What does a Reiki Teacher do?

A reiki teacher trains students to become reiki practitioners. There are usually four stages of training a person must go through to become a reiki teacher. She completes level one to become a practitioner, level two to become a professional, and level three to become a master. During the fourth training level, she learns to pass energy on to others so that they too can become practitioners.

Reiki is a type of spiritual healing. The word means "life force energy guided by God." During a reiki treatment, energy flows through the hands of the practitioner and onto the patient, helping heal any diseases or problems the patient may suffer from. It is believed that a person becomes ill when her energy levels drop. A reiki practitioner helps boost the patient's energy level, restoring her to health. The level of energy transferred from practitioner to patient automatically adjusts itself depending on the patient's strength and condition.

A student of reiki does not learn the practice as he would another skill. Instead, he receives an attunement from a reiki teacher. An attunement occurs during a ceremony, and the teacher can attune more than one student in a single ceremony. The reiki teacher transfers energy to the student by drawing reiki symbols over his head and hands and by touching the student's head, shoulders, and hands. During the attunement, several of a student's chakras are opened, connecting him to the reiki energy source.

After the student is attuned, the teacher may spend some time with her demonstrating how to give a reiki treatment. During a level-one course, a student will practice her new skill on patients. If a student decides to continue her training, a reiki teacher will give her another attunement, showing more symbols to the student.

During a level-two attunement, a reiki teacher may show the student the symbol for healing at a distance. After a student has received this symbol, he can use the reiki energy to heal patients even if they are not in the room with him. The other symbols a reiki teachers gives his students depends on the methods and lineage of the teacher.

A teacher's lineage refers to the teachers before her and the system of reiki she practices. For instance, reiki as it is practiced in the West is believed to be founded by Mikao Usui in the early 20th century. A teacher from the Usui lineage learned from a teacher who learned from another teacher, leading all the way back to Usui.