The system of Reiki I’m trained in was developed by Mikao Usui who was born on 15th August 1865 in a small village called Taniai (now called Miyama cho) in the Yamagata county of the Gifu Prefecture in Japan. His family were descendants of a famous samurai clan whose origins can be traced back to a famous 12th century Samurai warrior, Usui himself was a samurai.

It is believed that Mikao Usui studied Shugendo. The dedicated practitioners of Shugendo would accomplish their training in the mountains giving them the name Yamabushi (those that lay down in the mountain). It is believed that Usui climbed Mount Kurama, and spent 21 days of serve discipline in search of a deeper spiritual connection. On the last day of his practice he had a moment of enlightenment, and this is where he experienced his spiritual awakening and the discovery of ‘’Reiki Ryoho’’ the method of becoming aware of spiritual energy.  Mikao Usui became enormously well know as a talented healer and spiritual teacher. 

Following Mikao Usui’s death on 9th March 1926 students of Usui formed a group called Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai or Society of the Usui Spiritual Energy Healing Method. Over the years his teaching of Reiki has been passed down through a Reiki lineage, which is like a family tree. It shows us that everyone attuned to the traditional system of Reiki can trace back who attuned their Master and so on. A Reiki lineage is only considered valid when it can be traced all the way back to our founder Mikao Usui in an unbroken line. His techniques were learnt by many students, which set them on their spiritual journey to a deep and profound awareness of universal healing energy.

Eastern medicine has always recognised and worked extensively with energy, acknowledging that balanced energy is vital to well-being. In China energy is called Qi or Chi and Prana in India. The Reiki method and lineage I have studied and trained in was developed by Dr Mikao Usui in the late 1800’s and has been taught and used in the UK since the late 1900’s. 

Much of the Western lineage of reiki teachings have grown around the Indian chakra system, but when Mikao Usui created the system of reiki, this was not being used in Japan.  There did exist a concept of energy centres in Japanese and other Eastern traditions, but these focused on three main points instead of seven.  The basis of this understanding is the same as the chakra points and they are called Dantian points in Chinese, or simply the 3 diamonds representing mind, body, spirit or as we use them in reiki; heaven, earth and oneness