Beyond the Reiki Basics

Nothing will happen if your mind wanders during Reiki! You don’t need to be locked in 100% of the time when giving Reiki. All of our minds wander naturally sometimes, there are just a couple of things to set up beforehand.

Before you start, set a clear intention for yourself and your client. That gives the Reiki energy a direction, and your higher self takes it from there.

Even when your mind drifts, Reiki knows exactly where to go. It can flow on its own, as long as you believe in it and trust the process.

That said, don’t check out completely! Come back to your client every few minutes, check in on the flow, and adjust anything that needs it.

o you find that since your attunement, your hands get hot, tingly or feel like energy is moving down into them even without giving Reiki?

Maybe it happens when you are listening to music, feeling emotional or deep in thought. In those moments, what are your hands trying to tell you?

Your hands may be telling you to pay attention, to stop and check in with yourself. Next time it happens, ask yourself: How were you feeling in that moment? What were you thinking?

Listening to your hands can help you connect with your inner self even outside of Reiki sessions.

Some of us hear a voice during receiving or giving Reiki. It can sound like our own voice or it can sound like someone else.

It is often a way for insights to reach us when our minds are still enough to be able to listen more clearly.

Some believe that the Reiki voice is their own inner guidance or higher self. But for others it can feel like spirit guides or angels.

Regardless of the source, this voice usually offers calm, grounded suggestions. If we take time to listen, it often points us towards positive steps we could take in our lives.

You don’t have to be psychic to see images during Reiki

Seeing images during a session, both as a practitioner and as a client is actually really common. 40% of my clients see images, and 63% of Reiki practitioners in a poll said they experience this too.

They can be a single image that randomly pops in, a few images dotted throughout, or a full scene playing out in your mind for minutes at a time.

The images can be completely random and have nothing to do with the intention you set, or anything going on in your life. A medieval battle scene. A stranger’s face. A red triangle.

When we enter a deeply relaxed state during Reiki we slip into something called hypnagogia. This is the state between being awake and being asleep. In this state the brain begins to do what it does during sleep. It starts to dream.

If you want to understand what the images mean, a dream dictionary can be a useful starting point. But also pay attention to how the image made you feel. Your own emotional response to it is often the most accurate guide.

Sometimes it can be nice to call in a little bit of extra support during Reiki.

This might be asking the support of angels, spirit guides, ancestors or anyone you feel comfortable to join you during your Reiki session.

There are a few things to consider before calling in support from spirit guides and angels:

Is your client comfortable with you calling in for support?
Have you got a method in place for protection so as not to accidentally invite the energy of anything unwanted into the session?

When we invite support from spirit guides and angels, clients can sometimes feel like an extra pair of hands are on them and sometimes see or feel a presence in the room.

Some clients experience this even when we haven’t intentionally called anyone in.

Reiki is not always the soft, gentle experience people expect. And that is actually a good sign.

Reiki always has your best interest in mind. But that does not mean it will always feel gentle. It will never hurt you, but it may give you lots of physical sensations and body twitches as energy is moved.

Strong physical sensations during Reiki are not scary and they don’t hurt. Even when your body is reacting strongly there is still a feeling of comfort underneath it.

When we experience stronger physical sensations during Reiki, this is a really good sign that Reiki is going where it needs to and a bigger energy blockage is being worked on.

Sometimes during a session you feel a touch on an area where the practitioner’s hands are not currently placed. It happens more often than people realise and most people don’t mention it because they aren’t sure what to make of it.

There are a couple of explanations for this. It could be your nervous system picking up on sensations differently once you are in a deeply relaxed state.

It could also be spirit guides stepping in alongside the Reiki practitioner, adding their own energy and hands to the healing work.

Meditation doesn’t have to be traditional. It doesn’t need to be lying down listening to a guided meditation.

You can meditate in the shower. Any time you focus on one thing, you enter a clear, focused mindset. That is meditation too.

Whether you are giving or receiving Reiki, you enter a meditative state.

During this time, you can heal, connect to your higher selves and spirit, and hear your true thoughts more clearly.

Many Reiki practitioners are naturally very empathetic people.

It is often what draws them to this kind of work in the first place.

During a Reiki session, some practitioners can actually feel what their client is feeling while working with them. Emotions that are not theirs can come through and they can feel them as if they were their own.

This can be a really powerful part of energy work as it can allow the practitioner to understand what is happening for their client on a deeper level and to direct the Reiki to where it is most needed emotionally.

This is why grounding and disconnecting energy after a session is such an important part of the practice.

Without it, a Reiki practitioner can carry their clients emotions with them long after the session has ended without even realising it.

Some Reiki clients can smell different scents during their session. It can show up as the scent of flowers, perfume or a scent that is familiar to them.

This scent is not something that is present in the room with them.

This can actually happen outside of Reiki too, it’s called clairalience, and it’s the ability to sense things through smell.

During a Reiki session, it could mean a few different things.
It might be how you sense energy clearing in your body. Instead of feeling it physically, you experience it as a smell.

Or it could also be a sign that a spirit or loved one is using scent as a way to connect with you.