Why Study Japanese Style Over Other Reiki Forms
All forms of Reiki have one thing in common: the energy that passes during the attunement/Reiju process originates from Sensei Usui. Most people taking Reiki classes and practicing receive knowledge through the Hayashi/Takata lineage.
As Reiki students progress with their knowledge and practice, they will most likely notice that not all Reiki students and practitioners are taught similarly. Naturally, there are differences in Reiki Classes that are taught worldwide due to language and interpretation, but also because the classes have evolved.
Why There Different Styles of Reiki Classes Offered
Each teacher brings a unique experience and knowledge base differing slightly from what they learned. And through trial and error, discovered other ways of presenting information to make it easier for students to master skills.
Sensei Hayashi and Mrs.Takata changed Sensei Usui’s teachings to help make teaching and spreading the Reiki Method easier. Mrs. Takata instituted changes and excluded many things that Sensei Hayashi taught her. She excluded the Hara as the energy system used by Reiki and instead included the Chakra Energy System, which Western Style Reiki Classes teach. Traditional or Dento Japanese Style Reiki Classes teach The Hara System. She emphasized the Symbols and the Kotodama (mantras) more than Sensei Hayashi.
Change is neither bad nor good, and it may have helped Reiki spread quickly once Mrs. Takata initiated her students. The most significant difference between Dento, or Traditional Japanese Reiki, and some of the other Western Style Reiki forms taught is that Traditional Japanese Reiki incorporates the original teachings and meditation practices that were a part of the Usui Society in Japan with Western Style Reiki.
Reiki Teaches Personal Development and Growth
In particular, the emphasis on personal development and integrating Reiki into everyday life through the Gokai (Five Principles) diminished in many classes taught today. Even in my own educational experience, one Reiki teacher that I received classes from only spent 5 minutes on the Gokai during the entire 30 hours of Levels 1,2, and 3. In Traditional Japanese Reiki, the student spends time at every level exploring the Gokai, learning more about themselves, and learning how to integrate the Gokai into their everyday lives. To not just “Do Reiki, but Be Reiki”.
Brainwaves Affected Profoundly By Practicing Japanese Style Reiki
Recently, Bronwen and Frans Stiene, Japanese Reiki teachers from Australia and the International House of Reiki founders, conducted brain waves studies. The first embedded video shows the actual test. The second discusses the benefits of learning Japanese Reiki techniques, and why this form more profoundly impacts brain waves and cognition than other Reiki forms currently taught. By focusing on the Gokai and learning to incorporate those principles into our everyday life, Traditional Japanese Style Reiki students’ brain waves may be different than other Reiki practitioners.