by William Lee Rand
In some Reiki groups and circles the idea that Reiki will flow to where it is needed is commonly taught. It's said that no matter where you place your hands, Reiki will flow anywhere in the body to do its work. Some have thought that if this is true then why do we teach the use of different hand positions. Simply placing your hands over the ears as an example will allow a complete treatment as Reiki will flow from this position and treat the whole person.
This idea is based on a misunderstanding. While Reiki does sometimes flow from where the hands are placed to other areas in need, this doesn't always happen. The reason this does sometimes happen is because in some instances, there is a special energetic connection between an area in need of Reiki and another area of the body or the aura. When this condition is present, Reiki will flow in this way. But this isn’t always the case.
This misunderstanding likely came from the fact that the best place to treat a condition isn't always over the area where the symptoms are present. When this is the case, Reiki will flow from one area of the body to treat another. This idea was presented to me by my first Reiki teacher, Bethel Phaigh in 1981. When treating a specific condition, she told us to first place the hands over the area where the symptoms exist and treat in this way, but if Reiki doesn't flow well and the client also reports that he or she doesn't feel much relief, then use your intuition to guide you to another place on the body and treat there. Often, this will seem like a completely illogical area to place the hands, but if it's right, when you place your hands there, Reiki will begin flowing strongly and travel from where your hands are placed directly to the area in need and the client will report relief.
I had my first experience of this when treating a woman with a hip problem. First I placed my hands on the outer sides of her hips, but didn't feel much Reiki flowing and she also reported that it wasn't helping. Then, using my intuition, I was guided to treat the knees. Immediately, Reiki began flowing strongly and she reported Reiki flowing from her knees, directly to her hips. Soon she reported the pain was gone and when she tried walking, her hips felt much better.
This experience validates both the standard system of hand placements that treats the whole body, as well as the Japanese Reiki Techniques of Byosen scanning and Reiji ho. By treating the whole body, you automatically treat those areas where Reiki can easily access the energy system and will flow to where it is needed. And by using Byosen scanning, and/or Reiji ho you'll be guided to those specific areas where an energetic opening exists.
Therefore, it can be seen that Reiki doesn't necessary flow to where it is needed from any location on the body. Because of this, it's important to either do a complete treatment using all the hand positions, and/or allow yourself to be guided to the most needy and receptive areas if you want to provide the best healing experience for your client.
