How Can I Help Your Reiki Practice?

Reiki HealingIn January’s ReikiUpdate I asked, “How I can help?” What I had in mind was what classes and content would help you with your Reiki practice.

What I received was much more profound. I have never been so grateful that I didn’t communicate clearly!

Many of you opened your hearts to share your dreams, your frustrations, your doubts, and the wishlists for your lives. I was deeply touched by the outpouring, and moved by your confidence that, as a spiritual healing practice, Reiki can help us accomplish our life goals.

Reiki healing practice requires practice

The key word, of course, is practice.

Reiki healing is not magical, although it can seem that way. If we really want our Reiki practice to change our lives, and we want to stabilize that transformation, we need to do our part — we need to actually practice.

As with anything else, the best results come with consistent practice.

When asked about daily self -treatment, one practitioner responded, “off and on.” Other than hands go off and on as we proceed with our hand to body placements, that’s really a NO.

Another practitioner said she practiced regular self-treatment “most of the time.” What’s regular about “most of the time?”

There’s no con in consistent

We don’t sleep “most nights,” nor do we eat “most days.” The only way to keep from conning ourselves is to be consistent in our efforts.

Architects don’t just dream of buildings; they draw the plans that contractors then build.

We build our dreams through daily practice. Daily, as in every day. Unfailingly.

(We don’t have to be rigid. It’s okay if our Reiki practice is shorter some days than others, as long as it happens and tomorrow we’re back to a full practice.)

More off or more on?

When we settle for off-and-on, “on” tends to be only when we’ve hit a rough patch. Then just as our balanced state is stabilizing, and our daily practice is about to install a level of steadiness in our lives that we never imagined, our Reiki practice is off again.

When our practice is as important to us as sleep, when we crave the nourishment we receive from practice as much as we crave food, we have connected with the power to transform our lives.

The power to transform our understanding and our lives is ever-present; our daily practice is the vehicle it needs to manifest.

How can I help?

Do you have a question about practice that is keeping you from practicing? I want to help you. Here are links that discuss the questions I’m asked most often:

Do you have doubts?

Do you have how-to questions about daily practice?

Would you like to communicate Reiki with more confidence?

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Please join my email list!

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33 thoughts on “How Can I Help Your Reiki Practice?”

  1. Hello Pamela! I’m so delighted to’ve joined your website and blog; what a wonderful resource and generous teacher you are. Thank you.
    As a Reiki master, I’m gathering data to discern how to open a healing studio which includes Reiki practice amongst other healing modalities. I have a facility which includes an office, healing room, meditation/counseling room, restroom and small kitchen. I’ve even decided on a business name. However, I’m and not quite sure of the best formal business structure/model to begin; sole proprietor, LLC, etc. I say to begin because I plan to create a non-profit in the future. Your insights would be most appreciated. Peace.

    1. Aldren, I wish you all the best with this.

      If you read through the blog articles, you’ll find much to support your professional development.

      I cannot give legal advice and I encourage you to speak to a lawyer about how best to structure your business as a legal entity. I particularly encourage you to be very well informed about what is involved in creating and maintaining a not-for-profit organization.

      If you are interested in professional Reiki mentoring, look at what is available on the ContEd and Webinar links at the top of the page. The TALKING REIKI series has a recording specifically on structure and communication of client sessions. It is also possible to schedule individual mentoring sessions.

      1. Hello Pamela
        Thanks much for your thoughtful response. I am indeed interested in professional mentoring sessions. I am currently reading both links and will contact you soon.
        Peace and many Blessings!

  2. christine mustelier

    Pamela, thank you so much for your reply. I am a nurse by training and practice (up until a year ago) so I was thinking of amending the “Pain Scale” VAS that we used at the hospital. I would delete the references to “Pain” and leave the faces and numbers, asking for a general assessment of well being as in “How do you feel overall?”
    I will be starting a volunteer opportunity working with Somali refugee women at a hospital organized community center. I was hoping that the rating scale with faces could surmount the language barrier and give me some idea as to how much the Reiki was helping.
    Any additional thoughts?

