Prior to the first session, I will ask the client to fill out a short questionnaire upon which the client may record any issues they may be having and/or the reasons for seeking a Reiki treatment. This aids the me in understanding whether certain areas need more intense attention, such as joints experiencing pain, etc. When both of us are clear regarding the focus of the session, the client will be conducted to the treatment area.
The client lies on a massage table, fully-clothed and relaxes. There may be comforting, soothing music playing during the treatment, to aid in relaxation. The lights are kept low, and the I begin the treatment using prayer, which I may be recite aloud or silently. Then the I place my hands either very lightly on, or just above, the clients body. The placement of hands is many times determined by the Usui form of training, but many times it is my intuition and experience that determines where my hands will be placed.
During this treatment, the client's role is to simply relax, allow and invite the Reiki energies in, and ask for whatever healing Source determines is for their highest good. The client may experience sensations such as a thrumming through their body, their extremities may make slight jerking movements such as those when we are first falling asleep; they may feel either heat or coldness emanating from the Practitioner's hands. Emotional releases are very common during a treatment, as is falling deeply asleep. Some may feel nothing at all at the time of treatment, only to become very, very sleepy later that day. Overall, the most striking result of a Reiki treatment is feeling of deep relaxation, as though they've just received a massage, without actually having had one.
At the conclusion of the treatment, the client is slowly brought back to the present, and allowed to rise when they are ready. Then I will give any feedback to the client about what the I may have noticed or received during the treatment. It is then that the client and I discuss what treatment schedule may be appropriate, if there is a condition that needs to be cared for further.
Commonly the I will follow-up with the client through phone or e-mail contact, to see how the client is doing. Sometimes there is what is called, a "healing reaction", an assortment of slight, flu-like symptoms that can develop, or even an intensification of the symptoms that the client was being treated for over the following few days. This is very common, and truly nothing to be concernced about, and normally these symptoms dissipate within a few days.
Distance Reiki is also an option for treatment. In this case, the Pracitioner will enter a meditative state and "send" Reiki energies to the client, who is in another location. The effects are the same, and the convenience is a plus to those with a busy schedule or when the client is in a location where visitation is restricted, such as an Intensive Care facility. Follow-up care is the same as in hands-on treatment.
