MEDITATION TO CONNECT WITH GUIDES

This meditation allows you to do two things: connect with your spirit guides and
create an energetic space that can serve as your Reiki healing room.

1. Sit or lie comfortably where you won’t be disturbed. Breathe deeply in through
your nose and out through your mouth.
2. When you feel relaxed, imagine you are at the end of a street. Notice along the
street ahead of you that there are six houses—one in each of the first six chakra
colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet) with a glowing white temple at
the other end of the street.
3. Walk down the street, entering each house and pausing within to allow the
energy of the house’s color to surround you.
4. When you reach the violet house, notice someone waiting at the front door for
you. This is your Reiki guide. Enter the house and spend time talking to your
guide, asking questions such as how they communicate with you and the types
of guidance they provide.
5. When you’re ready, thank your Reiki guide and leave the violet house. Walk
down the street to the temple.
6. Walk up the temple stairs and enter the temple. Your Reiki guide is standing in
the temple next to a healing table surrounded in light. Decorate your temple in
any way you wish. Bring into this space any objects you feel you need to support
your distance healing efforts while you are here in this temple. You can come
here any time to virtually meet your healing partners and your Reiki guides to
perform Reiki healing for them. If you like, lie down on the healing table and ask
your guide to channel Reiki to you.
7. When you are ready, give thanks to your Reiki guide and exit your temple. Walk
down the street again to your starting point, passing all the colorful houses on
your way.
8. Now, return your attention to your body once again, noticing your breath as it
flows in and out. When you are ready, open your eyes.

The Sacred Significance of Reiki Symbols

Second Degree Reiki has three symbols that perform different
functions. There is a fourth symbol you will learn and be attuned to
during your Reiki Master-Teacher training and attunement as well.
During your attunement, these symbols will either physically or
energetically be drawn on your hands to attune you to their energy.
We teach these symbols to help you focus and strengthen your
Reiki energy and to allow you to send Reiki through time and space
(distance healing). The symbols come from the images Usui Sensei
saw in his vision in the cave on Mount Kurama.
In the sections that follow, I will teach you each of the three
traditional Usui Ryoho Second Degree Reiki symbols, as well as
how to draw and use each of them.

SHOULD REIKI SYMBOLS REMAIN SECRET?

There is a school of thought that suggests Reiki symbols should be secret and
never be written down. This teaching came from Mrs. Takata when she was
spreading Reiki teachings to the West. It is believed that she wished her students to
keep the Reiki symbols secret (and insisted that Reiki remain an oral tradition) to
control how Reiki spread out of respect for the practice.
However, today many Reiki Master-Teachers and practitioners do not believe
the Reiki symbols need to remain secret because, in order to access them, you
must be attuned to them by a Reiki Master-Teacher. In fact, both Usui Sensei and
Dr. Hayashi openly shared the symbols in written form in their written materials and
teachings.
Therefore, I don’t believe the Reiki symbols need to remain secret because
both Dr. Hayashi and Usui Sensei shared them freely. It is impossible to misuse the
symbols because Reiki always serves the greatest good, and you must be attuned
to them to use them. Therefore, there is very little downside to sharing and writing
the symbols. Likewise, I believe in sharing the symbols in this book and in my other
teachings and works to allow others to access and work with Reiki energy because
I believe it is such a powerful and needed tool for healing.
Traditional Second Degree Reiki Symbols
There are three traditional symbols taught and attuned during
Second Degree Usui Ryoho Reiki. The three symbols are for
physical healing and activation of Second Degree Reiki energy,
mental and emotional healing, and spiritual and distance healing.
Without these symbols, you are only channeling First Degree Reiki
and you will be unable to send the energy across time and distance.

Cho Ku Rei
SYMBOL AND HOW TO DRAW

PRONUNCIATION AND ABBREVIATION

Cho ku rei is pronounced “show-koo-ray” or “choh-koo-ray”;
abbreviated as CKR.
MEANING
The translation of CKR is “placing all the power of the universe
here.” CKR is the Reiki power symbol. It activates Second Degree
Reiki energy and the other two Second Degree symbols. Therefore,
you can either use CKR by itself or before and after the other two
Second Degree Reiki symbols to activate them. CKR is also the
symbol of physical healing and can help bring energy and balance to
issues that are primarily physical (such as a broken leg).

MANTRA
CKR doesn’t have a specific mantra, but every time you draw it,
activate it by saying its name aloud or in your mind three times.

WHEN TO USE

♦ Always use it to activate Second Degree Reiki energy by

drawing it on your hands before a Reiki session.
♦ Activate the other two Reiki symbols by drawing a full Reiki
sandwich in which you draw CKR, the other Reiki symbols, and
then CKR again. If using all three symbols, draw CKR + SHK +
CKR + HSZN + CKR (see the following sections), saying the name
of each symbol aloud or in your head 3 times as you draw it.

Other times to use CKR:

♦ To help break physical habits or creations

♦ To dissipate dis-ease or negative physical patterns
♦ To stop progressions that don’t serve you
♦ To change the energy of a physical space (such as drawing it in
the four corners of your healing space to invite Reiki in before a
session)
♦ To provide a protective barrier in a space
♦ To cleanse objects
♦ To energize food or drink with Reiki before you consume it
♦ To energize plants or water given to plants

ALTERNATE VERSIONS

Some people use reverse CKR to close their Reiki sandwich because
they believe it brings energetic balance.

Sei He Ki
SYMBOL AND HOW TO DRAW
PRONUNCIATION AND ABBREVIATION
Sei he ki is pronounced “say-hay-key”; abbreviated SHK.

MEANING
SHK means “God and man become one.” SHK is the emotional and
mental energy healing symbol.

MANTRA
SHK doesn’t have a specific mantra. Every time you draw it,
activate it by saying its name aloud or in your mind three times.

WHEN TO USE
When drawing SHK, activate it by surrounding it with CKR so CKR
+ SHK + CKR. This is called the SHK sandwich. There are many
times to use SHK to help clear emotional blockages:
♦ To release energetic blockages and resistance caused by
unsuppressed emotions
♦ To release addictions
♦ To resolve long-term emotional problems
♦ To remove obstacles
♦ To help resolve relationship issues
♦ To process negative emotions
♦ To process grief
♦ To enhance affirmations
♦ To improve emotional intelligence
♦ To improve memory
♦ To spark intuition
♦ To calm emotionally charged situations
♦ To improve communication
♦ To spark creativity
♦ To help find lost items

Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen

SYMBOL AND HOW TO DRAW
PRONUNCIATION AND ABBREVIATION
Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is pronounced “On-SHAW-ze-SHOW-nen”;
abbreviated HSZN.

MEANING
HSZN means, “no past, no present, no future.” It is the symbol of the
spiritual realm and the Reiki distance healing symbol. To send Reiki
across time or distance, you must use HSZN and activate it with
CKR, which is often called the HSZN sandwich: CKR + HSZN +
CKR.

MANTRA
HSZN doesn’t have a specific mantra. Every time you draw it,
activate it by saying its name aloud or in your mind three times.
WHEN TO USE

♦ Any time you wish to send Reiki across a distance of time or

space
♦ To work with deep-seated issues
♦ To send Reiki to large groups or situations
♦ To shorten the length of a Reiki session
♦ To help bring insight and clarity to spiritual issues

Nontraditional Reiki Symbols

There are also several nontraditional Reiki symbols that come from
other Reiki systems such as Karuna Ki Reiki (Mother Earth Reiki).
Some practitioners use these symbols to increase the specificity of
their treatments. I seldom use them because I like to allow the Reiki
energy to flow in the way that serves the greatest good, and I feel
being too specific in my intention may limit the ways in which
Reiki energy can bring about healing. However, I want you to be
aware of these symbols and their uses if you’d like to use them in
your own practice.

Zonar
SYMBOL AND HOW TO DRAW
Zonar represents the infinite or eternal. It is good for working with
karmic issues from past lives.

Harth
SYMBOL AND HOW TO DRAW
Harth is the symbol of truth, harmony, and love. It can reverse
negativity and bring love into situations. It also opens a channel to
guidance from higher realms, such as guides or your higher self.

Fire Dragon
SYMBOL AND HOW TO DRAW
Fire Dragon represents the energy traveling through your chakras.
You can draw it in either direction (down or up) to move energy in
the desired direction.

Johrei
SYMBOL AND HOW TO DRAW
Johrei, a symbol of white light, is used to stimulate healing and
release blockages. It’s also a symbol to use to cleanse spaces or
protect them.

Dumo
SYMBOL AND HOW TO DRAW
Some Reiki Masters use dumo during Reiki attunements.

Incorporating Reiki Symbols Into

Treatments
I incorporate symbols into my treatments intuitively, and I use
them at specific times, such as when I wish to channel Second
Degree Reiki or send distance healing. Always use at least CKR and
draw it onto your hands at the beginning of a session to activate
Second Degree Reiki energy, and always use the HSZN sandwich
(CKR + HSZN + CKR) or the full Reiki sandwich (CKR + SHK + CKR
+ HSZN + CKR) before sending distance energy.
Other times you can incorporate the symbols into treatments
include:

♦ If you are working with blocked mental, spiritual, physical, or

emotional energy to release blockages
♦ To empower a specific intention you’ve set with your healing
partner
♦ When you send Reiki to a situation or to a large group of people
(here)
♦ When you send Reiki back or forward through time (here)
♦ Any time you feel intuitively guided to do so

There are a number of ways you can bring the symbols into your
practice:

♦ Draw them on your hands with a finger at the beginning of a

session.
♦ Draw them on your healing partner’s body. Any time you do
this, tap the symbols into the body with 3 taps of the forefinger
and middle finger on your dominant hand, which is your giving
hand.
♦ Visualize them and then project that visualization into your
hands or into your healing partner’s body.
♦ Draw them on a piece of paper with your healing partner’s name
or on a photograph to send distant healing.

In the next chapter, you will learn more about using the symbols
as part of your practice of Second Degree Reiki.
 CHAPTER SIX

Second Degree Reiki Healing

Techniques
When working with Second Degree Reiki, you could
simply draw CKR on your palms to let the Second Degree
Reiki flow and use the techniques and hand positions you
learned in First Degree Reiki (here). However, with many
new tools available to you as a Second Degree Reiki
practitioner, now is the time to learn and grow in your
healing practices. In this chapter you’ll learn an array of
techniques for distance healing and incorporating
additional modalities into your work as a Reiki
practitioner.

Preparing for Treatment Sessions

In Second Degree Reiki, you are invited to work with the three
pillars of Reiki to help intuitively guide you during treatment.
Second Degree teaches simple preparedness techniques to invite
intuitive information through the practice of the three pillars of
Reiki.

Pillar 1: Gassho
You’ve already learned about Gassho in chapter 2 (here), and it is
the first pillar of Reiki you use to prepare for a Reiki session. Begin
your session standing with your hands in Gassho to clear your
mind. Likewise, return to Gassho at any point during your session
to ask for more intuitive information to come to you if you need it.