    1. You might want to look through the first few medical papers here https://reikiinmedicine.org/medical-papers/ to review the research and do a test run with a translator to make sure that the images are communicating. Also have written instructions for women who read their language, if there is a common language among them.

      It sounds like a wonderful program. If you need more specific help in structuring the program, I suggest we schedule a mentoring session.

  3. christine mustelier

    Hi Pamela,

    I am new to your blog/website and may have missed the information that I am looking for:

    What type of assessments, if any, can/should be done with Reiki clients pre and post Reiki sessions? Is there a tool that can be used to document changes in well being related to receiving Reiki?

    1. Christine, this is definitely not a “should,” but if a practitioner wants to, and the client is agreeable, you can ask the client to rate pain, anxiety, or any other symptom he comes in with on a visual analog scale (VAS), one symptom per scale. Get a rating before the session and get another rating on the same symptoms after, without remind the client of the pre-session rating.

      VAS is a line marked in increments left to right from zero to ten, with zero meaning that the client is not feeling that symptom at all and ten being the most intense imaginable. For well-being, zero would be feeling poorly and ten would be the best.

      This has no research validity because the scores are being taken by the practitioner, but it is a way of documenting response that may be meaningful to practitioner and client alike. There is more about this in my book, REIKI: A Comprehensive Guide.

  4. I am aware of cheap online ordination that may meet legalities for performing weddings, for example, but do you really think that would protect a Reiki practitioner if the government decides to prosecute?

    This is a very complex issue. The law varies state by state, and sometimes within states by community, and although some states are updating their laws to reflect the current health care marketplace, most have not. It falls on the Reiki practitioner to stay apprised of local law. Massage & Bodywork magazine offers this resource https://ht.ly/25PLQ to help practitioners connect with the local authorities to clarify the situation.

    This is a national organization that supports grassroots movements for freedom of health care choices. https://www.nationalhealthfreedom.org

    1. No, the clinic told me the free online ordination would suffice for them. I told them I didn’t think that would hold up in court, but they said one of their members had been a lawyer and said it HAS held up in court. It all seems very strange to me. The only thing I could find was the NY State Board of Education website stating that Reiki practitioners do not need a license. If we don’t need a license, why do we need a “ministers” certificate to protect ourselves? My local Reiki teacher thought it had to do with public buildings needing certain proofs from people practicting there to satisfy their own private insurance. Maybe there is some disconnect between certain insurance companies and the state licensing laws.

      Thanks for the links!

      1. Not only do Reiki practitioners not need a license in NY state — there is no license for Reiki and I cannot imagine that the state legislature will ever create one. The point of licensing is supposedly to protect the public from harm, and there is consensus in medicine that Reiki treatment is a non-invasive and low risk.

        There are a lot of disconnects between law, insurance and health care regarding complementary therapies. I am skeptical of the hearsay. It is unlikely that the clinic is trying to protect the Reiki practitioners and more likely that it’s trying to protect itself.

  5. I live in the DC area and practice Reiki in VA, MD, and DC. I have my liability insurance with ABMP – Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. I asked them about the issue of touch and they told me that since Reiki touch is non-manipulative it is exempt from massage licensing in my area. There are two states that do not allow non-manipulative touch, if I remember correctly one of them was Florida.

    Once you become an ordained minister or reverend you are obliged to let your clients know that Reiki is part of your religious practice. Pamela, you can become ordained very easily online, e.g. with the Universal Life Church.

    Michael, best wishes to you! Check with your liability insurance, they need to be up to date on the latest regulations for your area.

  6. Michael, I am not an attorney and cannot give legal advice. I do know a little of the history, however. There was no such movement; rather, Reiki was already under the control of the massage board of discipline, and the members decided to drop Reiki practice from their jurisdiction because it is not massage.

