How do you stand so still?

Bamboo Trees, Morikami Gardens
Bamboo Trees, Morikami Gardens

At a Reiki Clinic a few years ago, a recipient sat up from the table and said to myself, and my fellow practitioners, “How do you stand so still?!” We all laughed and I said, “It’s the Reiki.”

And, indeed, it is the Reiki that allows us, as practitioners, to stand so still during a session.

When I learned Reiki levels 1 and 2 in October 2001, at Kripalu in Lenox Massachusetts, standing still was one of the lessons for me.

I remember one of the students in my class advising me about using soft knees and modified yoga poses to assist in stillness.

This was enormously helpful and, even now (18 years later), I share those techniques with my students as we practice offering Reiki to others during a level 1 class. Also, as new students, trying to stay with the same hand position for at least 2 minutes can seem daunting, so having a steady base in ones feet and legs is essential.

However, is there more going on for the practitioner during a Reiki session? Is her stillness more than a mindful practice?

As a practitioner, when offering Reiki, the energy is flowing through you to the recipient. This is universal life force energy. It is universal and infinite. It cannot be depleted. You won’t use it up as it goes to your lovely client.

In this process, you, as the practitioner, enter the state of receiving Reiki and all of its calm-producing benefits.

This calmness helps one stand in stillness. Being in this state also brings focus to the mind and heightened clarity and greater awareness of sensations.

Some people have described offering Reiki as being in a trance-like state.

Trance is defined as a “half-conscious” state and I would say that in my experience, it is that way. When I’m offering Reiki, I often “go someplace else.” I am physically present in the room, aware of my surroundings, of my client and her state, and of the healing that I am facilitating, but I’m also in a completely different state than I am in my day-to-day life.

I am calmer, clearer, with laser focus — and I can stand absolutely still — and when I move from hand position to hand position, I do so smoothly and easily.

So the answer to, “How do you stand so still?” is, “Reiki!” It allows the practitioner to enter a trancelike state that facilitates focus, stillness, and heightened awareness. Ask any Reiki practitioner and they will be able to tell you their story of stillness and peace.

Hope to see you soon at a Reiki clinic, class or session to experience the peaceful trance of Reiki!