Pillar 2: Reiji-Ho
The second pillar of Reiki is Reiji-ho (“ray-jee-HOH”). This is where
you invite the Second Degree Reiki and ask for intuitive
information. To perform Reiji-ho:
1. Stand at your healing partner’s head with your hands in Gassho
and your eyes closed.
2. Mentally draw the full Reiki sandwich (CKR + SHK + CKR +
HSZN + CKR) and ask for Reiki to flow.
3. As you draw the symbols, say the name of each 3 times.
4. Ask Reiki energy to balance your subject.
5. Keeping your hands in Gassho, move them to your third eye
chakra and ask them to guide you to where energy is needed.
6. Now, without any personal agenda or desires, allow this to
guide your hands.

Pillar 3: Chiryo
Chiryo (“chi-RYE-oh”) means treatment. This is where you allow
the information you’ve received during your preparations of
Gassho and Reiji-ho to guide you in your healing partner’s
treatment. To perform Chiryo:
1. Hold your hands where you are guided for three to five
minutes, or until you feel intuitively guided to move.
2. Return to Gassho. Ask to be guided again and move where your
intuition tells you to place your hands.
3. Continue this until you are guided that the session is complete.

Integrating Crystals, Essential Oils, and

Other Tools
If you are drawn to other forms of energy healing, you can also
incorporate these modalities into your Reiki session. Although
additional tools aren’t necessary, they can help create a healing
environment, strengthen your own intuition, and work
synergistically with the Second Degree Reiki energy to provide a
more powerful and directed healing session.
So, how do you decide which other tools you could or should use
during an energy session? Here are some criteria to consider:

♦ What are you intuitively guided to work with? Listen to this

intuition.
♦ Has your healing partner requested anything specific? If they
have and you have the capacity to use that tool, then bring it
into the session.
♦ Crystals are always easy to incorporate into a session because
merely having them in your space can refine the energy. If you
feel drawn to place a certain crystal on or near your healing
partner, do this.
♦ Diffuse essential oils in sessions unless your healing partner has
a sensitivity to fragrance. Don’t use essential oils directly on
your healing partner’s skin or body unless you have studied
their properties and understand how to use them.
♦ Sound is also something that you use naturally in an energy
healing session, as the music or Reiki timer you select can add to
 meditative practices. Choose music that is relaxing and made
for meditation. If you are aware your healing partner has issues
with a specific chakra, you can also choose music or sound that
balances that chakra, such as a solfeggio or a singing bowl with
the right pitch to balance the energy of that specific chakra.

Hands-On Treatment with Symbols

Even though you can now do distant healing, whenever possible, I
recommend working with your healing partners hands-on and in-
person. There is no substitute for this personal contact, and it
allows you to interact with and observe your healing partner in
order to make in-the-moment intuitive decisions based on your
healing partner’s shifting energetic conditions during their session.

Hand Scanning
One way to determine where your healing partner needs the most
energy balancing is by hand scanning. With hand scanning, you
move your receiving hand (nondominant hand) through your
healing partner’s energy (auric) field along the line of the chakras.
This allows you to feel imbalances in your healing partner’s energy
in both the auras and the chakras.
To scan your healing partner’s energetic field:
1. Ask your healing partner to lie on their back.
2. Stand at your healing partner’s head. Draw CKR on both palms
(or the full Reiki sandwich) and hold them in Gassho until you
feel the energy flow.
3. Take your nondominant hand, which is your receiving hand,
and hold it about 2 inches above your healing partner’s crown
chakra.
4. Now, working from crown to toes, move your hand slowly
down the midline of your healing partner’s body, maintaining a
distance of about 2 inches from their body.
5. As you move your hand, pay attention to shifts in sensation in
your palm; you may notice hot, cold, tingling, pushes, numbness,
or pulling. And although these signals may mean different
things to different practitioners, when you experience the
sensations, it informs you there is a disturbance in your healing
partner’s energetic field in that location, so you may want to
return to that location during your session to channel energy.
6. Return to the crown chakra. Repeat the scan, this time moving
down each side of the body (right arm and leg, left arm and leg)
from their head to their toes.

Self-Treatment
Remember that if you wish to channel Second Degree Reiki energy,
you must use CKR to activate it.

♦ Draw CKR on both of your palms and invite the energy to flow.
Then, complete a hands-on self-treatment as outlined in
chapter 3 (here).
♦ Draw any of the symbols on areas of your body where you have
dis-ease or energetic imbalance. Be sure to tap the symbols 3
times and repeat their names 3 times as you draw them.
♦ Balance the hara line chakras by drawing the full Reiki
sandwich (CKR + SHK + CKR + HSZN + CKR) on your root
chakra and on your crown chakra. Then, hold one hand on your
crown chakra and one on your root chakra and visualize the
energy flowing between your hands along the hara line through
each chakra.
Healing Partner Treatment
There are a number of ways you can work with the Reiki symbols
during hands-on treatment with a healing partner. Begin by
inviting the Second Degree energy to flow by drawing CKR on your
palms and standing with your hands in Gassho until you feel the
energy flow. Do this at the beginning of every hands-on Reiki
session. Other ways to use the symbols during treatment:

♦ Draw the symbols on your healing partner’s body, and then

lightly tap the symbol in 3 times. When you draw the symbol,
repeat its name in your head 3 times.
♦ Draw the full Reiki sandwich and visualize sending Reiki to
your healing partner’s past self while channeling Reiki through
your hands to them at the same time to help heal deep karmic
issues.
♦ If your healing partner has shared an affirmation or intention
for the session in their initial consultation, write it on a slip of
paper and draw the full Reiki sandwich on the paper. Have your
healing partner hold the paper during the session as you
channel Reiki to them.
♦ Help your healing partner to continue to experience the bliss
they feel after a Reiki session. Using a finger, draw the full Reiki
sandwich on a clear quartz crystal before the session and have
your healing partner hold it in their giving hand (dominant
hand) during the Reiki session while visualizing the energy and
good feelings from the session flowing into the crystal. They can
keep the crystal with them and hold it in their receiving
(nondominant) hand when they want to recapture that feeling
after their session.
Reiki Symbols for Daily Life
You can also use the Reiki symbols to bring more Reiki energy into
your activities of daily living. In this way, Reiki becomes a lifestyle
that always invites the manifestation of the most positive form of
universal energy.

Working with Plants, Animals, and Objects

I encourage you to make Reiki a daily practice. Inviting Reiki energy
into every aspect of your life can help you to experience the highest
expression of plants, animals, and objects as well as how the energy
of these things manifests in your life.

KEEP YOUR VEHICLE IN WORKING ORDER

Keep your car serviceable and in good energetic shape by doing the
following:
1. With your finger, draw CKR on the steering wheel before you
drive anywhere.
2. As you do, repeat the name CKR 3 times and visualize white
light energy flowing through your car and forming a protective
bubble around it.

CHANNEL VITAL ENERGY TO YOUR PLANTS

Give your plants an energetic boost with Reiki.
1. Fill a watering can with water.
2. With your finger, draw CKR on the outside of the watering can.
3. Use this to water your plants.

MORE REIKI SYMBOLS FOR PLANTS, ANIMALS, AND OBJECTS

Additionally, try the following:

♦ With your finger, draw CKR or the full Reiki sandwich on

objects you give as gifts to energize them with Reiki energy and
positive intent.
♦ With your finger, draw CKR on electronics before you fire them
up for the day.
♦ Send distance Reiki energy to injured wild animals or pets you
can’t touch by drawing the full Reiki sandwich on your hands
with your finger and visualizing that animal between the palms
of your hands.
♦ If you’ve lost an item, visualize the item and then visualize a
SHK Reiki sandwich drawn on the item (CKR + SHK + CKR).
Now, in your mind’s eye, zoom out from the item and see if you
can picture in your mind’s eye where it is located.

Working with Ideas and Concepts

SHK is the symbol of the mental realm, making it an excellent
symbol to use when working with ideas and concepts. It can help
stimulate your mental acuity and responses as well as sparking
intuition and creativity. Remember that when you work with SHK,
you should always activate it with CKR so it is a SHK sandwich
(CKR + SHK + CKR).

♦ If you’re studying for a test or trying to understand a difficult

concept, with your finger or mentally, draw the SHK sandwich
on your study materials.
♦ With a pen or pencil, draw a SHK sandwich on written
affirmations to help charge them with intention.
♦ If you are an artist, either draw the SHK sandwich into the base
layer of your design (you can paint or draw over it) or draw it
 with a finger on your blank canvas to spark intuition during
your session.
♦ With your finger, a pen, or a pencil, draw the SHK sandwich in
your journal at the beginning of a journaling session to spark
insight as you write.

For Cleansing Negative Energy

One of the best ways to cleanse negative energy is to displace it with
a positive energy such as Reiki. Use the Reiki symbols to invite
Reiki energy in to displace negativity in multiple aspects of your
life.

CLEANSE SPACES
Cleanse negativity from spaces and invite positive energy in by
using the CKR symbol.
1. Starting at the front door, with a finger, draw CKR over every
opening into the space—doors, windows, fireplaces, drains—as
well as all corners of the space.
2. Move clockwise throughout the space doing this until you have
completed the circuit.

CLEANSE NEGATIVE ENERGY AT WORK

If you work near a coworker who has lots of negative energy or your
workspace has negativity:
1. Use a pen or pencil to draw CKR on a piece of paper.
2. Place it somewhere in your space (or tape it to the bottom of
your chair) to absorb the negativity.

MORE IDEAS FOR USING REIKI SYMBOLS TO CLEANSE

NEGATIVITY
Additionally, try the following:

♦ With a finger, draw CKR on used or antique items you bring into
your home to cleanse them of the energy of where they were
before.
♦ Cleanse food and drink of any negativity and invite healthy,
positive energy by drawing CKR with your finger over the top of
any food or beverages before you consume them.
♦ Cleanse crystals and other objects by placing them in a bowl and
drawing the full Reiki sandwich over the top of the bowl or on
the bowl’s surface with your finger.

For Protecting Self and Others

Using the Reiki symbols can also help provide personal protection
by creating a protective barrier of positive Reiki energy around you
to keep negativity at bay.

♦ Carry a piece of paper with the full Reiki sandwich written on it

in your pocket.
♦ Visualize the full Reiki sandwich on your solar plexus, and then
visualize a bubble of Reiki energy expanding out from your solar
plexus to surround you, your family, and your entire home.
♦ Place a slip of paper with the full Reiki sandwich written on it in
your child’s jacket, lunchbox, or another item they keep with
them when they go to school.
♦ Draw the full Reiki sandwich on items of clothing or jewelry you
or your loved ones wear to provide Reiki energy protection
throughout the day.
♦ With your finger, draw the full Reiki sandwich on a clear quartz
 or black tourmaline crystal and keep it with you in a pocket to
provide Reiki protection throughout the day.

To Change Habits and Behaviors

Use various Reiki symbols to help bring needed change to bad
habits and behaviors. If the habit is purely physical, you can use
CKR. If the habit also has a mental and emotional aspect to it, you
can use the SHK sandwich. If it’s a deeply ingrained habit or
behavior, use the full Reiki sandwich.

CHANGE A HABIT WHEN IT FORMS

Send distant healing to yourself or your healing partner to the
period when a specific behavior or habit was formed. You do not
need to know the specific period or incident; your intention that
the Reiki energy go to this time and this habit is all that is needed.
To do this:
1. Write a description of the habit on a slip of paper and then fold
it.
2. Write the full Reiki sandwich on the paper.
3. With your finger, draw the full Reiki sandwich on your hands
and hold the paper between your hands.
4. In your mind, state your intention to send the energy to when
the habit was originally formed.

