A Japanese form of spiritual healing and form of energy medicine. Reiki literally means “universal life force” and refers to the energy flow thought to permeate and surround living things. Energy flow, called “ki” in reiki, is known as “qi” (“chee”) in Chinese medicine. The theory behind reiki is that all living things are connected with a universal life-force energy, which can be used to heal disease. A practitioner of reiki uses his or her healing ki to strengthen the ki of others. To heal blocked or weakened ki, a practitioner channels his or her own self-healing energy to the person, using specific techniques that address all levels of the person —body, mind, and spirit. Most reiki treatments do not involve touching; the healer usually places his or her hands above the body part to direct energy into it. The goal of reiki is to support the body’s natural ability to heal itself. This form of healing has not been clinically proven as effective.
A system of healing originating in Japanese metaphysics in which practitioners direct the ch’i to achieve natural healing.
A Japanese word representing Universal Life Energy. Reiki is based on the belief that when spiritual energy is channeled through a Reiki practitioner, the patient’s spirit is healed, which in turn heals the physical body.
Reiki, an esoteric discipline that emerged in Japan during the 1920s, is regarded as a modality of energy healing. Advocates of Reiki maintain that they possess the ability to transmit curative energies to individuals by employing specific hand gestures, which can be positioned directly on or in close proximity to the recipient.