Have you learned Reiki and now want to deepen your skills and exchange Reiki with others? Organize a Reiki Circle! Here are a few things to keep in mind when hosting a Reiki Circle:
- Participants. Make a lis
t of who you will invite. It could be people you met in class or participants at a Reiki Circle who you’ve exchanged contact information with. If you’re planning a larger event, how will you reach out to people who might be interested? Reaching out on social media, a mailing list or an online events board are all good options. - Space. Depending on the number of people you plan to invite and your comfort level with them, you could host the Circle in a room in your apartment or use another space you have access to. All you need is a massage table or a few chairs and you’ll be ready to practice.
- Time. How long do you want your circle to last? Keep in mind the number of practitioners, whether you’re using a massage table or chairs, the number of positions you plan to cover and how long you will treat each position. With participants taking turns on the table, many hands make for a quick treatment, but more participants to be treated. If using chairs you could practice in pairs and be done in just 2 turns. In both cases, it will be important to have someone who keeps time, or set up a timer to ding each time you change position.
- Practice. This depends on who you plan to invite. With your friends from Reiki class or Circle, will you do the full treatment as you learned in Reiki 1, or will you use advanced techniques if you’ve all taken Reiki 2? If practicing with students of other lineages, you have to make clear that the treatment is hands-on and go over the positions you will cover. Check with participants about their comfort level with other healing modalities if planning to use those as well.
- Cost. Consider if there will be a charge to cover expenses such as space rental and other supplies. If practicing with a small group, perhaps you will take turns hosting the Reiki Circle, or have different people in charge of bringing the table, snacks and other necessities.
- Comfort. Aware of how sensitive we feel when receiving Reiki, consider providing these to make the experience comfortable for all participants:
- Music. Meditative music can help us relax and enter into the healing vibration of Reiki. Keeping other sounds to a minimum is recommended. The music can be integrated with an interval timer for changing positions.
- Do not disturb. There is nothing like a ringing phone or needless talking during treatments to take us out of that meditative space.
- Hand sanitizer. Let’s practice with clean hands.
- Tissues. These are important to use for cleanliness especially on our eyes and forehead, or other areas of the body so our hands don’t stick to exposed skin.
- Drinks and snacks. After a Reiki session, something to drink and salty or sweet snacks can help gently bring awareness back to the body.
- Candles. Wonderful to set the mood, though be mindful of people’s sensitivities around scent.
- Eye mask, pillows, blankets. These are important for comfort on the massage table, and when we feel cold after a deeply relaxing Reiki treatment.
