Someone not knowing about Reiki and reading this would think I’m singing a song line here – but this is the mantra my teacher sent us home with after completing Reiki Level I. We were to put our hands on ourselves and “do reiki do reiki do reiki” everyday! Just in time for the stresses of the holidays, here is an article about self-care!
I had a student come back to see me after her Reiki I class who reported she was doing Reiki on her husband and her pet. I asked her if she was doing Reiki on herself.
There was a gentle pause in the flow of conversation, during which I took the opportunity to redirect her attention to the need to give Reiki to herself. I can’t tell you the hesitation I hear as Reiki attuned people try to grasp this most simple truth.
Reiki is for you
Reiki is for you, every day. Reiki is everyday. A simple routine, like getting up and brushing your teeth.
Open your eyes, give thanks and do Reiki. On you. In our Western society we are taught that it is odd to touch yourself. Many people feel uncomfortable with the whole concept of putting their hands on themselves – we don’t even like to be seen touching others. Yet Reiki is given and received either through hands on or hands-off, just a few inches from yourself. Reiki is all about connection, energy and loving touch, for you and for me.
“I don’t have time…”
is the common excuse for dodging this uncomfortable direct to perform self-care through self-Reiki.
Start with five minutes first thing in the morning. As you sleep, your brain is processing – actually dumping waste material. This has been determined through research. When you wake, your body and mind have been working steadily to rid you of unneeded materials. Your heart has been beating all night. Your blood has circulated round to every cell delivering precious supplies and picking up unneeded waste. Your brain has been downloading and updating all night. Put your hands on your head and walk Reiki down through your body to refresh and support its cleansing, healing actions of the night and to bring you into balance and prepare you for the energetic demands of the day. Reiki is for you.
What had happened to my student was the normal routine of life.
We wake up and put on our to-do lists and we are not on them. Our sense of validation comes from outside reference points – How much have we done for others, what tasks have we accomplished – we get up and start doling out our energy hoping we have enough to make it the end of the day when we can stop giving out and lay ourselves back down to replenish, hoping to renew ourselves enough for the next day.
Reiki is for you.
Like that oxygen mask on the airplane – you simply will not have enough to help others and survive yourself so that you can continue to enjoy your life, help others, and live, if you do not put on your oxygen mask – first. Reiki is for you – first! When you received your Reiki attunement it was not so that you could go out and take care of everyone else, it was for you – to open your connection to a higher form of energy and set you on a path to open more and more to that source so that your connection becomes, in another analogy, like that of a straw.
A straw will not work as a way of allowing the flow of energy unless it is clear and open, an empty space free of blocks and stoppages. This is the purpose of Reiki in our lives; to clear that pathway and open that stream. This is not accomplished through attunement only, which is simply its beginning, but through a daily practice of self-Reiki.
Shoden, the Japanese term for level I Reiki in its original Eastern tradition, actually means Initial. Your Level One teaching and attunement are your initiation into Reiki. From that point on, Reiki is your daily journey of self care and self-practice. Another analogy of the straw – once clear, it then can be filled with a flow of life giving sustenance, carrying it from source to recipient – that is its purpose, to be filled with a constant, clear flow. And that is our purpose as practitioners; to practice first and foremost in our own lives, so that they may become a source of that clear flow of loving energy for others.
Daily Self-Reiki is for you!
The water I drank yesterday will not sustain me tomorrow. The battery charged last night will fail by the end of today.
Energy must flow and we as Reiki people have a connection that must be nurtured. Put on your oxygen mask as you start your day. Grab it and take a whiff any time when you sense the pressure of the day getting to you, and take a nice long inhalation of Reiki as you fall asleep…. here are some simple hand positions and tips from a pinterest post that illustrate the hand positions for a short self-care Reiki routine. Remember that these are simply guides, not directives. Go where your hands lead you when doing self-Reiki. In my next article we go a bit deeper into how this intuitive response works and will look at a daily practice that includes meditation and energy work to facilitate deepening in your daily Reiki journey.
You can book a self-care session!
Been away a while?
If you would like a Reiki Refresher – I am available to help you jump start your re-connection. I book a refresher just like a Reiki session or offer it oline. I offer a renewing Reiju (attunement) and cover personal practice (where we play with the energy!) in addition to a short self-Reiki session, all to help you get going again. Contact me to set up your personal Reiki Refresher!
Try Reiki!
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