    I don’t know what you mean by a minister’s license. Are you thinking of going to an accredited chaplaincy school, which I believe is two years or more of study?

  7. Hi. Nice thread here. I have one practical question! Do you know what any current NY state laws apply to doing hands-on Reiki? I ask because a clinic where I am about to donate some Reiki work is requiring a Ministers license for energy workers who have no other sort of official license. I thought this was put to rest back in 2006 when a movement to require Reiki practitioners to have massage licenses was struck down, but I know lots of Reiki people get ministers licenses almost automatically to “protect” themselves from legal action. For me, getting a ministers license feels a little unethical, because I am not interested in being a minister, and I would do it just to exploit a legal loophole concerning laying hands on people.I figured if anyone knew the current legal situation, you would!

  8. Hi Pamela,
    I have a question about grounding myself. I’m not so sure I’m doing this right or well?

    The reason for my question is a recent experience while practicing. My mom’s good friend became ill with pancreatic cancer and had initial reservations about Reiki. Finally, when she grew very ill, she requested my service. I was so happy to oblige. The first time I practiced on her, as soon as I laid my hands upon her I felt a quick-paced, pulsating sensation going up my forearms. It was as if the energy or toxins were being released. As I looked at my arms, I could even see the movement. I didn’t know what to do, I decided to consciously send any negative energy that may have entered me down back into the earth. I was caught off guard, pulled my hands away and shook them off. I centered myself, completed the session and wasn’t really sure about what happened. According to my client, she had an amazing experience that day and felt much less physical pain. I did several more sessions with her at her request, prior to her passing.

    Please let me know what you think?
    Thank you for all your efforts to spread the love of Reiki.

    1. Nina, I really don’t have any basis to say anything about what happened, except that you handled it well and took care of yourself. That’s the best we can do. Good for you.

  9. i was recently sexually assaulted by a reiki customer..still recoverng (feel free to send some reiki my way 🙂

    but how do you handle aggressive men?

    1. I am so very sorry to read this, Amy. I hope you are getting help.

      This is a time when a skilled professional can be very useful not only in helping a victim sort out her feelings from the assault, but also in troubleshooting the future. I’m sorry not to be able to offer more, but this is far too sensitive a topic for me to feel comfortable addressing it online. In-person counseling would be more appropriate.

      Have you considered approaching a massage school in your area for guidance how to address an aggressive male client? And of course a lot depends on the situation in which we work, such as whether we are in an isolated office or there is someone just outside, whether we work for ourselves or we answer to a boss.

      Again, my apologies for not being able to be of more help.

  10. Kim Mac Donald-Distasio

    Thank you Pamela for your helpful reply. Asking our clients what (they) need and suggesting the seasons as a guideline feels natural and genuine. Using the monthly timeframe felt wrong and unnatural… I am so pleased with your suggestion 🙂

    Peace,
    Kim

    1. I treated a former soldier who has been diagnosed with PTSD in November. She came back for her second treatment in January and told me that she has been able to sleep again since the first Reiki treatment.

      I now see her once a month.

      Pamela, I think you mentioned a research study about depression where the effects of Reiki treatment lasted long after the actual treatment. Could you please give us a link to that? Thank you!

      1. The study is by Adina Goldman Shore and was published in the May/June 2004 issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. I do not think it is available online, but I discuss it in two peer-reviewed medical papers I’ve written that are available on the Medical Papers page, the Reiki review and the Reiki in cancer care papers, and in the Reiki research chapter of my book REIKI: A Comprehensive Guide.

  11. Kim Mac Donald-Distasio

    I have a new Practice in Amherst , Nova Scotia. The responce from my clients has been what we would expect… Rewarding and welcoming!!!!

    My question is about pre-booking their next appointment… If they are in general good health , what do you suggest?

    I have been suggesting 12 times a year… once a month…. I feel a bit weak in this area.. perhaps its the money.. my concern ..they can’t afford more?

