When Reiki Practice Becomes Difficult
Just as a journey is made step after step, our spiritual journey is made of diligent, regular practice.
We all know that regular Reiki practice offers tremendous benefits. And yet, every once in a while, people find that practicing Reiki becomes nearly impossible. Either they feel that Reiki has stopped flowing, or they feel a tremendous restlessness, sitting down to practice Reiki and yet unable to do so. Almost as if their bodies are resisting.
Recently Srinivas, one of my Reiki students contacted me for help, and said that he felt very distracted every time he practiced Reiki. I asked if he had tried practicing his self-healing going from the lower chakras and moving upwards. Within a day, he said that all was normal again. What was happening?
Distraction, Restlessness, Inability to Practice
It is quite common for people to focus more on the chakras they begin healing with. When we start our daily healing with the upper chakras, most of tend to focus a bit more on the upper chakras, which means that the lower chakras receive lesser attention. Now, the upper chakras are already quite charged up with the sort of lives we live, and this lopsided practice over a period of time, causes an imbalance, with more energies in the upper chakras than required, and less in the lower ones. If you are sensitive, then you might start feeling a strong restlessness – which is characteristic of overabundance of Reiki in any part of the body – when you start your healing with the upper chakras yet again.
In these cases, reversing the order of your healing works wonderfully, because you now start healing with the energy-deprived chakras. For this reason, I recommend doing the self-healing by starting with the lower chakras – either the feet or the root chakra, and working your way upwards to the crown. In my experience so far, I have not come across anyone suffering from too much energy in the root and too less in the upper chakras, because as I mentioned, our lifestyles already keep the upper chakras pretty charged up – however, if you ever experience this, please let me know!
No feelings while practicing Reiki
This is quite a common experience for many, many Reiki channels. After a period of regular Reiki practice, all feelings seem to vanish. In advanced levels, one might even find that Reiki is not working for one’s own wishes, finding no results when sending Reiki for improvement in health, relationships, work or any other area. At the same time, Reiki seems to work just fine when healing others, and clients report wonderful results. I call this the plateau phase. When our energy levels rise, it is a wonderful experience. After a point, it hits the plateau, where your energies need to stabilise. This phase can be extremely boring, but is important, just like a tree grows stronger roots when it seems to have completely stopped flowering or growing new shoots.
If it merely involves a stabilizing of your aura so that you are ready for the next energetic leap, this phase should last 2-3 months at most, maybe less. However, if it lasts longer, chances are that your body is dedicating all its energies to dissolving a block. In this case, it might be helpful to get a few healings or a reattunement to shake things up and speed up the process.
If your problem seems to be slightly different from the scenarios mentioned above, please leave a comment and I’ll be happy to help you out.
Author of ‘Healing Through Reiki’, Ashwita learned Reiki in 1997, and started teaching it in 2006. She now incorporates other forms of energy healing, as well as hypnotherapy and past life therapy in her work. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, crafts, reading and painting.
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Had the same problem, some told i m affected by black magic, Healing process are still going on.
My own wishes never fulfilled.
Can you help me
I’ve read that only self-healing is good. When you try to heal others and are not advanced their bad energy and karma can become part of your own. Is that not true? It makes sense because everything is energy and if you do not manipulate it properly to protect yourself you can become affected in a negative way.
Black magic is another issue Rajshekhar. If it is not strong, Reiki can help. If it is, then there is only so much Reiki can do, although I believe that even though life may be hard, it will probably be harder without Reiki in such a case. The best solution is to find someone who works specifically with black magic.
This is a common misconception that people carry, and in cases of normal healing, it is true. With Reiki, all we are doing is helping the person have access to all the energy he/ she needs. We don’t manipulate the energy of the person ourselves – only the energy does. So where does karma come in, when the energy itself does what is required? People now a days mix a lot of things with Reiki – crystals, and a whole lot of other energetic techniques. These do manipulate the energies, and yes, these can create karmic influences – just as a doctor would gather karma if he gets personally involved with a patient.
Also, we are always giving and taking energy, even when we aren’t Reiki channels. We increase our karmic baggage everyday, for petty reasons. Every time you feel intense hatred for a criminal, you develop karmic relationship with him. Ditto with intense feelings for anyone else you know. When you go out of you way to help someone, or even refuse to help someone who asked, same thing. So karma is not really as big a deal as it is made our to be 🙂
Hello ashwita. I understand certain theories you have explained here. But i do not agree to the term- overabundance of reiki. Becoz there can never be an overabundance of reiki anywhere in the body or anywhere in general. Becoz it is the nature of reiki to flow where it is needed. Every reiki healer and practitioner is aware of this principle that reiki always flows to where it is most needed. So if one part of the body is healed, reiki will ultimately flow to the next part that is in need of healing or facing a deficiency of energy. Reiki can never be stored or remains stagnated at one place. It always flows. So if we are giving reiki to the upper chakras and ignoring the lower chakras, then definitely there can be an imbalance. But the imbalance is never due to overabundance of reiki. Overabundance is not the right term.
