Frequently Asked Questions about Animal Reiki Training

1. How do I learn Reiki?

Anyone can learn to practice Reiki. After several energy attunements from a Master, Reiki energy begin to flow from the student’s hands. Some people can feel the flow of energy immediately; for others, it takes some time and practice to feel the subtle energetic sensations of Reiki. The understanding of Reiki and how to use it deepens with practice. It is perfectly accessible to the beginner but holds deeper levels of understanding as the student progresses. In addition to healing, using Reiki with your animal strengthens your bond with each other. Using Reiki on yourself and others promotes inner growth and change and deepens your intuition. The more you use Reiki, the more effective your ability to heal will become.

I recommend that people look for Reiki classes are tailored to their individual needs and interests. I also encourage people to have a series of treatments before taking a class and to continue to receive treatments on a regular basis after learning Reiki, either from a practitioner or from another student or friend. These treatments facilitate your own healing process and support your ability to heal others (see also Question #12).

In Level I Reiki students learn the history and principles of Reiki, self-treatment, and how to give treatments to animals. In Level II students learn to give treatments from a distance and to intensify mental and emotional healing. In all classes students have ample opportunity to practice giving treatments to animals. In Level III students learn to pass on the knowledge of Reiki healing to others and to give attunements to others.

2. What is an attunement?

A Reiki attunement, or initiation as it is traditionally called, is the hands-on, Master to student transference of the ability to use Reiki energy for healing. It involves a series of steps passed down from Reiki Master to Reiki Master. Because of its sacred nature, the attunements are given with the student’s eyes closed. Sometimes the student will briefly feel energetic sensations such as light-headedness, or heat or an ache on the crown of the head, or pressure or heat in the palms of the hands during or after an attunement. Traditionally, attunements are spaced out over at least two days so that the student is able to absorb the energy more comfortably.

3. What if I don’t feel anything in my hands after I learn Level I?

Learning Reiki is like learning a new language. Energetic sensations are sometimes subtle and may take some time to learn to recognize. The more you practice Reiki, the more you will become adept at learning the language of energy, and the more you will feel in your hands. At the same time, the feeling in the hands of the practitioner does not necessarily reflect the power of the treatment. Sometimes a practitioner may feel very little, yet the patient will experience an amazing healing response. Reiki practitioners learn to “trust Reiki” to provide the healing that is needed because it is always Reiki, not the practitioner, doing the healing.

4. What are the different levels of Reiki and what are they used for?

There are three levels of Reiki. With Level I Reiki the practitioner can give a treatment with her hands placed lightly on the recipient or directed toward the recipient from a short distance away. With Level II Reiki she learns to send Reiki over distances and to the past and future, as well as the ability to focus more intensively on mental and emotional healing. Level III Reiki is the Master Level for those who wish to devote their lives to Reiki and to teach Reiki. At Level III the student learns to pass the ability to heal with Reiki on to others. Some people learn only Level I Reiki, and most others stop after Level II.

Level II Reiki is especially useful in treating animals because it greatly expands the circumstances under which treatments can be given to animals. Reiki will heal each recipient in the ways that need healing the most, regardless of the level the practitioner has obtained. It is important that each person follow her own path with Reiki. Some people never feel compelled to become a practitioner, but seek out treatments on a regular basis. Some Reiki practitioners use Reiki only to heal themselves; others are drawn to heal other beings, and still others establish a professional practice of Reiki or become teachers themselves.

5. Can I get Reiki I and II at the same time?

There are different schools of thought about this. I have found that it is better to wait between Level I and II. You can understand Level II more easily and fully if you have sufficiently familiarized yourself with Level I first. Also, because each level of Reiki can bring with it significant healing challenges in your own life, it is easier and more prudent to give yourself time to heal any issues that arise in your own life between each level. Although many students consider getting both levels close together, I encourage students to focus on the process, rather than the destination, and to lay the most solid foundation that they can for their future path with Reiki.

6. I have heard that it takes a long time to strengthen your energy. Doesn’t it take a long time to acquire strong enough energy to heal with Reiki?

No, you will have the energy you need to heal immediately. There are disciplines, such as Qi Gong and Tai Chi, that teach you to strengthen your own energy, and this can be a long process. However, when you have received Reiki from a Reiki Master through the traditional attunements, the energy that you use to heal is not your own energy. It is the energy of the Universe that is all around us, which you are able to tap into and send through your hands to the being that you wish to heal. It is available to you as soon as you have received the attunements, and will remain available to you as long as you live, regardless of how often you use it.

7. Can I deplete myself by giving long treatments?

Reiki never depletes your own energy. In fact, every time you give a treatment, you receive a treatment as the energy flows through you. You should make sure, however, to keep yourself well-hydrated if you are going to be doing a lot of treatments, since the flow of energy through you can be dehydrating.

8. Can animals get too much Reiki?

There’s no such thing as too much Reiki, since Reiki can do no harm and always works for the highest good. However, it is very important to consider the animal’s preference about receiving Reiki. Since animals can’t tell you in words whether they want Reiki, or how much they want, you will have to learn to read their body language and facial expressions and to sense changes in the flow of energy to be as sensitive to their desires and concerns as possible.

9. What makes Reiki different from other alternative healing methods?

Reiki is a simple but powerful healing method and heals at all levels of being: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. It can be learned at the most basic level easily and produces healing results immediately for beginners. Even the most experienced practitioners continue to learn from it all of their lives, but it seems complete at each level you experience it, and is as accessible to the novice as to the expert.