BREAK HABITS WITH A PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS

Use the SHK sandwich to address habits that have a psychological
basis, such as addiction.
1. Write the name of the habit on a piece of paper (as well as the
 healing partner’s name, if you’re sending Reiki energy for them)
and then fold it.
2. Write the SHK sandwich on the paper.
3. With your finger, draw the full Reiki sandwich on your hands
and channel Reiki to the paper with the intention of removing
the blockages and shifting the energy contributing to the
behavior.

To Heal Relationships and Emotional Issues

SHK is the symbol of emotional healing, so it is an especially helpful
symbol to use when you’re working to heal emotional or
relationship issues.

HEAL YOUR RELATIONSHIP

When attempting to heal a relationship, it’s important that you
don’t have an agenda other than bringing about loving healing that
serves the greatest good of both parties. To bring about healing:
1. Use a picture of both parties in the relationship or write both of
their names on a piece of paper.
2. Write the SHK sandwich on the photo or paper.
3. With your finger, draw the full Reiki sandwich on both hands.
4. Hold the paper or photo between both hands and channel Reiki
to it with the intention of serving the greatest good of both
parties.

HEAL EMOTIONAL ISSUES

If you understand the emotional basis behind an issue, you can use
the SHK sandwich to channel Reiki energy to help resolve the
emotions associated with the issue.
1. Determine the chakra location associated with the emotional
issue (see chakras in chapter 1).
2. With your finger, draw the SHK sandwich on the affected
chakra and tap it 3 times.
3. With your finger, draw the full Reiki sandwich on both palms
and channel Reiki energy to that chakra until you feel a release,
or until you feel guided to move your hands.

Sending Reiki into the Past and the Future

In ultimate reality, there is no time or space. Time and space are
constructs we work with in our embodied (human) state to have
the fully human experience. However, because there is no time or
space outside of the three dimensions we live in as embodied
humans, you can easily send Reiki to the past or the future just as
you would send it across distance. To do this:
1. Determine the period, time, or event to which you will send
Reiki.
2. Write a description of the person, place, time, or event in the
past or future on a piece of paper and write the full Reiki
sandwich on the paper.
3. With your finger, draw the full Reiki sandwich on each of your
palms.
4. Hold the paper between your hands and channel energy to it
until you feel compelled to stop.
5. You can also intend for the Reiki to last for a certain period
(such as an hour, a day, etc.). To do this, as you channel the Reiki,
 state your intention in your mind for how long the energy will
continue to channel to that person, place, time, or event.

Distance Treatments
Although I prefer hands-on healing, sometimes because of
constraints of time, space, distance, or circumstance, working with
a healing partner hands-on is not possible. Fortunately, there are
many methods for sending Reiki at a distance that are as powerful
as working with a healing partner hands-on. Therefore, learning
methods for providing distance treatments is an essential part of
Second Degree Reiki.

Ethics and Consent

Ethics are an essential part of any energy healing practice,
including Reiki. When you do energy work, you must always do so
from a place of integrity.
It’s important as an energy healing practitioner, if you are
working with healing partners, that you decide what your values
and ethics are surrounding your practice of energy healing. Some
ethics are required by law, such as having the appropriate
licensing/certification in place, following ethical business
practices, keeping appropriate documentation, and adhering to the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), but
others are deeply personal.
Likewise, within the framework of Reiki, we are offered a
simple set of ethical standards through the five principles of Reiki
(here).
One ethic all Reiki practitioners should adhere to is consent:
Always seek consent when channeling Reiki either at a distance or
in-person. In-person, of course, you simply ask, but what should
you do at a distance?

♦ Seek verbal or written consent first. If you do not receive

consent, do not send Reiki.
♦ If you are unable to ask (such as during an emergency or when
working with an animal), see if you can obtain energetic
consent. In your mind’s eye, ask for consent and see if you feel a
sense of allowing or a sense of blocking and act within that
framework.
♦ If you are still unsure whether you have received consent,
channel distance Reiki with the intention it goes to your
intended subject if they consent to it, and if they don’t, it goes to
where it serves the greatest good.

How It Works
In quantum physics, there is a proven principle called
entanglement, something Einstein referred to as “spooky action at a
distance.” When particles of matter have been energetically
entangled, they remain entangled forever, and any force applied to
one of the entangled particles affects the other particle regardless
of how far apart the two particles are separated by time and space.
Because all matter was entangled at the Big Bang, that means
everything is connected to everything else. This is how you are able
to send Reiki energy across time and space.
Sending distance Reiki works through intention. Using the
Reiki distance symbols is one part of stating your intention to send
Reiki energy to a specific person, place, and time for a specific
period. Along with the intention stated by using the Reiki distance
symbols either as a full Reiki sandwich or a HSZN sandwich, you
should also state your intent either in your mind or by writing it
down. For example, “I intend to channel Second Degree Reiki
energy to Bob Smith at 411 Main Street in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to
serve his greatest good.”

Techniques for Distance Healing

There are numerous techniques you can use for distance healing.
Feel free to adapt the techniques as you are intuitively guided to do
so. Intention is the key to sending distance Reiki—the mechanics
supply a form for sending Reiki across time and space to provide
you the freedom to do so in the manner that makes the most sense
to you. Always end the session by running your hands under cool
water to break the energetic connection.

Surrogate Method
The surrogate method is the most similar to a hands-on Reiki
session. In the surrogate method, you use a doll or stuffed animal as
a stand-in for your healing partner.
1. State your intention for the surrogate to be a stand-in for your
healing partner, such as “I intend this stuffed bear to be an
energetic surrogate for Bob Smith in Jonesboro, Arkansas.”
2. Use a finger to draw the full Reiki sandwich on both of your
hands.
3. Provide a full Reiki session to your surrogate using the hand
positions or an intuitive session.

Photograph Method
You can also work with a photograph of your healing partner.
1. Write the full Reiki sandwich onto the photograph (either with
your finger or with a pen or pencil).
2. Hold the photo between your hands and channel Reiki to the
photograph until you feel drawn to stop.

Piece of Paper Method

In the absence of a photograph, write the person’s identifying
information (such as name and address) on a piece of paper, and
then channel Reiki to it as you would in the Photograph Method.

Small Surrogate Method

Designate a small object, such as a crystal, as a stand in for your
healing partner by stating your intention, “This crystal will serve as
an energetic stand-in for (your healing partner’s name).”
1. With your finger, draw the full Reiki sandwich on the small
surrogate.
2. With your finger, draw the full Reiki sandwich on both of your
hands.
3. Hold the small surrogate between your hands and channel
Reiki energy to it until you feel guided to stop.

Mini Me Method
If you are channeling Reiki to someone whose energy you are very
familiar with, such as a close friend or family member or pet, you
can use this method.
1. Use a finger to draw the full Reiki sandwich on each of your
hands.
2. Cup your hands together and visualize your healing partner
between them, receiving the energy.
3. Continue channeling the Reiki until you feel guided to stop.

Distance Healing Room

You can also energetically meet your healing partner in a distance
healing room. Use the guided meditation here to set up your
distance healing room. To work with a healing partner in your
distance healing room:
1. Sit or lie comfortably with your eyes closed.
2. Draw the full Reiki sandwich on both hands.
3. Practice Gassho meditation until you feel calm and relaxed.
Then, visualize your distance healing room.
4. See your healing partner entering the room and lying down on
your healing table.
5. Perform a Reiki session in your mind’s eye either using an
intuitive session or the hand positions.

Group and Situational Healing

You can also send Reiki healing to groups and situations. To do this:
1. On a piece of paper, write a description of the situation or the
names of the people to whom you’ll be channeling Reiki.
2. Fold the paper and write the full Reiki sandwich on the outside.
3. With your finger, draw the full Reiki sandwich on both hands.
4. Hold the paper between your hands and channel Reiki energy
to it.
5. As you channel the Reiki energy, state the intention to send the
Reiki to those people, places, and circumstances written on the
piece of paper if it serves the greatest good and/or you have
consent to do so. If it doesn’t serve the greatest good or you don’t
have consent, ask for the Reiki energy to go where it serves the
highest good.
6. Channel the energy until you feel guided to stop.
7. Give thanks for the energy and reaffirm that it goes to serve the
greatest good.

Reiki Box
Use a Reiki box to send energy to large groups of people. Write the
names of the people you will send Reiki to on slips of paper and
place them in your Reiki box. Then, use your finger to draw the full
Reiki sandwich on both hands and hold the box between your
hands. Channel Reiki energy to the box until you feel guided to stop.
Your Reiki box can be anything. Use any lidded container that
you are drawn to, such as a wooden box, a decorated cardboard box,
or a trinket box. A few things you need to avoid with a Reiki box:

♦ Avoid metal boxes, which will reflect the Reiki energy instead of
absorbing it.
♦ Avoid boxes with black or red crystals on the outside, as those
crystals are protective and could keep the Reiki energy from
entering the box.

Programming Future or Repeat Treatments

You can also “program” future or repeat treatments. This is a great
way to make sure someone receives Reiki in the moment they need
it, regardless of whether you’re available at that exact time.
You can also use this method to set repeating treatments—for
example, for someone who has a series of events where they want
Reiki while the event is occurring. I’ve done this with a healing
partner receiving chemotherapy treatments, so she would receive
Reiki even if I wasn’t available during each of her treatments. To do
this:
1. On a piece of paper, write the person’s name and the dates,
times, and durations for each Reiki treatment. For example,
“Jason Whittaker, Wednesday June 3, 2020, from 9:30 a.m. to
11:30 p.m. before and during his French final.” Or “Jill Jones of
Seattle for 30 minutes before extending to 30 minutes after
each chemotherapy appointment for her breast cancer.” If you
have specific dates and times, use them. Otherwise, simply
write when the Reiki is intended to flow, why, and the duration.
2. Fold the piece of paper and write the full Reiki sandwich on it.
3. Draw with your finger the full Reiki sandwich on each of your
palms.
4. Hold the paper between your palms and channel Reiki to it
until you feel guided to stop. As you channel, if you wish you
can restate the name of the person and your intention for
where, when, how long, and how frequently it flows in your
mind’s eye.
 CHAPTER SEVEN

Reiki Sequences for Emotional

Well-Being and Spiritual
Awakening
Abundance Consciousness
Compassion
Creativity
Forgiveness
Healing the Past
Healthy Sexuality
Karmic Healing
Oneness
Optimism and Joy
Psychic Insight/Intuition

The following 10 sequences can help create vibrational

changes to bring about healing for emotional well-being
and spiritual awakening. Reiki treatment is only part of
the story; these sequences can help rebalance energy that
may be preventing emotional and spiritual growth, but
your healing partner also must be willing to do the
emotional and spiritual work and engage in practices on
their own time that support these energetic changes. For
each of the sequences, if you’ve been attuned to Second
Degree Reiki, draw the full Reiki sandwich on both of your
hands. If you are a First Degree Reiki practitioner, you can
still use the sequence, but you will use only the hand
positions and skip the steps where you work with symbols.
Hold each hand position for three minutes, or until you
sense release.
Abundance Consciousness
The issue my healing partners are most likely to ask me about is
abundance or prosperity. And although it may seem that these
issues are circumstantial, in fact, they are spiritual and emotional
issues associated with your consciousness and where you place
your focus. It’s important to understand that prosperity and
abundance aren’t necessarily about having enough money
(although that can certainly be a part of it), but rather are about
bringing an abundance of the things that matter into your life, such
as friends, family, joy, and more.
Affected Chakras

Third eye
Throat
Solar plexus
Sacral
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Stand at your healing partner’s side. Place your hands on the

Hara.
2. Place your hands in the Navel hand position.
3. Place your hands in the Solar Plexus hand position.
4. Place your hands in the Throat hand position.
5. Move to your healing partner’s head. Place your hands in the
following sequence: Back of Head – Ears – Eyes.
6. Return to your healing partner’s side. Place your dominant
hand on your healing partner’s third eye chakra and place your
nondominant hand on the solar plexus chakra. Visualize the
energy flowing between your hands.

