In Reiki 2 classes, we learn how to offer healing treatments to people who are geographically elsewhere. Because Reiki is a form of natural energy, we needn’t be in the same room with the recipient.
How cool is that?
It’s incredibly liberating and opens up our practice to include friends and family, clients and students who are near and far. The convenience and ease of receiving a long-distance (AKA remote) session comes in handy, even for people who are in my neighborhood, but find it difficult to come to me during working hours or just prefer to stay at home in their jammies.
Reiki follows our attention and intention. I teach students some tricks about how to hold their focus for remote sessions as it can be challenging when there isn’t a physical body to hook our awareness. These tricks include using a pillow or teddy bear as a proxy for the recipient and to proceed with hand positions just as if it were the client.
I’d always thought the teddy bear approach was a bit weird. Given that I didn’t have one, I dismissed it outright. Until I found Leo in a thrift shop. At least this stuffed animal’s proportions resemble human anatomy, so I use him for demonstrations when I’m teaching.
We can also use photos, journal entries, collages or vision boards as visual representations of the intended goal. It can be a lot of fun to get creative with these tools. If you’re really crafty, you could draw, knit, paint, compose a song, or write a poem and offer Reiki to the result, with the intention of the object helping you to direct the healing energy to its final destination.
We don’t need to use any of these techniques unless they are helpful. If you’re able to hold your attention on the goal for the duration of the session, you won’t need to do any of this. However, I would recommend experimenting as it can be quite uplifting to play in the creative realm.
Recently a student asked a question about using a method that she had crafted on her own. I thought I would answer it here (with her permission) for those who might also be curious about the range of practice available when doing distance Reiki.
Can you make reiki work with your own specific strengths, for example: if I write an intention on a sheet of paper, and then meditate holding specific stones, and then place the stones on the paper, would this work as well as using a stuffed animal or pillow for distance healing?
Heck yeah!
This is a nuanced approach that fits this practitioner’s interests as well as strengths. Not everybody is into working with stones and some people have discomfort around written intentions and meditation, so it’s not going to suit everyone. But what I really hope to make crystal clear is that you can invent your own style. It’s all about what works for you. You might have to experiment until something clicks and it’s possible your strategy will shift over time.
There’s no wrong way to do long-distance Reiki and I’m all for getting creative and keeping it fun. That’s what will keep you engaged over time and enjoy your practice. Which is way more important than following some protocol found in a book.