Reiki’s History
In March 1922, a man named Mikao Usui downloaded some cosmic information on a mountain and integrated it with Japanese techniques that had been used for thousands of years prior.
Reiki is “laying on hands.” That’s mostly how a session will be conducted in person. However, with the awareness of quantum physics, it’s much easier for the human brain to understand the essence of Reiki.
And why it can be used in distant sessions (more on that later).
Mikao Usui was born in 1865.
He loved learning and studied a variety of subjects such as medicine, psychology, religion, and the art of divination. Because life gave him a variety of experiences, Mikao was determined to understand his life purpose.
He came across An-shin Ritus-mei (on sheen dit sue may).
An-shin Ritus-mei is a state of awareness that would give a person grounded inner peace. Undisturbed by outside forces. With this deep peace, no effort would be needed to achieve one’s purpose.
Because Mikao wanted to understand this concept on a visceral level, he went to fast and meditate on Mt. Kurama per his sensei’s recommendation.
After 21 days, Mikao Usui received a powerful light that entered his mind and knocked him unconscious. He described it as lightning.
He awoke feeling energized and vital.
This was March 1922. As Mikao made his way down Mt. Kurama, he stubbed his toe on a rock. Naturally, he grabbed his foot. He experienced powerful warm energy emitting from his hands. Suddenly his toe was pain-free.
With this newfound awareness and warm energy, Mikao established his system of healing called Shin-Shin Kai-Zen Usui Reiki RyoHo (The Usui Reiki Treatment Menoth for Improvement of Body and Mind).
Even though there were other Reiki Ryoho (life force methods) in Japan, Miako understood what he had was different.
He later established a healing society called Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (Usui Reiki Healing Method Society. Which still runs today).
He taught his method within different degrees and structures.
By 1925, the demand for his style of Reiki was so large he outgrew the original clinic.
Mikao Usui taught more than 2,000 students and initiated twenty teachers.
Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (Usui Reiki Healing Method Society) continues today despite the United States' enforcement after World War II on Japan. The U.S. required Japanese to give up their healing arts and ONLY study western medicine.
Reiki Arrives in the U.S.
One of Mikao Usui’s students, Chujiro Hayashi was encouraged by Usui to open his clinic.
Because Chujio had experience as a medical doctor in the Navy.
This is where the United States and the majority of the world’s style of Reiki originates from.
Chujiro Hayashi updated sessions for clients to receive Reiki while laying back on a treatment table with multiple practitioners facilitating.
A woman named Hawayo Takata received treatments at Hayshi’s Institue for four months. She was recovering from a tumor, gallstones, appendicitis, and asthma (and a mental breakdown) after the death of her husband. And later her sister.
Hawayo was stressed out.
But after being impressed with Hayshi’s Insititues diagnosis and the warm hands during her treatments, she too wanted to learn these practices. So she started working at Hayshi’s clinic and completed her Reiki Master training.
Hawayo Takata was originally from Kauai, Hawaii. She returned to Hawaii to open her own Reiki clinics, give treatments, and initiate students.
By 1970, Hawayo Takata started teaching others to become Reiki Masters. She died in 1980 and 22 Reiki Masters carried on her teaching lineage.
Reiki’s Etymology
The word Reiki derives from Japanese kanji (the written language of Japan via ideograms).
Japanese language and the written word originally came from China. Both languages were based on drawings to describe nouns for example. Over time, the drawings became more abstract. Yet if you take the time to look at Japanese kanji you can see the symbolic meaning.
Reiki breaks down into two kanjis. Rei and Ki.
Rei is the upper character. Ki is below that.
Japanese kanji have many layers of meaning. Everything from esoteric to mundane.
The upper section of Rei portrays clouds and indicates the heavens. Metaphorically we can see this (also portrayed in various cultural myths) as representing areas of higher consciousness. The idea is that from this space, creativity, genius, miraculous experiences, and healing can be gifted to us Earth-dwelling creatures.