By overabundance, I meant the feeling one has when the cup of energy is overflowing, so to say. You will experience it when a chakra has had enough, if you are sensitive. It does not imply a state where the body is absorbing more than it needs, as you probably relate to the term 🙂
What I meant by overabundance is just what one feels when one continues to give Reiki after the chakra has received enough. It is a feeling quite commonly perceived by children and animals when they receive Reiki – because they are usually full of energy already – if you notice, most of them get up and run away after a few minutes, or even seconds, of Reiki, unless they are tired or sick, in which case they will gravitate towards you and lie down for much longer, until they’ve received all they need.
Also, you agree that ignoring the lower chakras and healing the upper chakras will lead to an imbalance. When the lower chakras are healed less than they need, it is the same thing. One cannot heal for a minute instead of 3 or maybe 5, which is what the body might need, and expect all to be hunky dory, can one?
Thanku ashwita.
I got a very important piece of information from this article. That is when you are feeling restless or distracted, it may be becoz reiki energy is dissolving some blocks. I was feeling some healing crisis lately and now i have the answer.
Thanku for the article.
Thanks Sonam!
hi.. I am facing same problem…i was attuned level III A . but due to some problem I was not able to practice reiki for some months…after that I used to practice it . but i felt nothing …so now I am confused because I saw no effect even healing in my health also….pleases help…what I will do?
If you were attuned to 3a – does that mean you were practicing for a few years, or were all the levels given to you together? Because that would be quite a pointless exercise and might even mean that your teacher might not have been genuine at all. On the other hand, missing practice for a few months reverses any effect of the attunement anyway – so even with a great teacher, a few months of collecting energy blocks will prevent you from accessing the energies freely. I would recommend starting from level 1 again, and don’t learn level 2 until you have finished at least 3 months of regular practice.
Hi. A question?
I’m an Aussi. So my language may be a bit strange.
I have no idea what I’d call myself. An empathic shamanic reiki healer?
I’ve done 2 nc level reiki healing.
My biggest problem is I can’t heal myself , I seem to have a block. I think I’ve un subconsciously built a defensive wall around myself.
Being an empath I store all the negativity , pain, anguish etc. and then can’t get rid of it.
I have no problem healing , but I do it freely. And I rarely ask permission. If someone needs a hug I transfer healing. It’s never been repelled.
Certain people who know me will ask me to heal and I do. But I don’t advertise what I am.
How do I get rid of this barrier.
I end up feeling like crap for a few days. Till I’m all cried out and exhausted.
Any suggestions ?
Pls don’t rely on website with my real name. Just geet 52 would be appreciated.
Blessings.
Hi, i have 2 reiki level. I started just because i needed healing, but after a while i also did reiki to a couple of friends, always with good results, although i just do it once in a while. I did it lattely with my boyfriend and the first time he was completly out after he received it, he couldn’t open his eyes or move or even talk for a while. He was feeling great and energized afterwards and he said he never felt it before like this with other practioners. Then he was asking me if the result was so intense because we have a connection, a relationship. I also would like to know the answer from you… the next time i did him reiki, after a while i felt like i was going to faint and i had to sit down and stop for a while. At this time we were having problems with our relationship. So i wonder if these situations are conected to our emotional experience or if it is sonething else? Thank you
Hi
I go with second option.. When I give healing for myself for my goals it doesn’t work n whereas my clients r happy.. I m Reiki grandmaster…. Since last one year I m practicing
hi
i have been practising reiki fr self healung for the last 3 months. after learnung level 1 i have found some cganges within me. Firsti used to complain God fr some issues now i cant . One day even after having some serious emotional problem wn i was about to complain God i cld nt make it. My Positive attitude towards Life is d biggest change. I
but my stomach problem has nt been cured which i have it fr d last 7 nonths. i know level 1 and level 2 but my physical conditions is nt umproving. wn i do reiki i dont feel anything wn i place my hands on stomach chakras.
in d begining i had a tremondaous change but after that my stomach issues are nt inproving
pls guide me
mona
Sorry for the late reply Mona.
