Reiki Practitioner Career Information
Reiki helps you to strike a balance in your day-to-day life as well as emotional, physical and spiritual well being. This is what you will get to hear from people who have experienced Reiki. Moreover Reiki can also be given to inanimate objects like car, books, refrigerators, etc. Can you believe this? How can an energy source instill a sense of responsibility, gratitude, etc. in you?
What a Reiki Practitioner does
Reiki is a Japanese word. 'Rei' means Universal Life Force and 'ki' is Energy i.e. the energy within and around us. It is pronounced as 'ray-key'. Dr Mikao Usui rediscovered this ancient form of hands-on-healing in Japan in 1800s. The origin of Reiki can be traced in Vedic scriptures after which it was lost for thousands of years. It was reintroduced in India in 1900s.
This ancient healing system uses the infinite universal energy. As a Reiki practitioner you will use your hands to transmit Reiki. But before that you will have to be initiated or attuned to ‘Universal Life Force’. As a Reiki practitioner, you are just a facilitator to pass on the energy. The energy is drawn in appropriate amounts required by the person you are treating. You are never drained in the process, as every time you share Reiki, you contribute to your own healing process.
As a Reiki practitioner, you can use of Reiki anytime and on anyone for stress release, pain relief or quick energy. Since it is healing with hands there is no need for special equipments or environment. Reiki cannot be used to hurt anyone. Apart from living forms like plants, animals and others, you can also administer Reiki to inanimate objects.
Reiki can be administered for the entire body or only to the areas that need treatment.
Continuous Reiki over a stipulated period will be more effective than one sitting. The time limit varies from 5 minutes to an hour or more depending on the treatment. As a Reiki Practitioner you will place your hands gently above the area being treated until the person stops drawing energy.
Reiki is a very pleasurable experience and helps to open mental and physical blocks if any. Moreover, it does not conflict with traditional medical treatment, but facilitates speedy recovery and restores energy.
Job Opportunities
As a Reiki Practitioner can work as consultants with the corporates or the hospitality industry or set up your own private practice. You could also start teaching on your own with relevant experience. Even medical science is using combination of Reiki and medicine to treat ailments.
Career Prospects:
Keeping in mind the hectic lifestyle and competitive environment most of us are bogged down by stress.
There is also greater realisation for self-betterment and spiritual growth, which in turn increases the demand for Reiki experts.
Knowing other forms of healing also helps better your prospects as a teacher or an expert.
Abilities & Traits Required
Anyone can learn Reiki irrespective of age, caste, creed or religion. The only eligibility is a desire to learn. Even people with disabilities, handicap or terminal illness like blindness, epilepsy or cancer can learn Reiki.
Usually, the Reiki Master initiates you into Reiki and then you graduate to learning higher levels of Reiki. You have to assist the master in workshops and get trained, if you intend to teach.
Qualifications
As a Reiki Practitioner you can learn the various stages in Reiki over a one-day workshop for each stage. But it is advisable to have a gap of minimum six months between each of the stages. This will help you get accustomed to the high level of energy; as well as help you to deal with unresolved issues of your life. There are different stages of learning in Reiki.
Reiki I - you will learn the basics like using proper hand placements, history, body talk and more. After completing the first level you will be able use Reiki for your benefit as well as that of others around you.
Reiki II - Here you learn to direct Reiki at the emotional level. You also learn the symbols of Reiki and its application.
Reiki III - You will learn to use Reiki at a very personal level.
Reiki IV - is only for the ones who are interested in teaching. Usually the masters initiate students for this level.
Salary
As a master in this field you could earn around Rs 6000-10000 per month.
With experience you could earn around Rs 15000-25000 a month.
If you as a professional healer doing individual sessions, then you could conduct 6-7 sessions depending on the treatment and charge Rs 150-250 per session or charge on hourly basis.
Interview with a Reiki Practitioner
Ravi Hooja, Reiki Practitioner
How did you get interested in Reiki? I got into Reiki quite by accident. Actually, I accompanied my wife and cousin who were doing a course in Reiki. I did the course just for the sake of knowing the technique.