The lower half of Rei represents the layers of soil and minerals on Earth. Sandwiched between the heavens and layers of Earth, are three bodies. These three bodies signify the body, mind, and spirit within each being.
The second kanji, Ki represents energy. Ki sounds a lot like Chi meaning the same thing in Chinese (China’s 4000-year-old book The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine lists over thirty kinds of chi).
For those of you who are yogis, you’re familiar with Sanskrit’s word Prana. Christian origins use the word manna (energy via bread given to Israelites while traveling through – one could argue – a spiritual desert).
Science refers to and has images of energy called a biofield.
Basically, Ki is life force energy. It’s a non-physical force that animates all living things.
The kanji is an image of a pot of rice (because food gives us energy, literally) over some fire. And there’s steam rising off of it.
If your life force energy is low, you may not only feel it (like descending heavy energy) but also your body may be giving you signals of imbalance via dis-ease. Or being vulnerable to illness.
Ki is the primary energy of our emotions, thoughts, and spiritual life.
For those of you who believe in the law of attraction, then you can understand that Reiki is a great tool to help shift into alignment.
Stoics even understood the power of focusing your mind also delivers positive Ki (genki in Jampese).
Reiki Today
Overall Reiki is guided by higher levels of consciousness. It asks a practitioner to trust the process. To let the way Reiki works through their body and mind to sense into what the receiver may need.
Today, The International Center for Reiki Training is predominately where you can find information on the variety of styles of Reiki. And a list of Master Reiki teachers can be reached.
The International Center for Reiki Training was born from William Lee Rand. He learned Reiki I in 1982 from Bethel Phaigh, a student of Hawayo Takata. He later studied under Dian McCumber in 1989.
William started a newsletter in 1990 to keep interested students informed.
As popularity grew, the newsletter morphed into Reiki News Magazine by 2002.
From William’s own life journey and practices, he wanted to set AND maintain high standards for Reiki through a teacher certification program (Professional Licensed Teachers program, today). It takes about three years to complete.
Reiki.org offers over 300 articles on Reiki and a variety of resources for those desiring to practice Reiki. Or further develop their skills to teach Reiki.
By 2009 William and others started the Center for Reiki Research. With seven or more qualified Ph.D. researchers.
The center contains summaries and references on Reiki research studies. You can find peer-reviewed studies, hospital Reiki programs, and other articles to help promote Reiki through evidence-based understanding. There are over 30 different kinds of Reiki with many subgroups and branches continuing to develop.
Reiki With Taylor
"Taylor is a talented, gentle and extremely intuitive Reiki Master Practitioner. From the moment we met for the session he was welcoming and professional. The room was nicely lit, soft music was playing. Those things coupled with his respect for privacy when getting comfortable instantly allowed me to relax. Prior to the start of the session Taylor ensured our expectations were aligned about how the session would proceed. Throughout the treatment Taylor’s hands felt clearly guided by reiki to locate areas where balance and attention were needed. He took the time to actively listen to my questions and gave clear feedback prior to the session as well as after its completion. Leaving the session I felt so much of my stressed and stored emotions had been released, and I left with insights to further my personal exploration of my physical and emotional health." - Stacy Keene
As mentioned in C. Taylor Ring’s Origin Story Part 2, Reiki came into Taylor’s life when specific experiences nudged him to attend classes.
Taylor studied with Ishel Canter in 2017. He trained and studied Usui Reiki Ryoho.
As described above, Usui Reiki Ryoho is the majority of Reiki’s origins and style in the United States.
In 2018, Taylor decided to study and become a Reiki Master with Cami Coté (another Reiki Practitioner with a Usui Reiki Ryoho origin).
This not only gave Taylor the ability to teach Reiki (click here if you’d like to be added to a Reiki training waitlist). Taking his Master training also attuned (a ceremony, where the Reiki Master uses the symbols and other signs in an initiating manner) Taylor to Holy Fire Reiki.