It seems like a pretty desperate situation when Reiki doesn’t heal something we learned it for. But through experience with Reiki I know this – some problems are meant to be very long term problems, and these kind of problems take time to heal. For example, if you were supposed to have your stomach issues for 3 years, Reiki might heal it in 1 year. But every day of this one year, you’re wondering why Reiki is not working, and even at the end you might not realise that Reiki helped at all. With time and when you eventually speak with others who have had similar problems, you realise that you actually suffered less and for a shorter duration.
If there is no flow in your stomach region then it is clearly a sign that the problem is pretty deep. Yes, one observes the biggest changes in the initial days, and then things seem to slow down because Reiki takes the healing deeper. Keep up your practice very strongly and just trust that whatever is happening, is the right thing. This might not be what you want to hear, but stop waiting for your problem to go away, and learn how to live WITH it. Reiki will remove it in the fastest time possible, but we don’t know what this time is, and we cannot afford to reduce our energy (and thereby speed of healing) by worrying about it all the time. Start coping instead.
Thank you for your input, Perminder. When Reiki doesn’t work for our own goals, it is a sign that you are still out of alignment. When goals start getting fulfilled easily and repeatedly, and one is aware that the attachment to the goals is not very strong, then one knows that one is in alignment – it is not that the universe is fulfilling your goals, but that your desires have come into alignment with your ‘plan’. So just keep that daily practice strong and work on surrendering more completely to Reiki/ God/ whatever, and things will start changing.
Apologies for the delay in reply Lisa.
Why your boyfriend felt so good after receiving healing from you – well, this could be due to various factors, but when I read what you’ve written, what strikes me the most is probably that it was his openness that led to a deep healing. For most people, going to a stranger for healing is easy, as they don’t know the faults of the therapist and vice versa, and they might not see the therapist again, so it is easy to open up. But this is not always the case, and some people find it hard to open up to random strangers, even more so if they didn’t feel a connection of any sort.
What I believe also happened was a transfer of your own energy. This will not be very perceptible in you (as fatigue) if you are in a great phase of the relationship, where anyway you both are giving a lot of energy to each other. But in the second case you have probably given away your personal energy, leading you to feel weak and dizzy. To prevent this from happening again, do these 3 things before, as well as after the healing –
– Ensure that you wash your arms (and maybe even feet) from the elbows down
– drink a glass of water
– spend some time focusing on the sensations in your feet.
Hope this helps 🙂 Feel free to ask if there are any more questions, I won’t take this long to reply )
I’m sorry about the delay in reply, Brigitta.
We know already that empaths are people who sense other people’s emotions. But more than that, most empaths aren’t really ’empathetic’, because subconsciously they don’t have faith in the other to handle their own pain. So you don’t pick up other people’s mess because you are an empath, but because you are functioning from the ego (understand I don’t mean this in a bad way at all, just as a point to be noted. All of us function from the ego, it helps to realise the strongest tendencies). Once you realise this, you see, but let things be – even subconscously and at an energetic level.
If you were to listen, I’d really ask you to stop healing others unless they specifically ask for it. There is no real point healing others if you are taking up all their shit – ultimately the amount of shit remains the same, it is merely displaced. Real healing is to move past it, to balance it out. The solution here would be to turn inward. Empaths who are turned outward have problems like these, and of course this is very common because no one knows what they need to do. Turn inwards, and simply witness what is going on inside. Ok, so you feel awful and are crying all day. Don’t make a problem of it. Cry whole-heartedly without wondering how you can fix this and how long this will last. When you sense problems from other people, go inside again. Be deeply aware what is happening INSIDE YOU, and don’t mess with it – just be aware. When this starts to become a habit, I’m quite sure you’ll see a big difference.
Hi, Nice blog. Reiki is the holistic healing technique.I am Practising Reiki since 2 months and I face a Drastic change in my Life.
My wife has been practicing reiki meditation for the past one-and-a-half month after getting 1st degree. She has depression and has been taking anxiety medicine for the past 9 years. She is 31 and we got married seven years back. We have 2 sons. Since she started reiki, she has been creating disturbance in the house with regular outbursts against the family members whom she has assumed to be her ‘enemy’. She even verbally and physically abused my mother. She also rebuked my sister over telephone, even calling her ‘bustard’. She become out of control in trivial issues and creates noisy scene in the house every now and then. Can I expect my wife to get her anger controlled by reiki??
Hello Kongkon, please ask her to start doing agnihotra (or you could do it if she refuses). She is most likely under the influence of some unwanted energies, and it is in these cases that people go even more crazy after learning Reiki.
