Animal Reiki What Is It And How Does It Help

In the 1920s, something quite wonderful took place. While meditating in self-imposed retreat on Mount Kurama in Japan, Buddhist monk Dr. Mikao Usui received the vision of a series of Sanskrit symbols. These symbols contained the seeds of the energy healing modality now known as Reiki. Reiki as Dr. Usui practiced and taught it was a human healing discipline. Today, however, there is growing interest in Reiki's benefits for animals as well. Animal intuitive and Reiki Master practitioner Shannon Cutts introduces animal Reiki and explains what it is, how it works and how it can help you and your animal companions.

If you are stressed, Reiki can offer calm. If you are stuck, Reiki can create openings for fresh insight, creativity and transformation.

What about Reiki for your pets? Can Reiki help animals too?

While Dr. Usui's system didn't specifically mention using Reiki for non-human animals, Reiki itself has shown us that this high vibration energy is just as beneficial to our non-human counterparts as it is for us.

In fact, non-human animals often benefit even more than we do, because they don't have any preconceived mental concepts to overcome about whether healing energy is real or works or not.

How do animals react to Reiki?

Animals react fairly instantly when Reiki starts to flow. Some animals will get up and walk away. These animals may be trying to put some distance between themselves and the energy - adjusting their personal volume dial so the intensity is just right. Other animals may move closer or even press up against the practitioner's hands to show exactly where the energy is most needed.

Some animals will get a sudden burst of energy while others will fall deeply asleep. And some animals will just stay softly in place to receive what the energy is offering.

As with any well known and popular system or discipline, different schools of practice have arisen over time. And there are different schools of thought that accompany these different systems. It is also worth mentioning that this is true for both people Reiki and animal Reiki teachers and practitioners.

It is easy to get bogged down in these types of semantic issues. What is most important to remember is that Reiki itself is a supremely benevolent, loving and high vibration energy that will never do harm.

How is Reiki taught?

Different schools may have different specific protocols at certain points in the learning journey. However, these are the three essential keys for any student's learning process.

Reiki students learn first and foremost by direct initiation, called attunement. They also learn the history of Reiki and how to replicate the symbols used at different levels of Reiki mastery (Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 or Master). And students also learn the traditional hand positions used for hands-on Reiki treatments.

Once a student of Reiki is attuned and certified at any level, the next step is practice...lots of it. Reiki energy is alive and interactive and students learn from the energy each time they transmit Reiki.

How can Reiki help pets and their people?

Reiki is universal life force energy. So receiving Reiki energy is akin to plugging your personal power cord back into the master power circuit. There you were struggling along on your own under your own personal (and very likely depleted) power supply. Suddenly you have backup - and lots of it!

Reiki can help with healing after injury or illness. It can also help with emotional or mental healing and even with healing at the soul level. Reiki is also great for a preventative wellness tune-up, although it is all too easy to forget about Reiki's benefits when all is going well in life!

Reiki can help your pet when there is a change in your home life, whether that is a move to a new location, a child going off to college, a separation or divorce, a death in the family, a change in work schedule, an addition of a new animal and many other changes as well.

Reiki can be a huge source of support for pets going through their end of life transition. Reiki can help pets with the transition process and offer extra support at the moment of crossing.

What is a tandem Reiki session?

Sometimes the most important benefit Reiki can offer your pet is the way this healing energy can support YOU, their person.

When you are anxious, depressed, stressed, exhausted, ill or filled with worries, your pet will be too. Our animals can't help it. They are natural empaths. They don't have any natural mechanism for building strong energetic boundaries with those they keep close company with.

Sometimes pets will even physically run away to escape toxic energy emanating from their person! But in most cases our pets either can't or simply choose not to get away from us even when we are toxic to them.

So when you get a Reiki treatment, both you and your pet automatically benefit from it. When your animal gets a Reiki treatment, you automatically benefit from it because your animal will have greater peace and resilience and support to offer you.

One of my favorite things to do is offer tandem Reiki sessions for pets and their people. This can be expedient as well, since often animals and their humans will be dealing with some of the same or similar issues. This is part of the soul contract that draws a pet and their person to each other. The issues may be physical, mental, emotional or even all of the above. As such, a shared tandem Reiki session helps both you and your pet to heal, strengthen, grow and evolve together.

What is a Reiki Circle?

Do you have more questions about animal Reiki or Reiki for people and pets? Would you like to experience the healing and nourishing benefits of Reiki energy for yourself and your companion animals? I would be honored to help.