Tip: On a piece of paper, write the affirmation, “I give thanks to

the universe that I have an abundance of all things I desire and
need in my life.” Fold the paper and write the full Reiki
sandwich on it. Have your healing partner hold this in their
receiving (nondominant) hand through the Reiki session.
Compassion
Compassion is the human manifestation of love. It allows us to step
outside our own experience and into someone else’s so we can
proceed with love in the way we think of them, communicate with
them, and interact with them. Cultivating compassion is one of the
most important qualities we can create as embodied spirits because
it allows us to approach others with kindness and care.
Affected Chakras

Throat
Heart
Solar plexus
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Stand at your healing partner’s side. Place one hand on their

solar plexus chakra and one on their heart chakra in a bridge
position. Visualize the energy flowing between your hands and
through their heart.
2. If you practice Second Degree Reiki, draw the full Reiki
sandwich on your healing partner’s heart chakra and tap it in 3
times with the forefinger and middle finger of your dominant
hand.
3. Hold the Heart hand position, visualizing pink energy flowing
from your hands and into their heart.

Tip: As you channel Reiki to your healing partner, repeat the

Buddhist mantra “Om mane padme hum” (pronounced “ohm
mahnee pad may hoom”). This mantra helps cycle energy from
the mind to the heart, which can spark compassion and
understanding.
Creativity
One of the purposes of souls incarnating as humans is to create, and
many believe that our primary purpose as incarnated souls is to
create our own reality in ways that serve the greatest good of the
universe. Creative ideation is born in the sacral chakra and
expressed via the throat chakra. Therefore, balance between these
two chakras is essential for living creatively fulfilled lives.
Affected Chakras

Throat
Heart
Solar plexus
Sacral
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Stand at your healing partner’s side. If you practice Second

Degree Reiki, draw the SHK sandwich over your healing
partner’s sacral chakra and tap it in 3 times with the forefinger
and middle finger of your dominant hand.
2. Place your hands in the Hara hand position. Visualize orange
light streaming from your hands into your healing partner’s
root chakra.
3. Place your hands in the Navel hand position.
4. Place your hands in the Solar Plexus hand position.
5. Place your hands in the Heart hand position.
6. For Second Degree practitioners, draw the SHK sandwich over
your healing partner’s throat chakra and tap it in 3 times with
the forefinger and middle finger of your dominant hand.
7. Hold the Throat hand position. Visualize blue light streaming
from your hands and into your healing partner’s throat chakra.
8. Move your dominant hand to your healing partner’s Hara. Hold
this bridge position, visualizing energy flowing from Hara to
Throat in an unimpeded flow.

Tip: Place a creativity crystal grid under the healing table. Use a
simple circle. In the center of the circle, place a blue stone such
as blue calcite, celestite, or aquamarine. In a circle around the
center stone, place 4 to 8 pieces of carnelian.
Forgiveness
Whether it is forgiveness of self or others, this is an important first
step in personal and spiritual growth. We get hurt throughout our
lives. Sometimes, we hurt ourselves or make what we feel are
stupid, unforgiveable mistakes that change what we believe should
be the course of our lives. However, to move forward as a fully
functioning and emotionally and spiritually healthy being, we
must release anger, hurt, and disillusionment we hold toward
ourselves or others out of the mistaken belief that something
shouldn’t have happened. To go on believing something shouldn’t
have occurred is merely arguing with reality and generating lower
vibrational energy that blocks us from living to our full potential.
Forgiveness is ultimately an act that is about compassion for self.
When you forgive someone, you’re not saying, “It’s okay that you
did this.” Instead, you’re acknowledging that, although it happened,
you are choosing to no longer let it affect your own life.
Affected Chakras

Throat
Heart
Solar plexus
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Ask your healing partner to close their eyes and visualize the
person they need to forgive. Tell them that as you channel
Reiki, they should visualize the energetic ties connecting them
to the other person and see themselves cutting those ties as
 they repeat the mantras “forgive” and “release.”
2. Stand at your healing partner’s side. Second Degree
practitioners draw the SHK sandwich (CKR + SHK + CKR) on
your healing partner’s solar plexus chakra and tap it in 3 times
with the forefinger and middle finger of your dominant hand.
3. Place your hands in the Solar Plexus hand position. Visualize
golden light streaming from your hands into your healing
partner’s solar plexus chakra.
4. With your finger, draw the full Reiki sandwich on your healing
partner’s heart chakra and tap it in 3 times with the forefinger
and middle finger of your dominant hand.
5. Place your hands in the Heart hand position. Visualize pink
light streaming from your hands into your healing partner’s
heart chakra.
6. Place your hands in the Throat hand position. Visualize blue
light streaming from your hands into your healing partner’s
throat chakra.

Tip: Rhodochrosite is a crystal that generates the energy of

forgiveness. Place a freshly cleansed piece of rhodochrosite on
your healing partner’s heart chakra throughout the treatment.
Channel Reiki energy directly through the crystal when you
come to the heart chakra.
Healing the Past
Although our spirits live in the Eternal Moment of Now, our bodies
and minds perceive movement through the illusion of space-time as
reality. In moving through space-time, we often carry the baggage
of our past along with us in the form of conditioning, hurt, pain, and
trauma. This Reiki sequence can help release the hold the past has
over us so we can move forward with present-time focus.
Affected Chakras

Solar plexus
Sacral
Root
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Stand at your healing partner’s side. Draw the SHK sandwich

over your healing partner’s root chakra and tap it in 3 times
with the forefinger and middle finger of your dominant hand.
2. Place your hands in the Groin hand position. Visualize red light
streaming from your hands into your healing partner’s root
chakra.
3. Place your hands in the Hara position. Visualize reddish-
orange light streaming from your hands into your healing
partner’s hara.
4. Draw the SHK sandwich over your healing partner’s navel and
tap it in 3 times with the forefinger and middle finger of your
dominant hand.
5. Place your hands in the Navel hand position. Visualize orange
light streaming from your hands into your healing partner’s
sacral chakra.
6. Draw the SHK sandwich over your healing partner’s solar
plexus chakra and tap it in 3 times with the forefinger and
middle finger of your dominant hand.
7. Place your hands in the Solar Plexus hand position.
8. At the end of the session, have your healing partner sit up.
Sweep their aura from head to feet, touching the floor to
ground the energy. As you do, visualize pulling all the energy
you released downward out of the aura and into the Earth.

Tip: Suggest that, during the Reiki session, your healing partner
visualizes hurts from the past as dark shadows in their energy
field and then sees those dark shadows dissipate in the light as
the Reiki energy permeates them.
Healthy Sexuality
An unhealthy sense of self as a sexual being is primarily a sacral
chakra function, but a number of issues that arise throughout our
lives can contribute, such as social and religious conditioning and
messages, negative sexual experiences, and deficits of self-love and
self-esteem. Therefore, although working with the solar plexus is
the primary way to strengthen and clarify sexual identity and
healthy sexuality, you also need to energetically work with the
multifaceted emotional, social, and physical causes that can affect
it.
Affected Chakras

Solar plexus
Sacral
Root
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Stand at your healing partner’s side. Draw CKR over your

healing partner’s root chakra and tap it in 3 times with the
forefinger and middle finger of your dominant hand.
2. Place your hands in the Groin hand position.
3. Keep your dominant hand in the Groin hand position and move
your other hand to the Hara.
4. Move your dominant hand to the Hara so both hands are in this
position.
5. Move your nondominant hand to the Navel hand position,
holding your other hand in the Hara position still.
6. Move your dominant hand to the Navel hand position so both
hands are in the Navel position.
7. Move your nondominant hand to the Solar Plexus hand
position, holding your other hand in the Navel position still.
8. Move both hands to the Solar Plexus hand position.
9. Keeping your dominant hand on the Solar Plexus hand
position, move your other hand to the Groin hand position.
10. Move both hands back to the Groin hand position. Hovering
your hands, sweep upward from groin to heart. Visualize
pulling the energy from groin to heart as you do this to bring
this physical energy into the loving presence of heart energy.

Tip: For people who have deeply rooted issues associated with
sexual or gender identity, or for those who have had traumatic
sexual experiences in their past, recommend talk therapy with
a qualified professional to help them process their complex
feelings about this issue. Talk therapy can be a very supportive
modality to assist with deep-seated emotional and spiritual
issues.
Karmic Healing
Your karma is a set of challenges and issues you come into each
lifetime with. Karma isn’t punishment; rather, it is a set of
circumstances, challenges, personality traits, and relationships
that you agree to work with in this lifetime in order to become a
more well-rounded soul. This sequence for karmic healing is to help
us understand and work with the karmic issues we deal with—not
to make them go away.
Affected Chakras

Crown
Root
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Stand at your healing partner’s head. Place your hands in the

Eyes hand position.
2. Place your hands in the Ears hand position.
3. Place your hands in the Back of the Head hand position.
4. Move to your healing partner’s side and place your hands in the
Groin hand position.
5. Move your dominant (giving) hand back to the crown of your
healing partner’s head while holding your nondominant
(receiving) hand in the Groin hand position. Visualize energy
flowing between your hands.
Tip: Have your healing partner hold a piece of snowflake
obsidian in their non-dominant hand during their session. This
crystal connects root chakra energy to crown chakra energy to
help bring enlightenment and understanding of karmic issues.
Oneness
Oneness is the understanding of your connection to All That Is. It is
the connectedness of you in your physically embodied state to
Source energy, which is the energy everyone and everything came
from and will return to after the experience of physical
embodiment is complete. Whether you recognize it, you are part of
the Oneness even in your physically embodied state, but you have
come with filters in place that cause you to experience yourself as a
separate being. Awareness of the Oneness while still recognizing
yourself as an embodied individual can lead to spiritual growth.
Affected Chakras

Crown
Solar plexus
Root
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Stand at your healing partner’s feet and hold your hands in the
following sequence of hand positions: Feet – Ankles – Knees.
2. Move to your healing partner’s side. Draw the full Reiki
sandwich over their root chakra and tap it in 3 times with the
forefinger and middle finger of your dominant hand.
3. Hold the Groin hand position.
4. Draw the full Reiki sandwich on their solar plexus chakra and
tap it in 3 times with the forefinger and middle finger of your
dominant hand.
5. Place your hands in the Solar Plexus hand position.
6. Move to your healing partner’s head. Draw the full Reiki
sandwich on the crown of their head and tap it in 3 times with
the forefinger and middle finger of your dominant hand.
7. Hold your hands in the following position sequence: Back of the
Head – Ears – Eyes.
8. Move to your healing partner’s side. Hold your dominant hand
at the crown of your healing partner’s head while holding your
nondominant hand in the Groin hand position. Visualize
energy flowing between your hands.

