Reiki Level 1, also called First Degree Reiki, is the foundational practice for beginners in the Usui Shiki Ryoho Tradition. In Reiki Level 1, the teacher performs four meditative attunements (also called initiations) to connect you to the first degree of Reiki energy. As the student, you will develop your natural intuitive abilities and learn to feel a client’s energy.

The Reiki tradition and practice is a simple method of hands-on healing developed by Mikao Usui of Kyoto, Japan. After students receive training, Reiki energy flows through the body to their hands and into the cells of the person they are treating. Reiki energy normalizes body functions and helps to reestablish balance and harmony on the physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies. Therefore, the organic functions are restored for the person who is treated. Reiki differs from other healing methods in that the teacher uses a specific attunement, also called initiation, process to prepare students for the flow of healing energy. The attunement protects students both from using their own life-force energy to help others and from absorbing any negative energetic patterns from the people they treat.

Reiki Level 1 is a 16-hour class taught over either two, three or four days. The class is divided into four sections, each from 3 to 4 hours. In each section of the class, students will receive an attunement (also called an initiation) from the teacher, which increases their access to the Reiki energy. By the fourth and final attunement, the student will have permanent, life-long access to Reiki, as well as all the knowledge and skills to practice Reiki effectively on themselves and others. Students will also learn other household uses for Reiki - such as pets, plants and food - and discuss how dis-ease develops from blocked or negative emotions in the body.