The Online Publication of the Reiki University
"Reiki Is Not Massage" by author Richelle
Jarrell first appeared in edited form in the February issue of Massage
Magazine. The article (below) is the complete unedited text
which was originally submitted for publication.
Florida Reiki Master Richelle Jarrell, (with her husband,
David Jarrell) has worked diligently to free Reiki from unfair regulatory
practices in their state. Richelle has organized and headed Floridians
For Reiki and Fairness for the past several years in an effort to secure
U.S. Constitutional First Amendment rights and guarantees to practice
and teach Reiki and other forms of spiritual laying on of hands healing
in the state of Florida.
Please note: the Florida Massage Board has voted
to require a massage license for Reiki practitioners and teachers in Florida,
in spite of the fact that:
1. Reiki healing does not fit the legal definition of massage under
Florida state law.
2. To require Reiki healers to obtain massage training and licensure
constitutes a monopoly in restraint of trade by the Florida massage school
industry.
For more information about Floridians For Reiki and
Fairness, please contact Richelle Jarrell directly by email at:
ReikiPlus@mindspring.com
Reiki is Not Massage
By Richelle Jarrell
The spiritual healing modality of Reiki is being regulated
as massage in Florida, Utah and North Dakota, while twenty massage therapy
boards exempt the practice of Reiki from massage licensure throughout
the US. Reiki and massage are entirely different modalities, and
work with different parts of the human system. The primary intent
of Reiki, a non-invasive healing energy channeled through the hands, is
to affect the spirit and the soul, while the primary intent of massage,
a manipulative technique using the hands, is to affect the physical body.
Secondary effects of Reiki can include relaxation of
the body, while secondary effects of massage can include a feeling of
well-being in the spirit and soul. Reiki can also be used in conjunction
with massage therapy. However, to say that these modalities are
the same or should be regulated as the same thing is incorrect and misleading.
In addition, and most importantly, regulation of the spiritual healing
modality of Reiki violates the First Amendment rights of Reiki Practitioners,
and constitutes a monopoly in restraint of trade by these massage boards.
The New York Massage Board reversed their position
that Reiki is massage in 1999 after seeing a demonstration of Reiki at
a board meeting, noting that Reiki did not fit the definition of massage
as specified in the NY state massage law. The state of Maryland
just passed their massage law with an exemption stating that "massage
therapy does not include the laying on of hands consisting of pressure
or movement on a fully clothed individual to specifically affect the electromagnetic,
energy or energetic field of the human body." The North Carolina
massage law exempts "the practice of techniques that are specifically
intended to affect the human energy field."
The qualitative differences between Reiki and massage
have been clearly recognized by the National Center for Complimentary
and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the National Institutes of Health.
The NCCAM defines five distinct domains of complementary and alternative
healing practices. Reiki is listed under "Energy Therapies",
which are "intended to affect the energy fields that surround and
penetrate the human body. According to the NCCAM, "Reiki is
based on the belief that by channeling spiritual energy through the practitioner,
the spirit is healed, and it in turn heals the physical body."
Conversely, massage is listed under the "Manipulative and Body-Based
Methods", which are defined as "methods that are based on manipulation
and/or movement of the body", wherein "massage therapists manipulate
the soft tissues of the body to normalize those tissues."
Further distinctions separate Reiki from massage.
Reiki does not require a recipient to undress, and it does not involve
the use of oils or creams rubbed into the client's body tissues.
A Reiki Practitioner does not even need to touch a client's body to perform
a Reiki treatment. When a Practitioner does touch a client's body,
the hands do not move, and the touch is feather-light. In Florida,
massage is defined as "the manipulation of the soft tissues of the
human body with the hand, foot, arm, or elbow". Clearly, Reiki
fails to meet this definition of massage therapy.
Reiki is a gentle, simple technique that anyone can
learn. The Japanese words "Rei" and "Ki", when
combined, translate to mean "life energy of a spiritual nature",
"the spiritual power of God", or "Universal Life Force
Energy". The ability to do Reiki is passed from the Reiki
Master/Teacher to the student through attunements or initiations in a
sacred ceremony. The first level of Reiki, called First Degree,
can be learned in a weekend, and students are taught how to channel Reiki
energy into their own bodies for self-healing and into others. In
the Second Level, students are taught to send Reiki long-distance to those
in need. A Second Degree Reiki practitioner can send Reiki healing
to anyone, anywhere, at any time, in a process often referred to as Long
Distance Reiki or Absentia.
Reiki students are taught that Reiki has innate intelligence,
and that the energy will flow to where it is needed in the body.
The ability to do Reiki does not depend on the student's spiritual development
or intellectual capacity, so it is available to anyone who desires to
learn more about healing. Reiki has been taught to literally tens
of thousands of people around the world, of all ages and backgrounds.
The education of a massage therapist is unnecessary
for a Reiki practitioner. I have been a Reiki practitioner since
1993, and have taught Reiki since 1996. My competency in Reiki has
never been compromised due to the fact that I lack a massage education.
The competency of my students to perform Reiki is not compromised either.
I don't want to knead, stroke, tap, press, stretch, compress or manipulate
my clients' muscles with my hands, nor do I want to perform unclothed
bodywork. I simply want to channel the spiritual healing energy
of Reiki into their bodies and touch their spirit, to help them allow
more healing into their lives.
Reiki must remain accessible to the public outside
the umbrella of massage therapy, especially for those who would be motivated
to seek out a Reiki practitioner, but not a massage therapist. One
licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in working with people
who have experienced trauma, including sexual abuse explains it this way:
"Because Reiki works with the energy field, with clothes on, with
or without touch, I would feel very comfortable referring patients for
Reiki treatment who would not be able to tolerate massage (clothes off,
prolonged touching, with far greater vulnerability of the client)."
Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York uses Reiki on its cancer patients
in active chemotherapy treatment because they cannot be massaged.
Reiki practitioners need to be able to provide Reiki
without being forced to perform unclothed bodywork and learn and pay for
information that is not essential to their work as Reiki practitioners.
Many Reiki practitioners that I personally know or who have written to
me, do not have use of their hands, either because of physical disabilities,
arthritis, surgeries on their arms, or fibromyalgia. They can perform
Reiki just fine, but they cannot manipulate muscles. These people
should not be prevented from practicing Reiki just because they cannot
attend massage school.
The Floridians for Reiki and Fairness and the Utah
Reiki Alliance are actively involved in lobbying their massage boards
to reverse these rulings, since Reiki does not involve any massage techniques,
does not require any massage training to perform the technique competently,
and fails to meet the definitions of massage outlined in the states' massage
laws. Reiki stands alone as a spiritual, therapeutic healing
modality and does not belong under the massage umbrella in any state.