Tip: Diffuse sandalwood essential oil during the session, as

sandalwood facilitates a strong and deep connection to Source
energy.
Optimism and Joy
During difficult times, it can be hard to feel optimistic or joyful
about anything. However, optimism and joy are associated with
love energy, and finding these qualities in ourselves can help us
through even the most difficult of times. This sequence can help
your healing partner cultivate these qualities in their life.
Affected Chakras

Throat
Heart
Solar plexus
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Stand at your healing partner’s side. Draw the SHK sandwich

on your healing partner’s heart chakra and tap it in 3 times
with the forefinger and middle finger of your dominant hand.
2. Place your hands in the Heart hand position.
3. Move your nondominant hand to the Solar Plexus hand
position while keeping your other hand in the Heart hand
position.
4. Move your nondominant hand from the Solar Plexus hand
position to the Throat hand position while keeping your other
hand in the Heart hand position.
5. Return both hands to the Heart hand position once again.
Tip: Play music that contains the 639 Hz solfeggio (many apps
and YouTube videos are available) throughout the session to
support the opening of heart energy.
Psychic Insight/Intuition
Everyone has the ability to receive intuitive guidance from their
higher selves, guides, and Source energy. However, some people
have, for whatever reason, blocked that insight or ignored it for so
long that it has gone silent. This sequence can help your healing
partner reconnect to this very important aspect of self.
Affected Chakras

Crown
Third eye
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Stand at your healing partner’s head. Draw the HSZN sandwich

on your healing partner’s crown chakra and tap it in 3 times
with the forefinger and middle finger of your dominant hand.
2. Draw the HSZN sandwich on your healing partner’s third eye
chakra and tap it in 3 times with the forefinger and middle
finger of your dominant hand.
3. Hold your hands in the Eyes hand position.
4. Hold your hands in the Ears hand position.
5. Place your hands in the Back of the Head hand position.
6. Place your dominant hand on the crown chakra and your
nondominant hand on the third eye chakra. Visualize energy
flowing between your hands. Hold this bridge position for three
minutes, or until you sense release.
Tip: Place an amethyst crystal on either side of your healing
partner’s head on the table at forehead level to help tune in to
intuitive energy.
 PART THREE

Third Degree Reiki

Third Degree Reiki is also known as Shinpiden, or Reiki
Master-Teacher Degree. In this degree, you will learn to
become a Reiki Master-Teacher as well as be attuned to
the Reiki Master symbol, called Dai Ko Myo (“Day-koh-
MEE-oh”), which allows you to channel the Reiki Master
energy. You’ll also learn how to teach other people to
become Reiki practitioners of all three degrees and how
to attune people to the varying degrees of Reiki energy.
As always, you’ll need to be attuned by a Reiki Master-
Teacher to the Reiki Master-Teacher Degree and the Reiki
Master symbol in order to activate it.
 CHAPTER EIGHT

Master-Teacher Reiki Training

In this chapter, you’ll learn the basics of becoming a Reiki
Master-Teacher, including the Reiki Master-Teacher
symbol Dai Ko Myo. We’ll also discuss the ethical,
spiritual, and practical responsibilities inherent in
teaching and attuning others to this powerful healing art.

The Role of a Reiki Master

Many people who seek Reiki Master-Teacher Degree training and
attunement do so because they wish to share Reiki with others and
initiate them into an empowering healing practice. Those people
frequently go on to offer their own Reiki classes and attunements.
Others pursue Reiki Master-Teacher Degree for their own
purposes, whether it is because they wish to channel a more
powerful Reiki energy during their treatments, or because they
simply wish to learn as much about Usui Ryoho Reiki as possible.
Not everyone chooses to move into the Reiki Master-Teacher
Degree energy, so listen to your intuition to discern whether this is
right for you.

Spiritual Responsibilities
Because you are a Reiki Master-Teacher, many will look to you as a
mentor or teacher. Spiritually, it’s your role to help others along
their own energy healing journey in a way that serves their greatest
good. This involves teaching the spiritual principles associated with
the practice of Reiki, such as the five Reiki principles, and related
concepts such as meditation, present-time focus, and intention.
Many expect you to step into a role of spiritual leadership in
their lives. I believe that once someone learns Reiki from me, I
should serve as a source of spiritual support as they navigate their
lives as Reiki practitioners. Therefore, I make myself available to
students through social media, email, video conferencing, and other
methods of contact so I can provide ongoing education and support.
That’s the level of spiritual support I choose to offer to my Reiki
students. It’s up to you to decide as a Reiki Master-Teacher what
level of spiritual support you wish to provide. You don’t have to be a
guru or a spiritual paragon; you are still human. But, to the degree
that you feel comfortable, you can serve as a source of spiritual
support to your students.

Practical Responsibilities
As a Reiki Master-Teacher, you do have several practical
responsibilities:

♦ Teach your students about the history of Usui Ryoho Reiki and
the primary figures inherent in its spread to the West.
♦ Provide Reiki training and attunements for all degrees of Reiki.
♦ Provide written materials, such as manuals (you can use this
book as a manual) and handouts.
♦ Teach Second Degree and Master-Teacher students the symbols
for each degree.
♦ Provide information necessary for each Reiki degree.
♦ Teach ethics and principles associated with each Reiki degree.
♦ Provide Reiki for healing partners.
♦ Teach students to provide Reiki treatments to serve the greatest
good.

Traditional Master-Teacher Reiki Symbols

In Usui Ryoho Reiki, one symbol allows you to access the Master-
Teacher Degree Reiki energy. This symbol is called Dai Ko Myo. A
second symbol is also available for use in Reiki attunements called
Raku, although this is a less traditional symbol in Usui Ryoho Reiki.
I use Raku in my attunements for grounding.

Dai Ko Myo
SYMBOL AND HOW TO DRAW
PRONUNCIATION AND ABBREVIATION
Dai Ko Myo is pronounced “Day-koh-MEE-oh”; abbreviated DKM.

MEANING
DKM means “bright shining light.” DKM allows you to access and
channel Master-Teacher Degree energy. Use DKM in place of all the
Second Degree Reiki symbols. Now, instead of using the full Reiki
sandwich, for instance, you can simply draw DKM in its place. The
exception is during attunements, when you will use the Second
Degree symbols as you attune your students to each of them.

MANTRA
Although DKM doesn’t have a specific mantra associated with it,
when you use it, repeat the symbol name aloud or in your mind’s
eye three times. When you draw it on your healing partner’s body,
tap it in three times with your fingers.

WHEN TO USE

♦ During attunements
♦ In place of any and all Second Degree Reiki symbols
♦ To balance energy between body, mind, and spirit
♦ Before meditations to bring Reiki energy into your own
meditation practices

ALTERNATE VERSIONS
There are several alternative versions of DKM. If one of these
versions speaks to you, please feel free to use it in place of DKM.

Raku
SYMBOL AND HOW TO DRAW
PRONUNCIATION AND ABBREVIATION
Raku is pronounced “Ra-KOO”; not abbreviated.

MEANING
Raku is also known as the “fire serpent” or “fire dragon.”

MANTRA
Raku doesn’t have a specific mantra associated with it. Repeat the
symbol name aloud or in your mind’s eye three times when you use
it. When you draw it on your healing partner’s body, tap it in three
times with your fingers.

WHEN TO USE

♦ At the end of any Reiki session for grounding

♦ Any time you feel like you need to be grounded
♦ At the end of a Reiki attunement to ground your student’s
energy

Nontraditional Reiki Master Symbols

DKM is the traditional Reiki Master symbol in Usui Ryoho Reiki.
You’ll also find other systems of Reiki that use different Reiki
Master symbols or a different set of symbols altogether. For
example, in Karuna Ki Reiki, you learn an entirely different set of
symbols that are said to go beyond the Reiki Master energy to allow
more specific intention.

Attuning Others to Reiki

As a Reiki Master-Teacher, you can attune others to all degrees of
Usui Ryoho Reiki energy. I find this role both an honor and a
responsibility.
Because Reiki is such a powerful and empowering modality,
before you begin teaching and attuning others, you must have a
thorough understanding of the principles and pillars of Reiki, the
basics of energy anatomy and energy healing, the history and
tradition of Reiki, how Reiki works, and the various effects Reiki
can have on body, mind, and spirit health.
It’s your job as a Reiki Master-Teacher to ensure you thoroughly
understand your art and are able to pass it on to your students in an
ethical, knowledgeable, and responsible manner. The education
your students receive is only as good as how powerfully you’ve
sought to educate yourself, and you owe it to your students to give
them a thorough understanding of the art and practice of Reiki
before you attune them.
 The Reiki attunement ceremony is a sacred moment of shared
intention between you and your student. As you attune your
students, you connect to them and pass on the intuitive wisdom of
Reiki energy on all levels: body, mind, and spirit. These attunement
experiences can be profound for both the Reiki Master and the
initiate. Many Reiki Masters and their students have shared
experiences during attunements such as a psychic or energetic link,
intuitive insights, or a profound sense of connection.

Preparation
Reiki attunements can be practical and simple or complex and
ceremonial. You can perform them in-person or at a distance, and
there are as many different attunement styles and ceremonies as
there are Reiki Masters. Typically, I attune my students at the end
of each degree of Reiki training with about 30 minutes to an hour
left to go in class.
Before I attune my students, I teach the full class, providing
them with all the information they need to become Reiki
practitioners of whatever degree they are seeking. I leave 30
minutes after attunement for practice. When it is time for
attunement, I do the following:
1. Have students take a 10- to 15-minute break. During that time,
they step out of the classroom so I can prepare behind closed
doors.
2. Arrange chairs in a circle (if they weren’t already) with enough
room to walk in a full circle around each chair without
bumping into anyone.
3. Fill cups for each student with cool water and place one under
each chair for grounding at the end of the attunement.
4. Cleanse the room with sage, incense, or palo santo. To do this,
light the chosen item and allow it to smolder. Starting at the
front door of the room, draw CKR over the front door with the
smoldering item, and move around the room in a clockwise
direction. In each corner and over each entrance to the room—
doors, windows, drains, fireplaces, etc.—draw CKR with the
smoldering item.
5. After cleansing, sit in the center of the circle of chairs and draw
DKM on your palms. Meditate in Gassho for about five
minutes, asking Reiki guides to assist you as you attune new
initiates to First, Second, or Master Degree Reiki.
6. Outside the room, ask the students for permission to touch.
Bring them into the room, asking them to file in quietly without
talking and to sit in their chair with their eyes closed and hands
in Gassho.
You may also wish to suggest to your students that in the 24 to
48 hours before their attunement, they do the following:

♦ Avoid intoxicants
♦ Eat light, nutritious meals
♦ Drink plenty of water
♦ Exercise lightly
♦ Get plenty of sleep
♦ Meditate

Hui-Yin
Some Reiki Masters use Hui-Yin in their attunements.
 The Hui-Yin point is essentially your perineum (see the image).
Some Reiki practitioners believe that by contracting this point
(holding it tight), you can create a stronger Reiki circuit for use
during attunements. Many feel this strengthens the Reiki energy
for the attunement. Some use it during attunements and
treatments, whereas others don’t. If it speaks to you, please feel free
to adopt the practice.
1. Stand behind your healing partner.
2. Contract your Hui-Yin point and place the tip of your tongue
on the roof of your mouth. This creates a circuit that allows the
Reiki energy to flow through your body in a circular fashion.
3. Visualize a fog of Reiki energy forming around your head. With
your Hui-Yin point contracted and your tongue on the roof of
your mouth, pull the Reiki energy in through your nose. See it
filling your head and flowing in a circuit between the Hui-Yin
point and the tip of your tongue.
4. Hold these two points throughout your attunements.
 CHAPTER NINE

The Work of a Reiki Master

Many options are available to Reiki Master-Teachers.
Some people achieve this degree for the higher vibrational
nature of Reiki Master energy, whereas others choose to
teach and attune others. Whichever you choose, there are
many things you’ll need to know as a Reiki Master,
including how to develop a curriculum and manual, and
how to ensure your practice and teaching of Reiki meets
ethical, legal, and spiritual standards.

