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Self-Care for Reiki Practitioners

Working with Reiki energy is a truly beautiful lifelong journey and vocation. We spend so much time helping others find peace, relaxation and more mindfulness, but sometimes we can forget to check in with our own energy needs!

As with any profession, we can find ourselves getting burnt out every now and then, but as highly sensitive people it is really important we look after ourselves energetically. After all, we are often working with people or pets that are going through stressful situations or illnesses that are carrying a lot of negative or stagnant energy which we can easily pick up on and become affected by if we don’t take the time to protect our own energy and stay grounded.

Recently, a fellow Reiki Practitioner that specialised in combining Reiki with therapeutic massage, asked me how she could take better care of herself as she often felt that in massaging all the tension knots out of her client’s back she felt that she was taking on all of their tension – she was energetically exhausted and knew she needed to find some routines and rituals to protect here own energy bubble and disconnect after each session with a client.

We asked the RHA members to share some of their advice for energy protection and self-care as a Reiki Professional, and we’ve summarised some of the fantastic tips below as well as adding in some of our own self-care tips.

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Pin this for later! Self-care as a Reiki practitioner

1. Daily Self Healing

Working through a self-treatment is one of the best ways to recharge, relax and revitalise our own energy stores. This is your time to retreat from the world and just check in with yourself in a quiet space away from distractions and responsibilities. Setting aside at least 10-20 minutes for self-Reiki is a great daily habit to get into for regular self-care, or why not incorporate Reiki into a daily meditation as we all know how busy life is!

As the Power Symbol has very cleansing and protective energetic properties, a great tip to boost your self-reiki sessions, is to draw out the Power Symbol on to each of the chakras as you work through a self healing session, reciting the Cho Ku Rei three times as you work with each chakra. Adding healing affirmations into your self-healing sessions is another way to protect yourself before and after any energy work, you can use intentions like ‘ I am protected. I am grounded. I am safe.’

Catherine W Dunne said “I practice self healing positions twice daily. First thing in the morning, preparing my body to successfully deal with negative energies received (nurse) and when I have returned home, cleansing myself of all attachments”
Ravi Subramaniyam agrees “Self protection, self healing is a must before one does healing for others.”

2. Cleansing your Reiki Space Regularly & Protecting your energy

It is important to keep your reiki Room ‘energetically clean’ so in remains a positive and healing sanctuary for both yourself and your clients so you can both relax during the treatment time. You can cleanse the room before and after a Reiki session to get rid of any lingering energy that may be present. You can draw or project or blow the Cho Ku Rei Symbol into every corner of the room and intend that Reiki fill the room with Divine love and light.

And you can use the same techniques to cleanse all the rooms in your home so you feel happy where ever you go!

You also want to make sure you cleanse and protect your own energy. We like to visualise a bright white energy shield around ourselves as we go about our day and our work, as a simple way to protect our own energy bubble. Another good tip is to conduct a quick aura sweep – sweeping your hands a few inches from the body, from your crown to your toes in a fluid movement and then touch the floor to connect to the earth. This is a great way to shake off any dense or stuck energy.

Lynda Helmer advises “Remember to “zip up” when you are around negative energy to protect yourself from its draining effects. Remember to shake off the energy residue of anyone else you have worked on, in person or distance.”

3. Ground Yourself

You should always end every Reiki session by grounding yourself. If you leave yourself open and connected to higher spiritual energies all day long, you are more susceptible to pick up and carry around the negative energies and emotions you encounter as you go throughout your day. Grounding is about bringing yourself back into the present moment, and reconnecting with the Earth. There are many techniques and practices you can use to ground yourself after a Reiki session, including simple things like drinking a glass of water or running your hands under water. Many people like to visualise cutting the energy cords to the client to ensure that energy stops flowing from you – you may wish to physically sweep across your hands as if you were breaking the energy connection.

4. Use Cleansing Tools

There are so many powerful energy cleansing tools at your disposal. Discovering your preferred energy cleansing tools is a great asset to a Reiki Practitioner. That way you can have them on hand both during your work and in your own downtime too – we love keeping crystals nearby for example! There are many crystals or gemstones with grounding properties – holding a grounding crystal or wearing a piece of jewellery with a powerful stabilising stone is one way you can stay grounded. Grounding crystals include: Black Tourmaline, Bloodstone, Hematite, Jade, Jasper, Jet, Obsidian, Onyx, Pyrite and Agate.

Other cleansing rituals that may help include a Reiki bath or shower, grounding essential oils or healing music or spending time in nature.

Norman Wilson advised: “Eliminate negative energy at the end of each day by using a lavender smudge and rubbing my arms in a downward stroke with a quartz clear crystal.”

4. Set Boundaries

It is very important to set proper boundaries as a Reiki practitioner with your clients. Your role in the healing process ends when you bring the Reiki session to a close. Sometimes, we can get so carried away in our efforts and desire to help our clients that we can fall into the trap of getting emotionally tied up in our clients’ personal issues and even their life.

It is also very important to say no to commitments and requests that negatively impact your energy.Check in with your intuition or Higher Self as you go about your day to make sure you are doing things that feel right for you and your energy.

Pia Cronhamn gave her advice: “I realize that I’m not the healer. I’m only a conductor, a transmitter where the light, energy, lifeforce may transform and ignite the healing power within the one that needs to heal her/himself. Take care of the vessel and ooze it with lifeforce energy, whenever possible.”

6. Asking For Help

No-one is invincible – so if you ever feel like you need a little help getting yourself back to centre, then reach out to the people in your life for support. We should all ask for advice or help when needed. Receiving Reiki from another practitioner can be a good boost too! Surrounding yourself with positive and kind people is a really good way to re-energise yourself and help you recharge.

Kornel Kisata advises to ask “for help or healing with another practitioner or master when needed. Share love and light!”

7. Remember your Sensitivity is your superpower

Don’t be too hard on yourself if you get overwhelmed by an energetically draining day! Your heightened intuition and propensity to care and nurture is a gift and is a big part the reason you are called to do the work you do. Just make sure you make self-care a priority in your life, so you can be the best vessel for Universal Life force energy and keep sharing your unique gifts with the world. Self-care isn’t selfish, it is essential. You can’t pour from an empty cup as they say. Never feel guilty about taking time out to recharge and relax in your life and work as a Reiki professional.

I hope you enjoyed reading some of the tips from our Reiki Healing Association Community. If you have any great tips for self-care and energy protection, please share them tips below!

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Pin this for later! Self-care as a Reiki practitioner

How do you look after yourself as a reiki and wellness professional? Share your tips and experiences in the comment box below!

And for more Reiki resources, be sure to connect with the Reiki Healing Association on Instagram, where we post daily Reiki inspiration and advice for healing and growth as a Reiki Practitioner or Reiki-enthusiast! And don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest, where we are pinning positive affirmations and empowering quotes every single day.