Reiki I: An Introduction
The first level of Reiki is commonly referred to as "Reiki I". It is the introductory level that allows practitioners to heal themselves ("self healing") and to heal others face-to-face (as opposed to distance, which is covered in Reiki II). Reiki I focuses only on physical healing (Reiki II deals with emotional healing). It is the simplest level, but contains the meat of Reiki understanding and theory.
Since I am an Usui Reiki master, and Usui Reiki is the oldest and most traditional form of Reiki, we will be discussing Reiki I from an Usui Reiki perspective. Any time I discuss a concept that was not part of the original Usui system, but has been added to Usui Reiki over the years, I will place an asterisk* near it, for your distinction.
When training for your level I attunement (or "introduction" to Reiki energy), you will learn the Reiki principles, the Reiki hand positions (and a bit about the chakras* with which they correspond), usually some history of Reiki (which I covered in a previous article), and the basic theories necessary to understand how Reiki works.
We'll attack these in reverse order. First, understanding Reiki itself. Reiki is an intelligent energy, almost like an entity in and of itself, that exists everywhere at once. It is universal. By practicing Reiki you are really channeling Reiki through you to your target. You need only intend that the Reiki flow, and it will. It will go where it is needed and do what it has to do. You just have to have faith that it knows best (because it always does!). Are you familiar with the phrase "let go and let God"? It could easily be "let go and let Reiki"--if you release your ego and just let Reiki do its thing, you'll have tremendous success. You are a channel through which Reiki flows; you are not the conductor telling it how and where to function.
Reiki flows through the body as all energy does--through a system of special channels called chakras. You have seven major chakras and they are the Crown (top of head), the Third Eye (forehead), the Throat, the Heart (upper chest), the Power (solar plexus), the Orange (abdomen), and the Root (perineum). For more information on chakras, see this excellent page. Chakra healing is commonly combined with Reiki, but it's generally recommended that unless you are also proficient in chakra manipulation, you not attempt to do any manipulation of chakras whilst practicing Reiki.
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