What is Reiki?

The word Reiki, which is pronounced ray-key, comes from the Japanese words, rei, meaning spirit and ki, meaning energy. It is often described as “spiritual energy” or “universal life energy”.

The system of Reiki is a Japanese, meditative spiritual practice that teaches techniques to help nurture and grow that “spiritual energy” within. It can then be shared with others to help reduce stress and anxiety, bring about relaxation, promote healing and much more.

What is the difference between Reiki for humans and Kathleen Prasad’s Let Animals Lead® method of Reiki for animals?

For humans you usually either lie on a massage/reiki table or sit in a chair while remaining fully clothed. A session consists of gentle hand placements just above or on the body however you are comfortable.

For animals, because they are very sensitive to energy, we do not have them lie on a table, and we do not immediately, if at all, place our hands on them. Instead, we go to wherever they live and create the healing space and allow the animal to decide how they would like the Reiki session to go. They may come up for hands on healing, or they may accept Reiki from a short distance. However they choose, it is completely up to them.

Reiki uses for all beings:

Can help maintain health and well-being on the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels.
Can reduce stress and anxiety and help with relaxation.
Can complement conventional and holistic therapies.
Can help reduce pain and inflammation.
Can lessen the side effects of other medical treatments.
Can help ease and support the dying process.
Can accelerate healing with an illness, injury, or recovery from a surgery.
Can help reduce behavior problems and aggression with an animal.
Can help abused animals heal from past mental and/or physical trauma.
Can be an effective, gentle non-invasive yet powerful approach to healing on many levels.

Important note:

Reiki is a non-invasive meditative spiritual practice that promotes wellbeing and compliments conventional and alternative therapies. Reiki is not a cure and should not be used as a substitute for qualified veterinary or human medical care. A Reiki practitioner does not diagnose, prescribe, or perform medical treatment.