Reiki is a Japanese technique that  promotes healing. It is administered by laying on hands. It is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. When one’s “life force energy” is low, we are more likely to get sick or feel stress. And if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

Rei means “Higher Power” and Ki which is “life force energy” in Japanese. All together Reiki is defined as a “spiritually guided life force energy.”

We are alive because life force is flowing through us. Life force flows within the physical body though pathways called chakras and meridians. It also flows around us in a field of energy called the aura. Life force nourishes the organs and cells of the body, supporting them in their vital functions. When this flow of life force is disrupted, it causes diminished function in one or more of the organs and tissues of the physical body.

The life force is responsive to thoughts and feelings. It becomes disrupted when we accept, either consciously or unconsciously, negative thoughts or feelings about ourselves. These negative thoughts and feelings attach themselves to the energy field and cause a disruption in the flow of life force. This diminishes the vital function of the organs and cells of the physical body.

All healers use life force or Ki, but not all use Reiki. Reiki is a special kind of life force that can only be channeled by someone that has been attuned to it.

Reiki heals by flowing through the affected parts of the energy field and charging them with positive energy. It raises the vibratory level of the energy field in and around the physical body where the negative thoughts and feelings are attached. This causes the negative energy to break apart and fall away. In so doing, Reiki clears, straightens and heals the energy pathways, thus allowing the life force to flow in a healthy and natural way.

Benefits

Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.

Everyone will have their own unique experience. Most individuals gain immediate benefits including deep relaxation, peacefulness, improved sleep, clarity, focus and decrease in emotional and physical pain. There are no set expectations in Reiki, just to know that your body will receive exactly what it needs at that specific time. 

Each session only builds upon the last, creating a series of internal shifts that helps you move towards a more positive lifestyle: healthier, more loving, grounded and true to yourself. 

 ( learn more here http://www.reiki.org/faq/whatisreiki.html )