How did you feel the first time you received Reiki? It was a pleasure to just sit back and receive reiki. You feel very relaxed. Within 5-10 minutes of receiving Reiki you go into a deep state of relaxation. After 15-20 minutes it feels as if you are fast asleep but at the same you are aware of the happenings around you. It's a very refreshing feeling. In the process minor pains like headache, backache, knee pains are relieved.
How did Reiki help you personally? Reiki has brought in me a greater sense of responsibility and calmness. It has benefited me individually as well as my married life. My attitude towards life, personality and my ability to tackle problems has gone through a lot of changes after Reiki. Most of all, I learnt how beautiful life is once you are overcome by gratitude.
How is Reiki different from other healing systems? Reiki is very simple to learn and is very smooth. During the phase of transformation the person does not experience any discomfort unlike in the other healing systems.
Moreover, you could use it for both personal growths as well as for the betterment of others. In fact, our visits to doctor has been cut down considerably ever since my family has been introduced to Reiki.
What is the thing you like the most as a Reiki master? I have conducted hundreds of workshop with students, elders, youth, disabled and terminally ill patients. I have been in this field for six years now. The high point is when I see young students and children walk in for the course.
It is very gratifying to see changes happening to students and young children in the workshop. They walk out as a totally different person with renewed interest in their selves. Reiki just transforms their entire being.
They are lucky to be introduced to beautiful things in life at the early stage and reap more benefits. I wish even I had the same luck. I envy them.
What are the different stages in learning Reiki? The first three levels focus on your personal and spiritual growth. In all the three levels you only learn to use it yourself. However, in the fourth stage the focus is totally on teaching. There is no personal gain here. You are taught to be selfless.
I would highly recommend a gap of minimum six months between the four levels. This way you get to experience the changes that take place once your body gets accustomed to this high level of energy.
Can Reiki be used to cause harm? No, Reiki cannot cause any harm since it can only be administered with a sense of gratitude. Here gratitude is the most important thing.
The energy used in Reiki is the natural energy found in the Universe. Our body energy forms a miniscule part of this powerful energy. The energy always flows from up to down and not in any other way.
The person who is administering Reiki is just an instrument, passing on the Universal energy to the recipient. The energy is always positive and passed on with gratitude. Their attitude towards life, perspective, mood, thought do not effect the Reiki process.
Is there a flip side to Reiki? Not that I know of. With exposure to Reiki all the mental and physical blocks in our system surface. Not all of us can pass through the block. Invariably, people try to switch over to other systems of healing like the Art of Living, Yoga, Vipasana, Pranic Healing, etc. Even here they keep on switching to other healing systems when they come across any blocks. Instead, they should continue to do Reiki or the other healing systems and try overcoming the blocks.
What kind people do you usually encounter? I get people from all ages and fields coming in for reiki. This includes students who want to get rid of their anxiety, perform better in studies, get good jobs, examination preparations, etc.
I also have people suffering from personal problems or terminal illness coming for reiki. There are business entrepreneurs who seek Reiki for success in their projects or to recover from losses.
These days there are numerous of cases of wife battering, lady abused by in-laws, sexually abused women and other problems. It gives me a lot of satisfaction to help solve such problems. With continuous Reiki therapy such problems can be solved.
Do you see any change in terms of people enrolling for the course? Previously, people used to come for the course just for the heck of it - to make it a discussion topic in parties. But now you have more people who seek personal and spiritual enhancement through Reiki.
Usually, it's like the case of visiting Shirdi. It is said that you get to go to Shirdi only when your time comes. I believe the same goes for learning Reiki. When you are destined to learn Reiki automatically you land up at the right place with the best master.
What do you attribute the sudden craze for Reiki? I won't attribute Reiki's popularity to sudden craze but to increased awareness. Of course you have the advertisements and articles on Reiki in magazines and newspapers adding to its popularity.