This is a two part course for anyone. No belief in Reiki is required, just an open mind and heart, a spirit of curiosity and a willingness to experience Reiki first hand. At its simplest level, Reiki activates the relaxation response which gives your body the opportunity to access its own healing intelligence. At deeper levels it facilitates spiritual growth, restores energy imbalances, calms, deeply relaxes and can ease minor pain. Part one is mostly practical and experiential and can be completed as a stand alone course. You will be introduced to Reiki as a hands on (or slightly off the body) energy healing method through frequently asked questions. You will learn that one of the unique features of Reiki, as a complementary therapy is that the first thing you always learn is to give it to yourself. This enables you to participate fully in your own wellbeing and gives you a strong foundation for helping others. You will receive full guidance on the procedure and hand positions to practice Self-Reiki which includes the seven major chakras and also the procedure and most practical ways for sharing Reiki with a family member or friend in a chair, settee or bed. Two extra lessons give special attention to the heart chakra with Cardiac Coherence Training and the final lesson introduces Gassho which can be used as a spiritual practice and a way to prepare yourself as a channel for healing before you share Reiki. This course is ideal if you have a general interest in Reiki and want to find out more. It is also helpful if you have completed a Reiki one training, but haven’t used Reiki for a while and would like a refresher. If you find meditation difficult and want a more ‘hands-on’ practice, Reiki is perfect for this. It is also very helpful for insomnia. A lot of people who do their daily Self-Reiki at bedtime find themselves falling asleep before they have even finished. Part two of the course includes the Reiki story based on the monument that was erected by Usui-Sensei’s students just after his death; how Reiki was adapted and brought to the West; how the Reiki training levels are delivered and an introduction to the Reiki symbols and initiation process. It will also include how to share Reiki with children and young people, group shares, sharing Reiki with pets and other semi domestic animals and birds. A more detailed exploration of the five Reiki ethics will be included and guidance for experiencing other traditional Reiki techniques such as Reiji-Ho, the Joshin Kokyuu-Ho breathing technique and Byosen scanning along with useful books and resource recommendations. I include journal prompts. You might like to consider having a specially designated Reiki journal, especially if this is the start of your journey with Reiki. In it you could record your impressions as you go along which will make for interesting reading later. This is a very thorough course. Parts one and two combined contain everything you need to know if you are interested in completing level one Reiki training as they cover all the practical bases and theoretical teachings. 
*Please note that if you want to complete the requirements for Reiki one certification, the four energy initiations of level one need to be obtained separately in real-time. 
It isn’t a pre-requisite for this course but I recommend that if you haven’t already, you receive a full Reiki treatment from any qualified Reiki practitioner in your own community location so that you know what Reiki feels like. This would ideally be someone with at least five years experience of giving treatments who you have received a personal recommendation for. Image from Pixabay