Reiki that we know today was founded on the understanding and revelation of the body’s energy system. Reiki is of Japanese origin and is a spiritual healing art based on the healing practice of connecting with the energy that flows through all living things. The name of Reiki originates from two Japanese words, Rei and Ki. Rei means “universal life” and Ki is “energy”.  Reiki is not affiliated with any religious practice.  Not only is reiki used in self-care, but it can also be used in improving the health and quality of family members. It is often offered in a private practice, but many medical facilities incorporate it as a supportive therapy alongside traditional medical care.

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Mikao Usui is known to be the founder of Usui reiki. Born in 1865, Usui grew up in a wealthy Buddhist family in Japan. They provided him with balanced education in a Buddhist monastery where he began to teach martial arts, swordsmanship, and Kiko (a Japanese from of Chi Kung). It was years later during his training at the monastery where he began a 21 day fast. During that time, he meditated and prayed until on the twenty-first day he saw the Sanskrit symbols that he used to develop Reiki. It was from there that Reiki was born.

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In 1935, a woman named Hawayo Takata was in Tokyo, Japan when she became terribly ill and in need of surgery.  She felt strongly against having the surgery and asked her doctor about alternative medicine. Mrs. Takata received daily Reiki treatments from Dr. Hayashi, a local Reiki practitioner, in following her doctor’s recommendation for something alternative. In receiving those treatments, she learned how relaxing and ultimately healing Reiki was and felt pulled towards learning the practice. After learning Reiki One and Reiki Two, she began to practice Reiki back in the United Stated where she eventually became a Reiki Master. Mrs. Takata began to spread her knowledge and healing to others, and is well known for introducing and spreading the practice of Reiki in the Western Hemisphere.