    Thank you and I LOVE your website and your open and helpful heart 🙂
    Peace,
    Kim

    1. Thank you for your kind words, Kim.

      I don’t think there is a one-size-fits-all answer to this. It has to be something you are comfortable with.

      I ask my client when he/she would like to come again, and go over the benefits of coming for treatment before one feels wretched. I encourage them to come at least at the change of the seasons, when the body is most vulnerable.

      1. Kim Mac Donald-Distasio

        Thank you Pamela for your helpful reply.. asking our clients when (they )would like to come back instead of me trying to put everyone in a general timeframe makes sence. Offering Reiki as needed based upon their needs and the seasons feels pure and genuine.

        I appreciate your helping and generous responce:-)

        Peace,
        Kim

      2. Personally, I think it’s very helpful for people to come monthly and more often as needed, and you can continue to give that as an option.

        We also want to be mindful of Mrs. Takata’s advice that a little Reiki treatment is better than none, and engage them to create a schedule of care that feels supportive and doable in their lives.

  12. Pamela, you’ve said it completely, succinctly and gracefully! I do wish everyone with Reiki hands would listen, notice and follow your counsel.

    I’ll probably borrow your expressions when I speak to my students and Reiki friends – and, of course, I’ll credit you with them.

    Blessings,
    Bevianne

  13. I’m sorry—’give’ = practice Reiki on others. (I’m second degree.)

    Self-treatments generally last maybe 20 minutes before I fall asleep (common even before the accident), and they have served to help me relax and push the details of the crash from my mind, feeling a little better the next day until I think about the accident again. Your point about releasing tension makes perfect sense!

  14. Thank you for your speedy response! I’ve tried giving myself Reiki a few times but have wound up exhausted.

    How about giving Reiki to others?

    1. I don’t know what you mean by giving Reiki. I practice Reiki, I don’t give it. So it could be that what you are doing is not the traditional, passive practice. You might be efforting in an unnecessary way that is depleting you.

      Or, the exhaustion you feel might be temporary, indicative of your need for rest, and not at all a bad thing. Sometimes people feel “exhausted” when they have released trauma.

      How long are those self-treatments? How do you sleep afterwards? Are you falling asleep during your practice (this would be good). And how do you feel the next day?

  15. Eve, I’m so sorry to hear of your accident, and that you have not been practicing Reiki self-treatment.

    There is no concern of blocked energy channels. Reiki practice is not dependent on those channels, and practicing self-Reiki will help heal them. Simply place your hands as you are able and let yourself drop into your practice for a minimum of 30 minutes a day.

  16. Hi Pamela!

    Two months ago I was in an auto accident and am still recovering physically and emotionally. I’ve been hesitant to give Reiki to myself or others because of the possibility of blocked energy channels from my injuries and/or the prospect of any self-treatments ‘backfiring’ and setting me back further in my recovery. Any thoughts as to when it will be safe to resume, and actual consequences should I begin again sooner? Thanks.

  17. Cheryl Ann Kubiak

    Pamela,

    I am Reiki Master/Practitioner. I work out of a chiropractic office in the Buffalo NY area. As much as Reiki is in hospitals in the NYC area, and Rochester area, and very easily accepted–this does not hold true in the Buffalo and surrounding suburbs. There are some holistic offices and spa’s in the area, but not nearly enough. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

    Love & Light
    Cheryl

    1. Cheryl, when it comes to bringing Reiki practice into conventional medicine, two things are particularly important — understanding the culture of health care, and being able to communicate Reiki in clear, simple language that addresses conventional medicine’s interests and concerns.

      In the 4-day Medical Reiki intensive in New York City March 29 – April 1, I will teach how I have effectively pioneered Reiki treatment in conventional health care. The intensive is by far the fastest way to learn this material. Click here to learn more.

      Otherwise, there is the recorded Intro to Medical Reiki webinar, and there are many posts to help you. Click these categories in the listing in the sidebar: Communicating Reiki, Clinical practice, and Reiki research.

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