Here’s the link to the process reiki-bangalore.com/blog/agnihotra-magic-cleansing – you could do it any time in the evening after the specific time mentioned. I would recommend evening over morning if you want to do it only once a day.
My reiki flow was going good, and even increasing for the last couple of weeks. Worked well on self and crystals and others. But suddenly since two days, i feel the flow has stopped completely. My hands dont get warm at all. What is the probable cause and solution.
Feelings and sensations during healing come and go – the best way to test out if Reiki is working is to heal a few people and see if they feel anything/ get better. That should help you understand if there is a problem or if it is just the sensations fluctuating.
Hello mam….I have been associated with Reiki since last one n a half year…but from some months I feel something is missing…as Reiki has become an integral part of my life I could easily feel if there is any change…while doing seven part chakra reiki I could not concentrate the way I used to concentrate earlier…I could not feel that while light in the beginning…sometimes i feel nothing n sometimes very low light…being a student reiki brings changes in both my personal n professional life..my studies also get affected due to this breakage of concentration… .from the time I have started learning reiki till the time I didn’t feel the thing I have mentioned above I have never ever feel surrounded by negative thoughts n all…but now I feels…plz mam reply as soon as possible…
This is a natural part of the process, just keep up your daily practice. Feelings and sensations/ concentration varies with time.
Hi
I have started my 21 days cleansing process yesterday i.e. 7th Jan, 2018, first day few sensations are there but today morning felt nothing. Why it is happening and one more thing I am not able to concentrate on my office work.
Please help me with your comment.
Thanks in advance.
This is completely normal. When a person takes a shower/ bath for the first time in a month, it is a very special experience. But if you shower everyday, there is no special feeling, just a mundane boring thing to do. It is the same with a Reiki self-healing. Sometimes it is interesting, other times it is just boring and nothing happens.
Lack of concentration indicates a problem with weak lower chakras – so whenever during the day you are free, heal your lower chakras, esp root and knees and thighs
Hola Ashwita, Curse la maestría de Reiki, practique y di reiki por un tiempo y las terapias que realizaba ayudaban a sanar a las personas, pero hubo un periodo en que todo fue negativo en mi vida, no se que fue pero me quito el animo de continuar con mi practica, por lo que la abandone, de esto tiene mas o menos 6 meses…nuevamente reinicie en mi practica diaria, estoy dando reiki a toda mi vida, para ver si los bloqueos en todas las áreas de mi vida sanan, específicamente las finanzas y el amor, pues en esos dos aspectos no he visto avance, también quisiera dedicarme de lleno a realizar terapias pero cuando me lo he propuesto por alguna razón todo se cae, y no logro concretarlo, ademas que no publicito lo que soy.
Por favor si puedes orientarme con tu comentario, para la practica y disolver todos estos bloqueos.
y una pregunta ¿la practica la puedo realizar durante la noche?
Gracias por adelantado.
Bendiciones
Tu comentario está esperando ser moderado.
Hola Ashwita, Curse la maestría de Reiki, practique y di reiki por un tiempo y las terapias que realizaba ayudaban a sanar a las personas, pero hubo un período en el que todo era negativo en mi vida, no se que fue pero me quito el animo de continuar con mi práctica, por lo que la abandone, esto tiene más o menos 6 meses … nuevamente reinice la autocuraciòn diaria, estoy dando el reiki a toda mi vida, para ver si los bloqueos en todas las áreas de mi vida sanan, desde que inicie quise dedicarme a realizar terapias pero cuando me lo he propuesto no se logra concretar.
Por favor, si puedes orientarme con tu comentario, para la práctica y disolver todos estos bloqueos.
y una pregunta ¿la práctica puedo realizar durante la noche?
Gracias por adelantado.
Bendiciones
Deja una respuesta
Thank you for your question Marcela. Please ensure you do regular self-healing daily for a total of at least 35 minutes. Yes you can practice in the night, in fact I recommend it. For best results, practice 30 minutes at night and 15 minutes in the morning.
I would just say regular practice for now. When there is plenty of healing to be done, things can get difficult for a bit, but just keep up regular practice and imbibe the principles and practice surrender, and you should start getting better.
Fabulous… you have just answered my question! I did my level 1 just over a month ago and have been noticing restlessness at the lower chakras or restless all the way through my self practice sometimes… will definitely try and go in the opposite direction to see if that helps! Hate to think im neglecting some of my chakras so hopefully i can make it up to them and balance everything out!! 🙂
hmm, idk. I feel breathless after managing to focus for some time. Can you explain exactly how the energy deprived chakras initiate healing?