The word Reiki is a combination of two Japanese words. Rei means God's wisdom or the Higher Power while Ki refers to life force energy. Together, they are a healing technique that helps to reduce stress and promotes relaxation. It is meant to not only sooth the body and help you forget about the issues with work or problems at home, but is meant to help the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. This practice was developed in the early part of the 20th century by a Japanese Buddhist named Mikao Usiu and is now practiced all over the world.

Reiki treatments generally fall under the category of alternative medicine and healing and it is meant to transfer healing energy through the palms by placing them on the body. There are now two traditions of practicing Reiki. Traditional Japanese Reiki derives from the teachings of Usiu and people mostly had to travel to Japan to learn the techniques until the 1990s. Now, you might find some practitioners in your area following these principles. Western Reiki is actually derived from the work of Hawayo Takata and has different hand patterns.

For the healing process, Reiki uses touching, light tapping, blowing and looking but no instruments or medication. You will find that there are people that subscribe to these treatments. It uses palm healing to target the "diseased" parts of the body and you can have full body or localized treatments. The parts of the body that the treatments generally focus on are the head, shoulders, stomach and feet.

There are several different illnesses and injuries that people seek Reiki treatment to help or cure. You might find that person has sessions to help them with insomnia or headaches while a young mother might use it to rehabilitate after breaking a bone. Some people have sessions to help them relax instead of to aid them in curing a specific condition. If you're looking for an alternative source to help you with any number of medical or emotional concerns that you might want to consider trying out a Reiki session.

There are three levels of training to perfect this art and you will want to make sure that the professional you're working with is fully certified. The first level allows them to take clients and the third level allows them to teach. You might find a suitable practitioner working in a spa or one that works in a natural health clinic.

To learn more about the Reiki practices and beliefs, we suggest you visit The International Center for Reiki Training.