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What is Reiki?

Reiki is an energy healing system founded in the early 1900s by a Buddhist scholar named Mikao Usui. The direct translation from Japanese is “Universal Spiritual Energy.”


Reiki is based on the understanding that we each have an energy body (or auric field) in addition to our physical body. This energetic layer is made of finer vibrations and interacts constantly with our physical, mental, and emotional state.

When the flow of energy becomes blocked or stagnant, it can manifest as physical tension, emotional imbalance, mental overwhelm, or a general feeling of being “out of alignment.”


During a Reiki session, the practitioner connects to Reiki - Universal Spiritual Energy - and channels this energy into the client. This is done by placing the hands gently on or just above the body, particularly over the main energy centres (chakras), as well as any non-intimate areas where blockages are intuitively detected.


As this healing energy flows into the body, stagnant patterns begin to loosen and dissolve, allowing the natural flow of life-force to return. Clients often describe feeling lighter, clearer, calmer, and more balanced - physically, emotionally, and energetically.


Many people enter a deeply relaxed, meditative state during Reiki.

In this state, the nervous system softens, the mind becomes quiet, and the body activates its own natural healing abilities.

It’s common to experience:


  • increased insight or intuition
  • emotional release
  • vivid dreams
  • sensations of warmth, tingling, or gentle waves
  • a renewed sense of connection with oneself


Although Reiki is an intensely personal experience, the overwhelming feeling for many clients is a deep sense of peace, safety, and coming home to themselves.

Reiki Lineage

I STUDIED REIKI LEVEL 1 & 2 WITH JUSTINE NOLAN, FROM EAST LONDON REIKI

REIKI LINEAGES

A Reiki lineage can be likened to a family tree in which each Reiki Master can trace back to the Reiki Master who attuned their teacher. Attunements are the major system by which Reiki is transferred from teacher to student.  A Reiki lineage is considered to be valid if it can be traced back without breaks to the founder of the system - Mikao Usui.


Choosing a practitioner or teacher with an unbroken lineage means you can be confident that the original, traditional teachings will have been preserved as much as possible. I studied with Justine Nolan, whose lineage is both from the Western & Japanese Reiki (systems is listed here).

WESTERN REIKI LINEAGE

(USUI SHIKI RYOHO)



1. Mikao Usui

2. Chujiro Hayashi

3. Hawayo Takata

4. Phyllis Lei Furumoto

5. Carrel Ann Farmer

6. Leah Smith

7. William Lee Rand

8. Penelope Quest

9. Torsten Lange

10. Justine Nolan

JAPANESE REIKI LINEAGE

(USUI REIKI RYOHO)



1. Mikao Usui

2. Taketomi Kanichi

3. Kimiko Koyama

4. Hiroshi Doi

5. Frans Stiene

6. Torsten Lange

7. Justine Nolan

Shamanic Reiki


Shamanic Reiki is a form of energy healing that weaves together traditional Reiki with ancient shamanic practices rooted in nature, intuition, and the unseen world.

While Reiki channels Universal Life Energy, Shamanic Reiki expands the experience by inviting the spirits of the Earth, the elements, and ancestral wisdom into the healing process. It is a deeply intuitive, grounded, and transformative approach that works not only with the energetic body, but also with the soul and the subconscious layers of our being.


Shamanic Reiki is based on the understanding that everything in nature is alive and interconnected. Plants, stones, animals, elements, and directions hold distinct energetic wisdom. In a session, the practitioner enters a state of presence and expanded awareness, connecting to guides, allies, and the natural world to support the client’s healing journey. Through this connection, the energy becomes more embodied, instinctual, and revealing.


During a Shamanic Reiki session, the practitioner channels Reiki energy while also receiving intuitive information through sensations, visions, or symbolic messages. Gentle touch or hands held above the body are combined with shamanic tools such as breathwork, rattles, feathers, crystals, smoke, sound, or guided journeying. These elements help clear stagnation, remove energetic intrusions, restore power, and harmonize the flow of life-force throughout the body.


Clients often describe the experience as grounding, revealing, and deeply cleansing. Old emotional patterns, ancestral imprints, or hidden memories may surface and dissolve, allowing the person to feel lighter, clearer, and more aligned with their true essence.

As the nervous system softens and the energy field opens, it is common to experience:


  • deeper intuition or clarity
  • emotional release
  • symbolic or visionary imagery
  • sensations of warmth, vibration, or movement
  • a renewed connection to one’s inner truth
  • a feeling of returning to oneself


Although every session is unique, Shamanic Reiki tends to leave clients with a profound sense of peace, grounding, and presence — as if they have reconnected to something ancient, wise, and familiar within themselves.