Jikiden Reiki

Big news! While I was in Japan during the summer, I became certified in Jikiden Reiki.

Reiki has been around for a long time, why did I get into Reiki now?

I really have to thank one of my clients for bringing this to my attention. She’s someone who’s been working with me for a few years, although we see each other only every few months or so. Every time I see her, she’s always up to something new, so it’s a real pleasure to catch up with her news.

It was on her most recent visit that she shared about Jikiden Reiki. She exhorted me to check it out because she was sure I would feel an affinity with it. My curiosity piqued, I did what she said. And she was right! I immediately jumped at the chance to learn it.

What’s so distinctive about Jikiden Reiki is that the teaching methods have remained completely unchanged since the founder’s time. This is probably the most authentic form of Reiki you could ever get.

My teacher, Tadao Yamaguchi, is the son of the late Reiki teacher and practitioner Chiyoko Yamaguchi. She was one of the last actively practicing students of Chujiro Hayashi. Hayashi Sensei was one of 20 protegees who received their Reiki training directly from Mikao Usui, the founder of Shin Shin Kaizen Usui Reiki Ryoho.

“Jikiden” means “directly taught”. The name “Jikiden Reiki” was coined by Tadao Sensei, to honor the fact that they follow the exact method taught by Usui Sensei.

The practice of Reiki was actually commonplace during pre-war Japan. In fact, lots of energy healing methods were being practiced widely back then. All of them would have been considered “alternative” by today’s standards.

Unfortunately, WWII nearly wiped Reiki out. Those who survived were banned from practicing it openly because of new post-war legislation. Jikiden Reiki (or Usui Reiki Ryoho, because that’s what it was still being called at the time) only managed to survive because Chiyoko Sensei continued to keep up her modest practice, undetected.

Eventually, western Reiki practitioners got wind of Chiyoko Sensei’s existence. They visited her in Kyoto and asked her to tell them more about Hayashi Sensei’s teachings. This is how Jikiden Reiki got its “revival”.

It was so fascinating to learn the lineage and history of Reiki in Japan from Tadao Sensei. Learning Jikiden Reiki gave me an opportunity to reconnect with my cultural roots, something I hadn’t done mindfully until now.

It’s so amazing to feel the sensations your hands pick up when you place them on a person’s body. At the same time, it feels like the most natural thing to do.

Have you ever noticed that we instinctively rub a child’s belly when he has a tummyache? Stroke a child’s head if she’s feeling emotionally upset? Or massage the limbs of an elderly parent to relieve their pain and stiffness?

Nobody has to teach us this is soothing. We instinctively know that human touch is healing. It encourages the release of oxytocin, a neurohormone that reduces anxiety, increases trust and improves mood. Touch really is the best medicine.

Since Jikiden Reiki became part of my life, here’s what I’m noticing so far:

-I’m feeling less fazed by life’s trials
-My Body Code sessions are “sharper”
-When I use it on others in combination with the Body Code, they seem to shift more quickly

These changes are awesome, because the Body Code is already a powerful healing tool by itself. Over the years I’ve added more information to the Body Code to make it even more comprehensive. This has served me and many others very well. But after adding Jikiden Reiki to my toolkit, the Body Code seems to have gained an extra edge.

To me, this reaffirms that we’re not just made of muscle and bone. We are beings of energy. That energy needs to be flowing in order to be well.

Unfortunately, many of us tend to be energetically stagnant. Some of that is due to the toxins in our food and environment. Negative emotions, unhealthy lifestyle habits and stress also add to the stagnation.

Reiki is good at flushing out the blocked areas in the body and infusing them with positive healing energy. It allows the Body Code to remove the trapped energies much more effectively. When I use Jikiden Reiki after a session, it seems to propel the clearing.

I will continue add Jikiden Reiki to my Body Code sessions whenever the body asks for it. Please contact me for further details if you’d like to know more!

Rimi xo