What is a Reiki Massage?

Reiki healing and massage are based upon the underlying principle of channeling of life force, known as ki in terms of traditional oriental medicine, from the healer to the patient to treat physical ailments and release blocked energy in the body of the patient.

The basic principles of reiki energy healing therapy are based upon the transfer of life energy without physical contact. Now, you must be wondering how can massage be possible without physical contact?

Conventional reiki massage definition states that it is a combination of healing therapy with traditional massage techniques. What an expert does is, he identifies the pressure points and chakras in the body, diagnoses the ailing point or chakra, and transfers life energy to that particular point to relieve the suffering. Reiki practitioners often undergo specific training in massage therapy so that both healing methods can be combined to impart optimum relief to the patient.

The logic behind reiki is that the practitioner harnesses or absorbs a part of that cosmic energy and channelizes it through the body of the client to flush out all energy blockages and negative forces. The word "reiki" means "universal life force" in Japanese. Hence the name!

There are five basic principles that every reiki practitioner must compulsorily abide by. These five principles are:-

1. You must not get angry.
2. You must not get bogged down by worries.
3. You must always be grateful for what you have.
4. You must be diligent.
5. You must treat people kindly.

These five principles were derived by Mikao Usui from the literary compilations of Emperor Meiji.

Apart from these five principles, there are also three practices prescribed under reiki, which are collectively known as the Three Pillars of reiki.

• Gasshō - signifies meditating with both palms held together in a devotional position.

• Reiji-hō - the step, where the cosmic energy is requested to enter and flow through the body of the practitioner, thrice, entering by any of the chakras or the palms of the practitioner's hands.

• Chiryō - the step, where the practitioner holds his working hand over the crown chakra and relies upon an impulse received therefrom, which directs the hand to move along the ailing regions of the client's body.

When a reiki practitioner, trained in massage therapy as well, meets a client, who wishes to be cured of any ailment using spiritual healing techniques, the former identifies the chakras, whose stimulation or relaxation would benefit the client's condition.

Thereupon, the practitioner uses either the in-person healing technique or the distance healing technique. In both cases, the client is asked to relax and aromatherapy candles and soothing incense may be burned to impart a calm and sedate environment to the therapy session.

The client remains fully dressed during the session and the practitioner heals the client by transferring energy to different parts of the client's body by gently touching those parts of the client's body, without making contact with the client's skin.

Now that you know what a reiki massage is, it would do you a whole lot of good to read about various massage therapies and other alternative healing techniques, like, crystal healing, magnetic healing, etc. Reiki is an interesting way of maintaining health and restoring wellness without using strong drugs and surgical procedures.

Whether or not it uproots ailments and cures injuries is still a matter of debate, however, judging the steadily increasing popularity of this alternative healing technique, there must be some truth to its claims of success!