Licenses and Professional Credentials

Students taught and attuned by a Reiki Master-Teacher have all
the credentials they need to practice and teach Reiki and to attune
others. To be attuned to Reiki Master energy, you must first be
attuned to First Degree and Second Degree Reiki. Seeking
credentialing from other professional organizations may also be
helpful. Legally, you must meet all requirements for the city, state
or province, and country where you’ll practice Reiki as a business.
Because various locales have differing requirements for Reiki
practitioners, legal requirements may be different. For example, in
the state of Washington, where I live and practice, if you practice
hands-on Reiki as a business, you must have a valid business
license, maintain liability insurance, and have a license to touch,
which is a massage therapy license. If you do not have a license to
touch, you cannot practice hands-on Reiki healing, but you can
hover your hands over your healing partner or practice distance
Reiki. However, the state of Washington also grants an exception to
the license to touch law for people who practice Reiki as part of
their services as an ordained minister. Because I am an ordained
metaphysical minister, I am able to practice hands-on Reiki in my
practice despite the fact I am not a licensed massage therapist. It’s
your responsibility to research the requirements in your area,
which may vary from city to city, county to county, state to state,
and country to country.
Joining a professional Reiki organization may also be helpful to
provide an additional layer of credentials. These organizations may
offer affordable liability insurance, continuing education,
professional journals, and additional credentials for Reiki
practitioners.

International Association of Reiki Professionals

(IARP)
I belong to the IARP. There is an annual fee for membership, with
the option to purchase liability insurance to cover both teaching
and practice. The association also offers a quarterly journal and
access to ongoing educational materials to expand your knowledge
as a Reiki practitioner.

Energy Medicine Professional Association

(EMPA)
This professional association covers Reiki practitioners as well as
certified practitioners in other forms of energy healing. For a
reasonable annual fee, EMPA members have access to liability
insurance, research, business tools, and more.

Additional Organizations
Other organizations that may offer helpful credentials, ongoing
research, liability insurance, or ordination include:
The International Center for Reiki Training—Credentialing,
education, business help, and access to research materials
International Reiki Organization—Networking, marketing
support, and ongoing training
International Metaphysical Ministry—Education in
metaphysics along with ordination and credentialing through
the University of Metaphysics and University of Sedona
Universal Life Church—Ordination and information that may
support your practice

Running a Reiki Practice

Many people attuned to Second Degree and Master-Teacher
Degree Reiki run their practice as an income-earning business.
Many practitioners start small and work their way up, beginning
with a part-time, at-home practice before opening a full-time office
that generates a livable income.

Business Considerations
Before you quit your day job to become a full-time Reiki
practitioner and invest in equipment or a dedicated Reiki space,
there are several things to keep in mind. Building a full-time Reiki
practice requires a significant investment of time, work, and
money. And even once you’ve built a practice, income can fluctuate.
It’s up to you to figure out the best way to scale your Reiki practice,
to determine when to invest in spaces and equipment, and similar
activities.

Setting Up Shop
As a Reiki practitioner providing in-person care, you’ll need the
following equipment:

♦ A dedicated space with a door where you won’t be disturbed

♦ A massage or Reiki table that holds up to 300 pounds safely;
adjustable height is beneficial
♦ Sanitizers for cleaning your table and equipment
♦ A filing system for maintaining records
♦ Intake paperwork including HIPAA forms, treatment
documentation, and informed consent forms
♦ Some type of audio player (computer, electronic personal
assistant, etc.) for playing pleasant music during sessions
♦ Access to a bathroom and cool water

LIABILITY INSURANCE
If you plan to practice or teach Reiki professionally, you must carry
liability insurance to protect you, your students, and your healing
partners. Depending on how and where you practice, you may need
practice insurance as well as liability insurance for the location
where you do business.

LICENSING AND TAX REQUIREMENTS

These requirements vary by location, so research to determine
what is required to run a Reiki business where you live. Check at
the city, county, state, and country level and comply with all
licensing and tax requirements.

DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS
In the United States, all health care practitioners, including energy
healers, must comply with HIPAA requirements for
documentation, confidentiality, and informed consent. Check with
your governing bodies to determine what documentation is
required, what laws you must follow, and what records to keep.
Maintain files for your healing partners and store them in
compliance with local, state, and national regulations.

PAYMENT POLICY
Have a written payment policy noting the types of payments you’ll
accept. In your intake paperwork, have your healing partners sign
your payment policy. It’s best to run a “cash practice” where healing
partners pay for services as rendered. You may also wish to accept
credit card payments.

SET FEES
Research to determine the fees that work in your area. I live in a
fairly small, rural area, and my fee is $90 for a one-hour session. To
arrive at this figure, I did a survey of fees for similar services in my
area.

REIKI CERTIFICATION
You must have a certification. Your attunement from a certified
Reiki Master-Teacher can serve as your certification, although
additional professional credentials can be helpful as well.
Best Practices
Your Reiki practice is a business, but it is also a spiritual and ethical
system.

DILIGENTLY RECORD INCOME AND EXPENSES

Ethics are important for energy healing practitioners, so you must
keep an ethical, honest, and thorough record of your income and
expenses for tax reporting purposes. Keep receipts for expenses
and maintain scrupulous records of all payments, including cash
payments. Report all income on your tax return.

MAINTAIN CONFIDENTIALITY
A high level of trust is necessary between a health care practitioner
and their clients. Maintain confidentiality about anything you
learn during your Reiki sessions as well as anything that happens
there.

NEVER DIAGNOSE
Legally, you cannot diagnose your healing partners, and it’s
important that you don’t offer anything that could be interpreted
as a diagnosis during your sessions. If you notice something during a
session, instead of reporting that to your healing partner (which
might be interpreted as a diagnosis), instead suggest your healing
partner seek medical evaluation.

NEVER COUNTERACT A DOCTOR’S ORDERS

You should never appear to counteract, or even judge, the advice,
orders, diagnoses, or other information a healing partner receives
from their primary health care practitioner. Remain in a neutral,
nonjudgmental space during your sessions.
INTEND FOR REIKI TO SERVE THE GREATEST GOOD
During a Reiki session, avoid imposing your agenda onto your
healing partner. Always enter into Reiki treatment with the goal of
serving your healing partner’s greatest good.

ASK PERMISSION TO TOUCH

Ask permission to touch at the beginning of every Reiki session,
even with healing partners who have granted that permission
before. If you suspect certain hand positions may be triggering for a
healing partner, ask about those specific positions. Only send
distance Reiki with permission from your distance healing partner.

Developing a Reiki Training Curriculum

As a Reiki Master-Teacher, you may feel called upon to teach
students. Before you begin teaching, do everything you can to
familiarize yourself with the Reiki energy and to become
intimately acquainted with the principles and techniques
associated with Usui Ryoho Reiki. The more you know and the
better you understand your material, the better teacher you will be.

Teaching Philosophy and Style

Before teaching others, make sure you have a set philosophy about
Reiki and how you will teach it. I can’t tell you what your teaching
philosophy or style should be, but I can share mine to help you
understand how to develop your own. Adapt my philosophy to fit
your own framework.

♦ Establish a safe space during Reiki classes. Establish the

classroom as a safe space free from judgment, so students feel
safe to share and ask questions. Do this at the outset of class by
 asking all students to agree to a nonjudgmental, open, safe space
and promise to maintain the confidentiality of other students.
♦ At the outset, outline expectations for asking questions, taking
breaks, etc. Give a brief overview of how the class will go, when
you will attune, etc.
♦ Maintain an intimate knowledge of what you teach. Know the
materials and make sure you’ve worked with the energy and
healing partners enough to understand how various people
react to Reiki.
♦ Continue your own education.
♦ Allow time for practice during classes.

Course Materials
This book is a great starting point to develop your own course
materials. You can use it as your Reiki manual or develop your own.
The information provided in this book provides a good outline of
the information you’ll need to teach for each degree.

FIRST DEGREE
At minimum, teach or provide the following:

♦ Reiki history including Usui Sensei, Dr. Hayashi, and Mrs.

Takata
♦ Reiki lineage
♦ Five principles of Reiki
♦ How Reiki energy works
♦ Hand positions for self-treatment and treating others
♦ First Degree Reiki manual
♦ First Degree Reiki attunement
SECOND DEGREE
At minimum, teach or provide the following:

♦ Review of First Degree principles

♦ Three Pillars of Reiki
♦ Second Degree Reiki symbols—CKR, DKM, and HSZN—and how
to use them
♦ How to perform distance treatments using symbols
♦ Second Degree manual
♦ Second Degree attunement, including attunement to the
symbols

REIKI MASTER-TEACHER
At minimum, teach or provide the following:

♦ Review of First and Second Degree principles

♦ Reiki Master symbol—DKM—and how to use it
♦ How to perform attunements
♦ Reiki Master-Teacher manual
♦ Reiki Master-Teacher attunement

Teaching Space
You can teach and attune in-person or online. I prefer to teach in-
person because it allows my students time to practice their skills
after attunement. I allow at least 30 minutes of hands-on practice.
This isn’t possible in distance classes, but I have students from all
around the world, so I offer live online classes via video
conferencing, too.
I can teach Reiki classes in my home office, but I prefer to rent a
space with parking. I’ve rented various spaces at rec centers,
churches, conference centers, and more. Because I travel to teach, I
have portable tables. If you plan to teach in-person classes outside
of your normal space, consider lightweight tables that are easy to
pack and transport.

The Master-Student Relationship

My goal as a Reiki Master-Teacher is to foster an open,
nonjudgmental, and supportive relationship with my students. I
encourage them to work with me if they feel the energy between us
is good, but if they aren’t feeling the connection, to work with a
Reiki Master-Teacher with whom they do feel more connected.
As a Master-Teacher, you are there to serve as an educator,
mentor, and source of encouragement. Make yourself available
outside of the classroom, as many questions arise after students
have had their training when they’re practicing in the real world.
As a mentor, it’s also your job to work with your students
ethically. Model the behaviors you ask of your students and always
keep communications open yet confidential.

Exploring Reiki Further

As a Reiki Master-Teacher, the more you know, the better you can
support your students and healing partners. Therefore, I strongly
encourage you to become a lifelong Reiki learner (see the
Resources).

