The history of Reiki is very interesting, and so important to know as a professional Reiki healer. Understanding how Reiki started and who founded Reiki, is to honour and respect the true essence and foundation of the practice. As a healer, it provides me with a holistic approach to my healing practice.
Reiki is a spiritual practice
Reiki healing is not a religion, it is a spiritual practice. The word “Reiki” is Japanese, and combines ‘Rei’ which is ‘soul or spirit’, and ‘ki’ which means ‘vital energy’. This translates Reiki as universal energy or universal life force energy. Reiki helps to rebalance the body’s energy system, and assists us in moving forward in life with more ease and grace.
Mikau Usui, founder of Reiki
Reiki was originally developed by a Japanese monk named Mikao Usui in the early 1900s. Mikao Usui brought together different elements from all his teachings to create the system of Reiki. He travelled a great deal and studied medicine, psychology and theology. He also brought in elements from martial arts, as he was brought up in a samurai family.
Spreading the magic of Reiki
In 1922, Mikao Usui climbed Mt. Kurama, a sacred mountain near Tokyo. This was part of a spiritual fast and pilgrimage called austerity mountain training. On his 21st day, he had a spiritual awakening, where he received what he felt as Reiki, or ‘one great light’. Usui practiced this Reiki ‘life force energy’ healing on himself first. He then practiced on his family, and received positive feedback and immediate results. Usui realised that this energy gave him a wonderful tool and ability to heal both himself and others. He could also transfer this ability easily to anyone willing to access Reiki energy.
The history of Reiki unfolds
Usui wanted to share this beautiful gift of Reiki healing with the world. He set up a Gakkai in Tokyo, which initially catered for lay people and navel officers to come and heal. This was the beginnings of Usui Ryoho Gakkai (our lineage at Melbourne Reiki and Wellness). As knowledge of Reiki treatments grew, Usui started training students, many of which became Reiki Masters. Usui also wanted to ensure that Reiki healing be kept as simple as possible, so it was accessible by anyone.
Reiki Masters and teachings
Dr Chujiro Hayashi, a retired naval officer and surgeon, began studying with Mikau Usui in 1925. It’s thought he may have written the first manual for the hand positions in Reiki. He is also credited with running the first commercial healing centre. People in need would come for healing, and practitioners would work on them together. Hayashi also taught Reiki Masters, and Hawayo Takata was one of them. Hawayo Takata was an American born Japanese woman. She studied with Hayashi, and eventually took the system of Reiki back to Hawaii, USA. Takata set up the first non-Japanese Reiki clinic, and also taught many Reiki Masters.
Reiki healing spreads to the West
After Takata died, her students began setting up their own practices and creating Reiki groups and associations. After that, Reiki in its most traditional form began to get diluted. Practitioners started bringing in other philosophies that were not part of Reiki as founded by Mikau Usui. The Australian Reiki Connection (the main governing body of Reiki in Australia) works to maintain the traditional lineage of Reiki. As such, at Melbourne Reiki and Wellness we ensure we follow the ARC guidelines. We do our best to stick to the traditional lineage of the Usui System of Reiki as closely as possible.
Reiki Healing courses in Melbourne
If you are interested in learning Reiki, we offer Reiki Courses in Caulfield, Melbourne. The first place to start is Reiki Level 1 ‘Shoden’. After 3 months, you can move up to Reiki Level 2 ‘Okuden’. Then, after 6 months of practice, you can then complete Reiki Level 3a ‘Reiki Master Practitioner’ level. After a further 6 months, you may be eligible to apply for the full Reiki Mastership certification. This is a 12 month mentorship 1:1 with Casey from Melbourne Reiki and Wellness.To find out more information and ask questions, you can contact us here.
