Phase 1: Arrival + Opening to Reiki
Opening / Overview
In this phase, you are invited to arrive.
Before learning techniques or trying to understand Reiki intellectually, begin by noticing what is already present in you.
Phase 1 is about arrival.
Before we begin with Reiki history, ethics, symbols, attunement, or practice sessions, we begin by noticing what is already here.
You may be arriving with:
Excitement
Questions
Longing
Skepticism
Grief
Hope
Fear
Curiosity
Tenderness, or
Uncertainty
All of these belong.
Beginning a Reiki journey does not require you to feel spiritually confident or completely ready. In fact, many students begin because something in them feels ready for support, even if another part of them feels unsure.
This phase gives you space to name what you are bringing with you.
Not so you can fix it. Not so you can force it away. But so you can begin in relationship with the truth of your experience.
Reiki practice is not about bypassing what is present.
It is about learning how to be with what is present with more steadiness, compassion, curiosity, and support.
In this phase, you will explore:
what brought you to Reiki
what you hope Reiki may support
what fears or doubts are present
how your body responds to movement and attention
how subtle energy may already be felt through your hands and awareness
This is the doorway.
Move slowly.
There is no need to rush through the threshold.
Reiki Connection Practice: Six Breaths of Arrival
At the beginning of each phase, you’ll return to this centering practice.
This practice is connected to the symbol used in this Reiki training, which brings together the Japanese kanji for Reiki and the heart chakra yantra, or Anahata yantra.
The kanji in the center represents Reiki. Many practitioners experience Reiki as flowing into the heart center and then down through the arms and hands.
The heart chakra, or Anahata, comes from yogic and tantric traditions of India. It is often associated with love, compassion, balance, relationship, breath, and the bridge between earthly and spiritual life.
At the center of the heart chakra yantra is a six-pointed star formed by two intersecting triangles. One triangle points upward, symbolizing humanity reaching toward Spirit, Source, or higher power. The other points downward, symbolizing Spirit, Source, or higher wisdom reaching toward humanity.
Where the triangles overlap, we are reminded that we are part of the whole.
To begin, take six slow breaths.
Part 1: The Six Breaths Practice
The full description of this practice is in your manual.
Breath One: Land
Bring your awareness to the land you are on. You may wish to visit Native-Land.ca to learn whose ancestral lands you live and practice on.
Silently say:
“To the land, waters, fires, and air of this place, I say thank you.”
Breath Two: Reiki Lineage
Bring your awareness to Dr. Mikao Usui and the lineage of Reiki practitioners and teachers who carried this practice forward.
Silently say:
“To Dr. Usui and the Reiki practitioners before me, I say thank you.”
Breath Three: Ancestry
Bring your awareness to your ancestors, chosen family, teachers, mentors, or those who helped orient you toward Reiki, spirituality, healing, or care.
Silently say:
“To those who helped me arrive here, I say thank you.”
Breath Four: Cycles
Notice the season, the moon phase, and the cycle of life you are currently moving through.
Silently say:
“To the cycles and seasons of my life, I say thank you.”
Breath Five: Body
Bring awareness to your body and notice current sensations, emotions, and thoughts.
Silently say:
“To my body, I say thank you. I commit to listening to your wisdom.”
Breath Six: Gratitude
Bring to mind something you are grateful for.
Notice where gratitude lives in your body.
Silently say:
“To this gratitude, I say thank you.”
Part 2: Energy Awareness Practice
Now rub your palms together.
Gently prick, tap, or press your fingertips into the center of each palm.
Slowly separate your hands and notice any sensation between them.
Move your hands closer together and farther apart.
Notice what changes.
Imagine an electric blue light between your palms.
Part 3: Reiki Visualization Practice
As you inhale, imagine the blue light traveling up both arms and gathering at your heart.
As you exhale, imagine the light flowing back down your arms and into your hands.
Repeat for several rounds.
When complete, let one hand hover over your heart and one hand hover over your lower belly.
Pause.
Notice your breath, body, and energy.
When you are ready, begin the phase.
Practice: Hopes + Fears Ritual
See your manual for the full practice.