Holy Fire Reiki was added to The International Center for Reiki Training in 2014. It basically has an added symbol to Usui Reiki Ryoho foundation.
"I am beyond blessed to have met Taylor through the Reiki I workshop at Rooted Yoga. Having this one-on-one reiki session with Taylor was simply amazing and serendipitous as he reached out to me at a time when I most needed it. I loved how Taylor was able to share his energy through space and time. My energy had been vampired off, I could feel it at work, and couldn't do anything to stop it. During the session, I had no idea why tears were falling on my cheeks when I felt so content and safe. The energy Taylor shared helped ground and protect myself from the psychic attacks that I couldn't fight off." -Elodie Goodman
3 Ways Distance Reiki Can Improve Your Life & Well Being
“Reiki raises the vibratory level in and around the physical body where the negative thoughts and feelings are attached” - William Lee Rand
Reiki can help with nearly everything, is Taylor’s philosophy. But there are some common themes clients will ask for Reiki. Ultimately, Reiki sessions improve your energy, therefore your well-being and life perception.
Three reasons you need a distance Reiki session with Taylor:
Stiffness in your body
From a yogic perspective, stiffness in your body symbolizes stiffness in your energy field.
Reiki can sense where the build-up is. Reiki is a gentle energy that like water slowly carving out a mineral cave, will remove the necessary energetic debris. This may be mental harshness - where either you or the people around you expect perfection. Since you hold high standards for yourself (or others do of you), it doesn’t give your emotional body the space it needs to soften.
And release.
Allowing your emotional waters and energy to flow, can offset the stiffness you are experiencing physically.
Let the Reiki energy signal where you may be bracing yourself. Usually bracing yourself is purely instinctual. To help you survive.
By sitting back and letting yourself receive a 60 or 90-minute Reiki session, you can gift yourself the soft yet energizing sensations your body craves.
Anxiety and/or depression
With about 20% of United States citizens reporting they struggle with mental health, this is a major opportunity to support individuals.
Reiki is a non-invasive healing modality. It’s complimentary to whatever stage you may be in. Even if you use different prescriptions, Reiki will not harm you.
There are various Reiki symbols made for various layers of your energy field to specific body parts. Reiki can help energize you if you feel depressed. Be it a heaviness in your mind. Or your body. Or both.
If you struggle with anxiety, Reiki helps calm and ground the electric energy you may be feeling in your nervous system.
Feel free to ask questions and give feedback during or after your session with Taylor. This ultimately is to help you feel empowered and in tune with other aspects of your feeling capabilities (because we at Abide Yoga understand: When depression and/or anxiety takes over. It can TAKE OVER).
Too much change in your life
Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, came up with the four survival archetypes. One of them is the saboteur. Both psychiatrists and energy workers have observed, too much change (and even its opposite too little change) can sabotage your life. Due to the nature of the world, post-pandemic, a lot of uncertainty and change has been a BIG part of people’s lives.
If you feel like you’re in the middle of making a lot of life shifts – like moving, starting a new career, starting or expanding your family, changes to your health, a loss of a loved one (or pet), etc. – then Reiki can be an extremely helpful tool to recalibrate you to YOU. With too much change, you may feel like you’re flying by the seat of your pants. Shooting from the hip for too long can lead to burnout. As well as a list of health imbalances. Reiki is life force energy. It connects and recharges your batteries. No need for an energy drink. Just give yourself the space and time to acknowledge ALL of the shifts you’ve made. Whether they were hard or graceful. There’s a part of you that needs to recalibrate back into a sense of your identity. To feel assured that life has your back and you no longer need to be running around like a headless chicken to make life happen for you. By having a 60 or 90-minute Reiki session, you are symbolically and literally saying to yourself I’m ready to slow down. Tune into my inner being and be filled by my self-generation (energy).
Contact Taylor via his website or Instagram to set up a day and time for your distance Reiki session.
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