10. Why should I take a class? Why can’t I just get Reiki over the Internet?

I have had students come to me to get hands-on attunements because they were dissatisfied with what they received over the Internet. From what they have said it seems that attunements over the Internet work but are weaker than attunements in person from a Reiki Master. Traditionally, Reiki is an oral tradition handed down from Master to student. The personal element in teaching Reiki is, to me, very important. In addition, the opportunity to practice Reiki with the guidance of a teacher is an essential part of receiving a good foundation in Reiki. In my experience, students who do not have ample opportunity to practice with the help of a teacher can give up on Reiki before they understand its potential.

11. How will having Reiki make my life different?

Reiki affects everyone differently. It is most widely known for its healing properties. The Reiki attunements combined with self-treatment and the use of Reiki in healing other beings accelerates personal growth and development and the deepening of intuition as well as healing on all levels: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Receiving regular Reiki treatments, either from a professional or by exchanging treatments with a friend, will further enhance growth and healing. Reiki brings out who each individual is at their innermost and enhances the development of individual talents and potential. So, it is a powerful tool for personal development as well as healing. Reiki will have similar effects on the animals that you treat, healing each animal in the ways that are uniquely necessary for that particular animal.

12. Why do I need to treat myself and get treatments from other practitioners? I only want to work on animals.

Treating yourself is central to developing your ability to treat animals.

First, it will give you personal experience with the sensations of receiving Reiki and the effects of Reiki healing. This will help you to understand what the animal is feeling and what kinds of healing and reactions to expect. It will help you to adjust your treatments to make them more comfortable, acceptable, and effective for animals since you will have first-hand knowledge of the range of sensations and reactions Reiki can involve and the ways that healing unfolds over time.

Second, the degree of healing that you will be able to develop is tied to your own personal growth. The more you use Reiki to heal your own issues, the more effective you will be as a healer. You will be able to communicate and deal more effectively with the beings you encounter, both human and animal; you will develop increasingly deep and accurate intuition about the beings you treat; and your healing power will be increased as you heal personal issues that drain your energy, attention and ability to tap into your own potential.

Receiving treatments from a Reiki practitioner or exchanging treatments with a friend will further accelerate and strengthen your ability to heal.

13. What do I do if I have questions after I’ve gotten Reiki?

You will almost certainly have questions, and you should look for ateacher who will be able to make adequate arrangements to address your questions after you’ve completed your initial tarining. I always want to hear from my students when they have questions. You can e-mail or call me and I will be happy to help you with any questions you have after my classes. Reiki is best learned experientially, through practicing it, noticing what you feel and what happens, and asking about anything that doesn’t seem clear to you. I also love to hear my student’s stories about their experiences. So even if you don’t have a question, please keep in touch with me and let me know how you are doing with Reiki.

If you want substantial guidance after you have learned Reiki, (for instance, if you are treating a difficult case or starting a professional practice of Reiki with animals), you can arrange for individual consultations by phone, email, or in person, or you can undertake an Internship with me. An Internship involves completing fifty treatments over the course of a year with on-going personal supervision. Interns receive a certificate on completion of the Internship.

14. I already have Reiki; can I just learn about Reiki with animals?

Absolutely. There are important issues to consider in treating animals with Reiki and ways in which healing animals differs from healing people. You can obtain the book I co-authored, Animal Reiki: Using Energy to Heal the Animals in your Life, which contains all the information you need to begin to treat animals successfully with Reiki, or you can look for teachers who offer classes for people who have already learned Reiki and want to know how to use it with animals.Visit the recommended links section for a list of Animal Reiki Training Programs offered by other teachers.

15. Is Reiki a spiritual path?

For many, learning and practicing Reiki is a way to feel a stronger connection to the spiritual dimension and to psychic energies and abilities. Reiki, when practiced regularly, can help a person become more aware of her spiritual self, meaning the non-physical, inner self, and the subtle gifts and talents which may otherwise go unrealized and untapped. It can be a path to your “true self.” Reiki is complementary to any and all spiritual paths and religions, and it can be practiced in a way that reflects the uniqueness of each individual. In addition, Reiki may appeal to people with no spiritual beliefs as a mystery with much empirical evidence to support it.

16. Do I have to be religious to use Reiki?

No, Reiki is available to anyone who wants to learn it and requires only the traditional attunements from a Reiki Master and some minimal training to get started. It is compatible with any religious tradition, but it is not necessary to be religious or to follow a spiritual path to practice Reiki. Reiki has spiritual aspects to it on which one can focus, but this is not necessary to practice it successfully.

17. Can I take credit for the amazing results that occur after I give a treatment?

The fact that you are present and have the intention of healing is an important part of the process, but it is not our own power that does the healing. Reiki does the healing, and we are only the conduit. Reiki always brings the healing the animal needs. Healing will occur even when we are not aware of the issues the animal is facing.

18. Can I use Reiki on inanimate objects?

Reiki can be used on inanimate objects; your creativity is the limit here. Many people Reiki their own or their animal’s food and water to enhance its healthful properties. One can also Reiki objects that will be in contact with a part of the body that needs healing. For example, some people Reiki their pillows if they have a headache. If you have a backache you could Reiki your shirt before you put it on. Some people Reiki a towel or other object and ask that it be put with their animal when he or she is at the vet’s for treatment or surgery. People use Reiki to clear the energy of a room or to clear the energy of a new piece of furniture that is acquired. Musicians report that giving Reiki to their musical instruments before they play improves the quality and tone of the music and the ease with which it is produced. Anything can benefit from Reiki.

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