What is Reiki?
Reiki began with one man. Mikao Usui, known as Usui Sensei, developed the practice in Japan in the early twentieth century. From there it traveled, eventually reaching the West through Hawayo Takata, a Japanese-American woman who brought Reiki to Hawaii and then to the mainland United States. Most practitioners alive today can trace their lineage directly back to Takata Sensei. From her teaching, different schools and traditions branched out, which is a big part of why Reiki looks different depending on who you learned from.
That lineage matters. When you know where your teacher trained and who trained them, you understand a lot about how and why they teach the way they do.
What's remarkable is how far this practice has traveled. Reiki has been embraced across traditions, by New Age practitioners and Christians, by skeptics and believers, by people looking for relaxation and people navigating serious illness. It's even being explored in clinical settings, including the Mayo Clinic.
That kind of reach doesn't happen by accident. It happens because something works.
Ask five Reiki practitioners what Reiki is, and you'll get five different answers. Some call it energy medicine. Some describe it as hands-on healing. Others define it as universal life force or spiritual energy.
They're not wrong. They're just coming from different training, different teachers, and different traditions.
Free Guides and Workbooks
Each topic on Reiki Cornerstones comes with free resources to help you go deeper. Download them, print them, write in them. They're yours.
What Is Reiki Worksheet: A good starting point before you dive in. These reflection questions help you get clear on what you already know, what brought you to Reiki, and what you're hoping to explore. Worth revisiting as your practice grows.
Daily Reiki Practice Workbook: Usui Sensei built his teaching around a set of daily practices, and this workbook walks you through them. The Five Precepts, Gassho, Kokyū Hō, and hands-on practice are all here, with context for how and why they were used. This is the foundation a lot of modern training skips over.
Reiki Reading Worksheet: If you're reading about Reiki on your own, this worksheet helps you think critically about what you're reading. Every author brings their own perspective to the practice. This helps you figure out what that perspective is and how it shapes what they're teaching.
Supplemental Reading for Beginners: A curated reading list organized by what you're looking for, whether that's foundational texts, traditional Japanese context, or practical daily application. A good companion as you build your library.
A simple worksheet to help you think through what you already know about Reiki and what you want to learn next. It gives you a place to put your thoughts before you go further.
An introduction to daily Reiki practice based on Usui Sensei’s original teachings.
A Reiki reading notes worksheet for capturing how Reiki is presented across books. Helps you track definitions, emphasis, and what stands out as you build your own understanding.
This collection of books is for anyone who is just getting started in exploring Reiki.