Are You Ready to Teach Reiki?

Article by Sandra Cooze

When we study Reiki, we may not necessarily feel that we are meant to teach and that is perfectly alright. Being ready to pass on our knowledge of Reiki should be like an urge, a pull or a desire to share what we have learned on our own Reiki journey to enrich the lives of others. It may even feel like a calling. Most of all, it should feel right!

A Reiki Master/Teacher chooses to teach because they are ready. And each Reiki Master/Teacher teaches Reiki a little bit different from others. Reiki is a wonderful and versatile spiritual practice.

The basic teachings of Reiki are pretty much the same no matter where you decide to study. You will learn what Reiki is, its history and how to do the hand positions for yourself and for your clients. But that is not all you learn. Depending on the additional field of study or interest of your chosen Reiki Master, you may learn more about crystals, aromatherapy or even massage and therapeutic touch.

Of course, there are rules if you, for example, study Reiki in a hospital. If you are planning on practicing Reiki professionally, I would highly recommend studying Reiki from a spiritual teacher as well as in a hospital. I chose this path and I am glad I did. Many hospitals all around the world offer Reiki as an alternative treatment option. But they have strict rules on how to use it and what to tell their patients about it. So aside from the basics of Reiki, you will be taught a lot about how it works within the body from a physical aspect. You will also learn about clinical trials and case studies that have been conducted with Reiki and what the results were. You may learn about the connection between acupuncture and Reiki in terms of the meridians and maybe even how crystals can work with energy from a scientific standpoint. What I found most interesting during my Reiki classes was that each of the 7 main chakras is located in close proximity to a major organ or gland and that issues with either a specific organ or gland can be linked directly to an imbalance of the corresponding chakra. Cool, right?

I find that knowing Reiki from both a spiritual and medical standpoint is extremely valuable since you will encounter clients from both worlds. Some will come to you with spiritual blockages and others will come to you with physical ailments. I know what you are about to say: Every physical issue has a spiritual root, and you are right. But sometimes the client is not ready to dive into the concept of spirituality and is just happy that you can ease their pain or symptoms with a Reiki treatment. So being able to help them understand how the energy can form a blockage that causes the pain from both a spiritual and physical aspect can be very helpful. On the flipside, it will become much easier to explain to a spiritual client, how their blockages can manifest as physical pain.

Even though there is a general rule about how to practice Reiki, it is a very versatile practice. Reiki is as individual as the person practicing it. I, for example, love the concept of energy — how it works within our body, how we can change it depending on our mood and how it can form blockages within us that impact our emotions. Everything is energy and therefore, everything that is out of balance can be brought back into balance with energy. Another Reiki Practitioner may feel very drawn to crystals, so a big part of their Reiki practice may be created around the energy of gemstones. This will most likely also be reflected in their teachings. Another Reiki Master may also be a yoga teacher or massage therapist, which would greatly influence their practice and teachings as well.

I find it very important that Reiki Masters/Teachers create their own manual. We all have our own “aha” moments with Reiki and these “aha” moments shape the way we see and experience our practice with it. On my journey with Reiki, I occasionally noticed that I did not share some of the spiritual views my Reiki Master had. This is bound to happen when you advance on your spiritual journey. So I created my own Reiki manuals filled with my own experiences and revelations. To tell you the truth, even after eight years of teaching, I still add on to my manuals because I still learn something new about this amazing spiritual practice every day. Don’t be afraid to write your own manuals. Simply start with the basics and then add what you find important enough to share as well.

But teaching Reiki is not just about passing on our knowledge. Teaching Reiki is also about giving our students the tools to outgrow our knowledge, to find their own way. Everything we have learned thus far becomes the beginning of their journey. And who knows, maybe by teaching them, you will discover something new as well – it sure has happened to me a few times.

When you teach Reiki, try to teach it from every angle. For example, when I teach Reiki, I teach the hand positions for a treatment in two ways. First, I teach them with the laying on of hands, and secondly, I encourage my students to repeat the full treatment while hovering their hands over the body. I personally prefer my hands off of the client. However, teaching a Reiki class is not about me and my preferences. It is about my students finding out which method they most resonate with.

Teaching Reiki is not like teaching a class in school where we have a strict agenda we need to follow. Therefore, when we teach our students we can only teach them what we know. It may be different from what another Reiki Master teaches, and that is ok. Spirituality is something different entirely for everyone, and so is Reiki. When I teach Reiki, I see it as giving my students a stepping stone, a way to begin and explore spirituality for themselves and grow with it.

Reiki is not the type of study where it is ‘my way or the highway’. No! Reiki will expand and change with the person who practices it – and that is exactly how it should be.

When I see my students exceed the knowledge I shared with them, find their own truths and grow far beyond where I am at this very moment on my spiritual journey, I know that I taught them well. I know that I encouraged them well enough to spread their wings and find their own truth, their own way to practice Reiki. And I can be confident that should they choose to become Reiki teachers one day themselves, they will do great!

I hope you enjoyed my article and found some value in it.

Love & Light,
Sandra

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Sandra Cooze is the founder of the Akashic Soul Healing Practitioner Program, a published author, Reiki Master/Teacher, Intuitive Trauma Release & Self-Empowerment Coach, and Certified Traumatic Incident Reduction Facilitator.
Her book “Journey to your Self – How to Heal from Trauma: Written by Someone Who Did” is the first book of her transformational trilogy “Journey to Your Self”. “How to Heal from Trauma” walks the reader not only through her own story of abuse and recovery but is also a hands-on guide for anyone who is ready to heal. While unraveling the concept of trauma she lists helpful tools, leaves room for notes, and encourages her readers to work through the unique exercises she lists to support them on their healing journey.
In her Akashic Soul Healing Practitioner Course, Sandra guides her students into the depth of the Akashic Records to successfully navigate them for divination and soul healing. She teaches her very own unique approach to past life and ancestral healing, as well as how to live a Soul-led life, and follow the divine compass. Akashic Soul Healing can be combined with any other healing modality or used on its own as a powerful tool to bring fast and lasting transformations on the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual level.
Sandra is currently working on the second book in her transformational trilogy named “Journey to Your Self – How to Unbecome Who You were Taught to Be”. Find out more about Sandra at www.riseaboveyourstory.com and get her book from Amazon.