Training

Mikao Usui's Reiki method spread widely. Correspondence courses over the Internet even offer distance training. To achieve a complete education in the "Usui method of Reiki Healing," three courses are necessary: the 1st degree course, the 2nd degree course, and the master course. The specific content of each of these courses varies widely from one teacher to another, depending on personal philosophies. A typical set of courses is something like the following:

First Degree Reiki courses teach the basic theories of how to work with Reiki energy. The channel through which Reiki energy passes to the practitioner is said to be widened through an initiation by the teacher, permitting the Reiki energy be strong enough to effect healing. Students learn hand placement positions on the recipient's body that are thought to be most conducive to the healing process.

In the Second Degree Reiki course, a symbol for mental healing is taught, enabling students to purportedly treat even deeply ingrained problems like fears, depression, addictions, and the like. Students are instructed on how to direct Reiki energy to a certain point in time, to a specific person or place, or a specific issue. The issue can be something like an individual's particular health problem, or it can be a more abstract or general issue such as world peace. Practitioners say that this is possible using three symbols taught at the second initiation. The claim is that this skill allows the Reiki channel to be opened even wider.

As part of the master course, usually the Third Degree, students become a Reiki "master" through the third initiation; they learn how to initiate students and have the option of teaching Reiki courses themselves. The student learns a further "master" level symbol in this course as well as the method of attuning others. In some cases the third level is broken into smaller stages of attunements from the teacher; the attunements for the first, second, and third level may also be administered in stages. A teacher has completed practical training when told that he or she has the ability to attune others to all degrees and has been given the final fourth Reiki Master symbol that is used in attunements.

It is up to students how many levels they want to complete. The courses are sequential, and can be expensive, especially the third (master) level. Often a teacher will require time in between one course and another (during which the student is expected to apply new learning before taking the next degree). Before offering Reiki treatments to the public, a student is often advised to take a second-degree course. It usually costs $150 to be "attuned" to reiki level I or level II. To become an official, recognized reiki master, one pays about $500 for the "attunement" process and also learns to teach and give attunements to others.

The considerable variation in the speed and method of teaching has caused some dispute. While courses are now advertised that say they can teach Reiki in just a few short days, traditionalists point out that for much of history, Reiki was kept a closely-guarded secret and was only taught to people who were considered safe and "worthy". The traditional view is that Reiki is so powerful that it can be abused by those who have not spent time developing a feel and intuition for the craft. To this extent, some believe that the "truest" Reiki is still guarded and taught slowly by only a few "genuine" Reiki masters. Students on the traditional path may be made to wait a year or more before being allowed to learn stage two, and thereafter many more years before being taught the Master level. Traditionalists maintain that any method that teaches Reiki "quickly" cannot be teaching the real thing, because there is no substitute for experience and patient mastery of the art. [9] [10]
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Reiki community

While there is no single standards organization and practitioners practice as they will, some choose to form Reiki communities. Some of these communities have grown out of informal groupings of practitioners who have organized Reiki circles for working together, while others have formed around a particular school or teacher.

Many Reiki communities have emerged due, in part, to the expanding popularity of the internet. Global initiatives have been introduced to Reiki communities thereby ("healing the planet" or "global peace fostering" for example) and online Reiki training services are available.
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Science

It is considered by scientists that very little is known about Reiki.[11] However, some proponents of Reiki consider there is an ever-increasing body of scientific research that clearly validates the benefits of Reiki, claiming the following measurable primary benefits:

* Reduced Heart Rate
* Reduced Diastolic Blood Pressure

Heart rate and diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly in people who received 30 minutes of reiki, as compared to a placebo intervention or 30 minutes of rest. “Autonomic Nervous System Changes During Reiki Treatment: A Preliminary Study” was conducted by staff of the Institute of Neurological Sciences, South Glasgow University Hospital NHS Trust, in Glasgow, United Kingdom. “No changes were found in the control group after the baseline period, indicating that the autonomic activity stabilized during the initial rest period,” state the study’s authors. “It is therefore unlikely that the significant changes in both placebo and reiki groups are due to simply lying down and resting.” [12]