Take a few minutes to write down:
one hope you have for Reiki
one fear, concern, doubt, or hesitation you have about Reiki
These are just for you.
You do not need to share them unless you choose to.
If you use oracle cards, nature cards, prayer cards, imagery, or another intuitive tool, you may choose one card or symbol to support your hope and one card or symbol to support your fear.
You might ask:
What support is available for this hope?
What support is available for this fear?
What wants to accompany me as I begin?
There is no need to over-interpret.
Simply notice what arises.
Practice: Movement + Energy Awareness
Part 1: Move with the Fear
Pause for a moment and bring your fear, doubt, or hesitation to mind.
Notice where you feel the fear in your body.
If it had a color, what color would it be?
If it had a shape, what shape would it be?
What size is it?
If it had a texture, such as sticky, prickly, smooth, scratchy, heavy, sharp, or soft, what texture would it be?
If it had a temperature, what temperature would it be?
Now choose a song that helps you move, release, shake, or soften the fear.
Some loose suggestions include:
“Shake It Out” by Florence + The Machine
“Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift
“Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield
“Float On” by Modest Mouse
“You Get What You Give” by New Radicals
Dance or move your body in a way that helps the fear feel smaller, softer, less stuck, or less alone.
You might move vigorously, shake, sway, stretch, stomp your feet, roll your shoulders, or let the movement be small and gentle.
There is no correct movement.
Let your body respond.
When the song is over, pause.
Notice the fear again.
What color, shape, size, texture, or temperature does it have now?
What changed?
What stayed the same?
Just notice with curiosity.
Part 2: Move with the Hope
Now bring your hope to mind.
Notice where you feel the hope in your body.
If it had a color, what color would it be?
If it had a shape, what shape would it be?
What size is it?
If it had a texture, what texture would it be?
If it had a temperature, what temperature would it be?
Now choose a song that helps the hope expand, strengthen, or feel more alive.
Some loose suggestions include:
“I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash
“Beautiful Day” by U2
“Pocketful of Sunshine” by Natasha Bedingfield
“Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina & The Waves
Dance or move your body in a way that helps the hope expand.
You might imagine giving the hope more space in your chest, hands, spine, breath, belly, or feet.
Let the movement be simple.
Let it be honest.
You are not performing.
You are listening.
When the song is over, pause.
Notice the hope again.
What color, shape, size, texture, or temperature does it have now?
What changed?
What stayed the same?
Just notice with curiosity.
Part 3: Palm Energy Awareness
After moving, pause.
Rub your palms together for several seconds.
Then slowly separate your hands, leaving a few inches of space between them.
Notice what you feel.
You may notice:
warmth
tingling
pulsing
pressure
magnetism
spaciousness
subtle sensation
or no clear sensation
Slowly move your hands slightly closer together and farther apart.
Notice whether anything changes.
All responses are welcome.
This is not a test of whether Reiki is working.
It is a beginning practice in subtle awareness.
Release and Reiki
Now choose a simple release or holding practice.
You may choose to:
safely burn the papers
tear them up
bury them
place them on your altar
fold them and keep them in your manual
or simply hold them in your hands with compassion
If you choose to release the papers, release the fear first.
Then release the hope.
Releasing the fear can help loosen its hold on you.
Releasing the hope can help loosen attachment to a specific outcome.
This does not mean the hope no longer matters.
It means you are allowing the journey to unfold without needing to control exactly how it happens.
As you complete this ritual, place your hands over your heart or over the papers.
You might silently say:
“May I be supported as I begin.”
“May I meet both my hope and my fear with compassion.”
“May this Reiki journey unfold with steadiness, curiosity, and care.”
This ritual is not about forcing the fear away.
It is about making space for all of you to begin.
Readings
Please read:
Manual: Welcome to Reiki I
Manual: Training Agreements + Student Care
Manual: Phase 1: Arrival + Opening to Reiki
Reflection
Please submit your reflection through the Reiki Reflection Form.
What brought you to Reiki I at this time?
Optional: What hope did you name?
Optional: What fear, doubt, or hesitation did you name?
What did you notice during the movement or release practice?
What did you notice in the Six Breaths of Arrival practice this phase?
What would help you feel supported as you begin?