What Is Reiki?

The more I dove into strengthening my mind-body awareness, I kept coming across the term "Reiki." The same few questions would run through my mind. 'What the heck is a Reiki? How in the world is someone going to mess with my energy? Does it work?'

Let me clear up the confusion for you! There is so much information available at the tips of our fingers, that it can be quite difficult to sift through it all!

What is Reiki?

• Reiki is a means of healing through light touch or hovering of the hands over one's body. This therapy induces deep relaxation and improves energy flow. It is believed that the Reiki practitioner can unblock our chakras (energy points), and restore balance within our body to allow our energy to flow freely.

How does it work?

• The process of unblocking your chakras is an attunement. The Reiki practitioner does this by placing their hands slightly above or lightly touching your body. They act a pathway between "life force energy" and the patient.
• An attunement can improve one's health and well-being, as blocked charkas may lead to illness (mentally or physically).

What is a Chakra?

There are seven chakras or energy points; they begin at the base of your spine, and proceed up to the top of your head. Different energy points tend to carry certain qualities that play a role in our mind and body.

1. Muladhara Chakra (Root Chakra):
1. Location: Base of the spine
2. Color: Red
3. Qualities: This is the chakra of stability and grounding, as it is the closest to the earth. When the root chakra is imbalanced, it impacts all the following chakras.
2. Svadhisthana Chakra (Sacral Chakra):
1. Location: Between the pubic bone and navel
2. Color: Orange
3. Qualities: This is the chakra of creativity and sexuality.
3. Manipura Chakra (Solar Plexus Chakra):
1. Location: Between the navel and chest
2. Color: Yellow
3. Qualities: This is the chakra of will and personal power
4. Anahata Chakra (Heart Chakra):
1. Location: Heart
2. Color: Green
3. Qualities: This is the chakra of relationships with yourself and others.
5. Vishuddha Chakra (Throat Chakra):
1. Location: Throat
2. Color: Blue
3. Qualities: This is the chakra of expressing yourself through speech
6. Ajna Chakra (Third Eye Chakra):
1. Location: Forehead
2. Color: Indigo
3. Qualities: This is the chakra of intuition
7. Sahasrara Chakra (Crown Chakra):
1. Location: Crown of your head
2. Color: Violet - White
3. Qualities: This is the chakra of spirituality and awareness

When any of your chakras are out of balance it can lead to illness (physically or emotionally), which is why it is so vital to work towards balance them.

There are many ways in which you can work towards balancing your chakras. This therapy itself can be a series of books. What to know more!? Let me know:)

My Experience with Reiki Attunement:

I was extremely nervous going into my first attunement. I had no idea what to expect and had not educated myself on what was going to happen. My Reiki practitioner was informative and walked me through the entire process beforehand.

As many of you already know, everyone's experience is vastly different. I was shaking head to toe and had a warm/tingly sensation as she passed over areas of my body (specifically my heart and throat chakra).

Afterward, I felt somewhat lighter. It was like walking outside in the fresh, cold, crisp, morning air and taking a deep breath, a sense of relief came over my body.

I like to analyze how I felt during and after the attunement, so I can take notice of where my blockages where and how I can work towards improvement.

Receiving a Reiki attunement is not a cure-all by any means! This therapy is most effective when used as a guide in combination with other treatments. You will still need to put in the hard work and dedicate time to your improvement.

What was your first experience? Did you find this helpful? Let me know in the comment section below!