♦ Read Reiki journals and articles.

♦ Read books about Reiki and other forms of energy healing or
energy anatomy.
♦ Learn additional forms of Reiki. If you feel drawn to other types
 of Reiki, then take the course and receive the attunement.
♦ Learn about other forms of energy healing.
 CHAPTER TEN

Reiki Attunements
Basic Ceremonial Attunement (In-Person)
Basic Fast Attunement (In-Person)
Basic Distance Attunement (All Degrees)
Adding the Violet Breath to Attunements
Basic Ceremonial Attunement
(In-Person)
When I attune students in-person, I always ask if they’d prefer a
ceremonial attunement or a quick attunement. Both accomplish
attunement, but I find that many students prefer some ceremony
during attunement. The ceremonial attunement takes about five
minutes per student, and it’s efficient enough that you can use it
with groups. When working with a group, have them sit in a circle
and attune each student individually. Prepare the space before the
attunement as indicated here.
Preparation for Groups

Once the room is prepared, invite the group to silently file in and sit
in their chair with their hands in Gassho at heart level and their
eyes closed throughout the ceremony. Note that when it is their
turn, you will touch them on the shoulder to let them know they are
being attuned, and if their arms get tired in Gassho, they can lower
their hands to their lap and you will lift them into place when it is
their turn. Once everyone is seated in Gassho, invite them to
silently indicate their willingness to receive a First, Second, or
Master Degree Reiki attunement, and ask the first person you are
attuning to indicate their readiness after doing this by nodding
their head.
Step-by-Step Instructions

This is the basic attunement you will use for all three degrees. Insert
the word for the proper degree where there’s a choice of words and
use the variations for each degree in the subheads below the basic
steps.
1. With your finger, draw DKM on both of your palms.
2. Stand facing your student with your hands in Gassho. Once
your student has indicated their readiness for attunement by
nodding, close your eyes and say in your mind: “I invite all Reiki
Masters past, present, and future including Usui Sensei, Dr.
Hayashi, and Mrs. Takata to help me as I attune (student’s
name) to First/Second/Master Degree Reiki.”
3. Walk around your student to stand behind them, touching
them lightly on the shoulder to let them know it’s their turn.
4. With the pointer finger of your dominant hand, in the air
above your student’s crown chakra, draw DKM.
5. Hold both hands above their crown chakra. Visualize Reiki
energy flowing from your hands and into their crown chakra,
moving downward into every cell of their body. Hold until you
feel ready to move (usually about 30 seconds to 1 minute).
6. Walk around your student to the front. Using the forefinger of
your dominant hand, draw DKM in the air a few inches in front
their third eye chakra.
7. Cup both hands and hold them in front of student’s third eye,
visualizing Reiki energy flowing from your hands into the
chakra.
8. Using the forefinger of your dominant hand, draw DKM in the
air a few inches in front of their throat chakra.
9. Cup both hands and hold them in front of your student’s throat
chakra, visualizing Reiki energy flowing into the chakra.
10. Lower your student’s hands to their lap.
11. Using the forefinger of your dominant hand, draw DKM in the
air a few inches in front of the heart chakra.
12. Cup both hands and hold them in front the heart chakra,
visualizing Reiki energy flowing from your hands into the
chakra.
13. Using the forefinger of your dominant hand, draw DKM in the
air a few inches in front of your student large enough so it
covers the solar plexus, sacral, and root chakras.
14. Cup both of your hands and hold them in front of your
student’s solar plexus, visualizing Reiki energy flowing from
your hands into the remaining chakras.
15. Gently lift your student’s hands so they are back in front of
their heart.
16. Draw Raku in front of your student from head to toe, touching
the ground at the end.
17. Step back and stand in Gassho. In your mind, say, “(Name) is
now attuned to First/Second/Master Degree Reiki. I give
thanks to all Reiki Masters, past, present, and future including
Usui Sensei, Dr. Hayashi, and Mrs. Takata for assisting in this
attunement and affirm that (name) will move forward as a
powerful and confident First/Second/Master Degree Reiki
practitioner.”
18. Invite your student to express, in their mind, gratitude for their
attunement to First/Second/Master Degree Reiki. If in a group,
do this and the following steps after you’ve attuned everyone.
19. Invite your student(s) to open their eyes and offer them a glass
of cold water for grounding.
20. Step away to run your hands under cold water to break the
bond between you and your student(s).
Second Degree Variation

1. Complete steps 1–14 of the basic attunement.

2. Open your student’s hands. With the forefinger of your
dominant hand, draw CKR on the student’s right palm, saying it
in your mind 3 times, and tap the symbol into their palm with 3
taps using your forefinger and middle finger. Do the same on
their left palm.
3. Draw SHK on the student’s right palm, saying it in your mind 3
times, and tap the symbol into their palm with 3 taps using
your forefinger and middle finger. Do the same on their left
palm.
4. Draw HSZN on the student’s right palm, saying it in your mind
3 times, and tap the symbol into their palm with 3 taps using
your forefinger and middle finger. Do the same on their left
palm.
5. Continue with steps 15–20 of the basic attunement.
Master-Teacher Degree Variation

1. Complete steps 1–14 of the basic attunement.

2. Open your student’s hands. With the forefinger of your
dominant hand, draw DKM on the student’s right palm, saying
it in your mind 3 times, and tap the symbol into their palm with
3 taps using your forefinger and middle finger. Do the same on
their left palm.
3. Continue with steps 15–20 of the basic attunement.
Basic Fast Attunement (In-
Person)
Occasionally, I have a student request the quick attunement. This is
also known as a crown-to-crown attunement, and it works through
the power of intention. This takes just a minute or two per student.
Preparation for Groups

Preparation for groups is the same as the ceremonial attunement.

Step-by-Step Instructions

This is the basic attunement you will use for all three degrees. Insert
the word for the proper degree where there’s a choice of words and
use the variations for each degree in the subheads below the basic
steps.
1. With your finger, draw DKM on both of your palms.
2. Sit or stand facing your student with your hands in Gassho.
Once your student has indicated their readiness for
attunement by nodding, close your eyes and say in your mind: “I
invite all Reiki Masters past, present, and future including Usui
Sensei, Dr. Hayashi, and Mrs. Takata to help me as I attune
(student’s name) to First/Second/Master Degree Reiki.”
3. Visualize Reiki pouring down from above you into your crown
chakra and beaming out of your third eye and into your
student’s third eye, where it fills their entire body with Reiki
energy.
4. Maintain this position until you can visualize your student’s
entire body filled with Reiki energy (usually about 30 seconds
to 1 minute).
5. In your mind, say, “(Name) is now attuned to
First/Second/Master Degree Reiki. I give thanks to all Reiki
Masters, past, present, and future including Usui Sensei, Dr.
Hayashi, and Mrs. Takata for assisting in this attunement and
affirm that (name) will move forward as a powerful and
confident First/Second/Master Degree Reiki practitioner.”
6. Draw Raku in front of your student from head to toe, touching
the ground at the end.
7. If you’re attuning a group, continue around the circle to each
student until all have been attuned.
8. Invite your student to express, in their mind, gratitude for their
attunement to First/Second/Master Degree Reiki. If in a group,
do this and the following steps after you’ve attuned everyone.
9. Invite your student(s) to open their eyes and offer them a glass
of cold water for grounding.
10. Step away to run your hands under cold water to break the
bond between you and your student(s).
Second Degree Variation

1. Complete steps 1–4 of the basic attunement.

2. Lower your student’s hands to their lap and open their hands.
With the forefinger of your dominant hand, draw CKR on the
student’s right palm, saying it in your mind 3 times, and tap the
symbol into their palm with 3 taps using your forefinger and
middle finger. Do the same on their left palm.
3. Draw SHK on the student’s right palm, saying it in your mind 3
times, and tap the symbol into their palm with 3 taps using
your forefinger and middle finger. Do the same on their left
palm.
4. Draw HSZN on the student’s right palm, saying it in your mind
3 times, and tap the symbol into the palm with 3 taps using
your forefinger and middle finger. Do the same on their left
palm.
5. Continue with steps 5–10 of the basic attunement.
Master-Teacher Degree Variation

1. Complete steps 1–4 of the Second Degree attunement.

2. Lower your student’s hands to their lap and open their hands.
With the forefinger of your dominant hand, draw DKM on the
student’s right palm, saying it in your mind 3 times, and tap the
symbol into their palm with 3 taps using your forefinger and
middle finger. Do the same on their left palm.
3. Continue with steps 5–10 of the basic attunement.
Basic Distance Attunement (All
Degrees)
If you’re conducting a First Degree attunement at a distance, you’ll
use a surrogate in place of your students. I use a small teddy bear,
but you can use any doll or stuffed animal in place of the student.
Set a time with your student for the attunement and invite them to
spend about 15 minutes at the designated time with their hands
held in Gassho at heart level and their eyes closed. Additionally, tell
your student that as soon as they sit down in Gassho, they should
silently indicate their willingness to be attuned to
First/Second/Master Degree Reiki.
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Go somewhere you won’t be disturbed at your preset time.

2. With your finger, draw DKM on both of your palms.
3. In your mind’s eye or aloud, state that the surrogate is a stand-
in for (student’s name) in their attunement to
First/Second/Master Degree Reiki.
4. Hold the surrogate in your lap, and using either the ceremonial
or quick attunement, perform all the steps for First, Second, or
Master Degree attunement on the surrogate.
Adding the Violet Breath to
Attunements
Some Reiki Master-Teachers also like to add an additional
ceremonial element to all degrees of attunement called the violet
breath. This is not an attunement I do because I am uncomfortable
blowing air on my students. Performing the violet breath adds an
additional layer of ceremony, but the results remain the same. If
you do decide to use it, please make sure you let your students know
it is coming so they aren’t startled by the violet breath.
Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Perform the specified attunement as noted in the instructions

on the preceding pages. Before the final step—where you sit in
front of your student and affirm they are now a Reiki
practitioner (after tapping the symbols into the hands and
sending Reiki into each of the chakras)—move around to the
back of your student again so you are standing behind them.
2. Contract your Hui-Yin point and place the tip of your tongue
on the roof of your mouth. Hold this position throughout all the
steps that follow.
3. Close your eyes and visualize violet light flowing all around
you.
4. Take three deep cleansing breaths, in through your nose for a
full 3 seconds, and then exhale for a full 3 seconds.
5. Then take a full, deep breath. See the violet light entering
 through your breath and swirling around inside your head,
filling your full body, including your lungs.
6. When you have breathed in as much violet light as possible,
exhale it through your mouth, blowing it into your student’s
crown chakra. See the violet light flow out of you and fill your
student, flowing from their crown chakra down to permeate
their entire body.
7. Remove your tongue from the roof of your mouth and
uncontract your Hui-Yin point.
8. Finish the attunement as directed.
Additional Hand Positions
Adrenal Balance
Arthritis Joint Cupping
Autoimmune Bridge Position
Baby Balance
Baby Colic
Back Pain Bridge Position
Dental Pain Position
Headache Bridge Position
Kidney Pain Position
Small Pets Allover Reiki
Adrenal Balance
Adrenal glands are located on either side of the body atop the
kidneys. They release the stress hormones responsible for the fight,
flight, or freeze response. In today’s stressful world, the adrenal
glands frequently have to work overtime and can become fatigued
or overactive. I use the adrenals hand position with virtually every
healing partner because I believe everyone’s adrenals could use a
little work.

1. Have your healing partner lie on their stomach.

2. Stand at their head.
3. Place the palm of each hand directly over their adrenal glands
(tops of kidneys) with the fingers of each hand extending out to
the sides.
4. Hold for three to five minutes, or until you sense or notice signs
of release.
Arthritis Joint Cupping
If your healing partner has arthritis or pain of a specific joint, use
joint cupping on any joint that has pain. Be sure to use a light touch
so you don’t increase the pain with too much pressure.
1. Have your healing partner sit or lie comfortably on their back.
2. Hold your hands lightly cupped, with your thumbs touching if
possible.
3. Place one hand on either side of their joint.
4. Hold for three to five minutes, or until you sense or notice signs
of release.
Autoimmune Bridge Position
The autoimmune bridge position involves holding your dominant
hand over your healing partner’s root chakra and your
nondominant hand over the organ or area affected by the
autoimmune disease. For example, for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis or
Graves’ disease, hold your nondominant hand over their neck. For
autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis or scleroderma,
hold your nondominant hand at their crown chakra.

1. Have your healing partner lie on their stomach. Stand to the

side.
2. Place your dominant hand over their tailbone.
3. Place your nondominant hand over the organ or area affected.
4. Hold for three to five minutes, or until you sense or notice signs
of release.
Baby Balance
Babies have tiny bodies and don’t require much Reiki before they’re
filled up. Because they are so small, you can balance a baby’s energy
quickly using this easy baby balance hand position.

1. Sit comfortably.
2. Cradle the baby in your arms, with one hand cupping the baby’s
bottom and the baby resting safely in your arms.
3. Place your other hand on the top of the baby’s head.
4. Hold for three to five minutes, or until the baby starts to
squirm.
Baby Colic
For a colicky baby, you can use a simple hand position to soothe the
gas pains.

1. Sit holding the baby in your lap across your knees, either
facedown or faceup.
2. Place one hand under the baby’s stomach and the other hand on
the baby’s back.
3. Hold for three to five minutes, or until the baby starts to
squirm.
Back Pain Bridge Position
For healing partners suffering from back pain, you can hold a
bridge position to send energy through the spine and muscles to
create a relaxation response.

1. Have your healing partner lie on their stomach. Place a bolster

beneath their hips if it increases their comfort.
2. Place one hand lightly along their spine between their shoulder
blades.
3. Place your other hand along their spine just above their
buttocks.
4. Hold for three to five minutes, or until you sense or notice signs
of release.
Dental Pain Position
For people suffering from dental or mouth pain, such as canker
sores, this hand position can help supply soothing energy to provide
temporary relief until your healing partner can make it to a dentist.
1. Have your healing partner lie on their back.
2. Hold your hands so the heels are together, and your fingers
extend outward toward their cheeks.
3. Place your hands lightly over their mouth (or hover), cupping
your fingers around the curve of their face toward their cheeks.
4. Hold for three to five minutes, or until your healing partner
indicates they feel some relief.
Headache Bridge Position
This position works well for any headache, but especially for
tension headaches with accompanying neck pain or stiffness.
Perform with your healing partner sitting or lying down.
1. Have your healing partner lie on their stomach or sit with their
back toward you.
2. Place one hand at the base of their neck, with your fingers
extending along one side of their neck and your thumb
extending to the other.
3. Place your other hand on the crown of their head.
4. Visualize energy flowing between your hands as you hold for
three to five minutes, or until your healing partner indicates
they feel some relief.
Kidney Pain Position
For healing partners suffering from pain associated with the
kidneys and urinary tract—such as kidney stones, kidney infection,
or urinary tract pain—this hand position can bring relief. Please
make sure that with such serious health issues, your healing
partner is also seeking care from a physician.
1. Have your healing partner lie on their side with their knees
bent and their affected side up. Stand to the side.
2. Place the heel of one hand just over their kidney, with your
fingers extending toward their spine.
3. Place your other hand along their spine, with the heel of your
hand just under where the bra line would be, extending down
the spine.
4. Use a light touch to avoid aggravating pain.
5. Hold for three to five minutes, or until your healing partner
indicates they feel some relief.
Small Pets Allover Reiki
If you have a small pet—such as a cat, small dog, or rabbit—you can
channel Reiki to them with a single hand position. This is a great
way to channel Reiki to small, tame animals.
1. Sit with your pet cradled in your lap or against your chest.
2. Place one hand on your pet’s bottom/flank.
3. Place your other hand on your pet’s head.
4. Hold for three to five minutes, or until your pet indicates it is
done receiving the energy (by squirming or trying to get away).
5. If your pet isn’t having it, try again another time.
Resources

Books
Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing by
Caroline Myss
If you’re looking for a primer that shows how energy affects health,
this is the one to get. Medical intuitive Caroline Myss walks you
through each chakra and shows you how imbalances in the chakras
can affect health.

The Art of Psychic Reiki: Developing Your Intuitive and Empathic

Abilities for Energy Healing by Lisa Campion
If you want to incorporate your intuition into your Reiki practice,
this book teaches you how. It discusses how to nurture your
intuition and develop your empathetic abilities.

Crystal Reiki: A Handbook for Healing Mind, Body, and Soul by

Krista N. Mitchell
If you want to add crystals to your Reiki practice, this book is a
great guide to get you started in adding the energy healing effects of
crystals to your Reiki practice.

An Evidence Based History of Reiki by William Lee Rand

If you want to learn the history of Reiki, this book will help you
discern between legend and truth.

The Original Reiki Handbook of Dr. Mikao Usui by Mikao Usui and
Christine M. Grimm
If you want to go to the source, this book shares Reiki as Usui Sensei
meant it to be. This resource should be on every Reiki practitioner’s
shelf.

Reiki Healing for Beginners: The Practical Guide with Remedies for
100+ Ailments by Karen Frazier
If you’re just starting out, this book will help you learn the basics of
Reiki. It contains healing sequences for more than 100 ailments.

The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy by

Cyndi Dale
If you want to learn the energy anatomy associated with the human
body, this reference guide outlines this anatomy, including auras,
chakras, and meridians.

The Subtle Body Coloring Book by Cyndi Dale

If you learn better from hands-on practice, this coloring book is a
helpful resource. Think of it as an anatomy coloring book for
chakras, auras, and meridians.

Websites
International Association of Reiki Professionals: IARP.org
This site offers Reiki professionals tons of resources, such as
manuals, certificates, a Reiki journal, and more.

The International Center for Reiki Training: Reiki.org

This is a well-respected Reiki education site that teaches you about
all aspects of Reiki and offers great resources for all degrees of Reiki
practitioners.

Reiki Rays: ReikiRays.com

This site is a great source of ongoing education for Reiki
practitioners, with free ebook downloads, articles, and other
fantastic resources to further your Reiki education.
References

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

“Einstein’s ‘Spooky Action at a Distance’ Spotted in Objects
Almost Big Enough to See.” Science. April 25, 2018.
ScienceMag.org/news/2018/04/einstein-s-spooky-action-
distance-spotted-objects-almost-big-enough-see.

American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, Inc.

(AARDA). “Autoimmune Disease List.” Accessed May 16, 2020.
AARDA.org/diseaselist.

American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA). “Quick Facts on

Fibromyalgia.” Accessed May 16, 2020.
TheACPA.org/conditions-treatments/conditions-a-
z/fibromyalgia/two-takes-on-fibro/quick-facts-on-
fibromyalgia.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA). “Facts &

Statistics.” Accessed May 16, 2020. ADAA.org/about-
adaa/press-room/facts-statistics.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Arthritis: How CDC

Improves Quality of Life for People With Arthritis.” Accessed
May 16, 2020.
CDC.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/arthritis.htm

Cleveland Clinic. “Anxiety Disorders.” Accessed May 16, 2020.

my.ClevelandClinic.org/health/diseases/9536-anxiety-
 disorders.

Mayo Clinic “Metabolic Syndrome: Symptoms & Causes.” March 14,

2019. MayoClinic.org/diseases-conditions/metabolic-
syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20351916.

Migraine Research Foundation “Migraine Facts.” Accessed May 16,

2020. MigraineResearchFoundation.org/about-
migraine/migraine-facts.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

(NIDDK). “Definition & Facts of Indigestion.” Accessed May 16,
2020. NIDDK.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-
diseases/indigestion-dyspepsia/definition-facts.

World Health Organization (WHO). “Hypertension.” Accessed May

16, 2020. WHO.int/news-room/fact-
sheets/detail/hypertension.
Acknowledgments

Writing a book about energy healing during a worldwide pandemic

reminds me just how important and necessary energy healing
modalities such as Reiki are for the world. I am so grateful to all who
have been an essential part of my Reiki healing journey, including
my Reiki Masters Howard Batie and Lisa Powers and all those who
have taught me about various forms of energy healing over the
years.
I’d also like to thank my husband, Jim, and my two adult
children, Tanner and Liz, who have for years put up with how
absorbed I can become in my work as both a writer and energy
healer. I’m also extremely grateful to my business partners at the
Vision Collective for helping me find my spiritual family and a
place to share this wonderful healing art with others, including
jason and Carolyn Masuoka, Kristen Gray, Sharon Lewis, Luis
Navarrete, Mackenna Long, Tristan David Luciotti, and Seth
Michael. Thanks also to Cheryl Knight and Chad Wilson, who were
the first to allow me a place to write about energy healing and
whose friendship and encouragement continue to inspire me. I also
wish to thank all of my family—both my family of birth and my
family of choice; there are too many of you to name and I’m always
afraid I’ll forget someone, but I trust you know who you are.
I’m also incredibly grateful to Callisto Media and the publishing
team there, especially Clara Song Lee, who was my first
editor/project manager; Stacy Wagner-Kinnear, with whom I’ve
collaborated on a number of projects; and Andrea Leptinsky, who
served as the editor on this book.
 Finally, thanks to the hundreds of students I’ve been privileged
enough to teach over the years and the many healing partners who
have trusted me to work with them. I am incredibly humbled by the
trust you have placed in me.
About the Author

Karen Frazier is an intuitive energy healer, Reiki Master-Teacher,

ordained metaphysical minister, psychic medium, and author. She
has worked with and attuned hundreds of healing partners and
students and has written numerous books about energy healing,
crystals, and Reiki.
Along with being an Usui Ryoho Reiki Master-Teacher, Karen is
a Crystal Reiki Master, Animal Reiki Master, Karuna Ki Reiki
Master, and Raku Reiki Master. She offers a number of energy
healing services along with Reiki, including sound healing,
metaphysical healing, polarity therapy, crystal healing, astrological
herbalism, and neurolinguistic programming (NLP).
Karen writes an energy healing column and a dream
interpretation column for Paranormal Underground Magazine,
hosts the Intention Is Everything Podcast, and writes and edits
articles about energy healing, tarot, astrology, and feng shui for the
website LoveToKnow. She is a member of the Vision Collective, the
International Metaphysical Ministry, and the International
Association of Reiki Professionals, and she holds advanced degrees
in metaphysics and energy healing. Learn more at
AuthorKarenFrazier.com.