Reiki Body Scanning

Body scanning is an important part of most Reiki healing sessions.  Body scanning is an intuitive method of detecting areas of the body in need of healing.  It may be called Byosen Reikan Ho.  When you learn Reiki, it is likely that  body scanning will be taught in Level II of your training.  Western-style practitioners, may use several different techniques as part of their approach to Reiki body scanning.

Opening the "third eye".  Reiki practitioners who accept the importance of chakras in healing, talk about opening the "third eye" in order to see energies that need to be unblocked.  The idea is that problems within the body will show up within the person's auras.  For example, illness may produce an aura with a hole in it or an unexpected dark spot.  Learning to see auras and disturbances in auras, takes practice.  If auras are included as part of your Reiki training, you will be given exercises that help you learn to see the subtle auras surrounding a person.

Pendulums.  The use of pendulums is another common, but non-traditional, method of body scanning.  Here, the Reiki practitioner moves a pendulum up and down the body. The motion of the pendulum will show areas where the energy is blocked by its changing direction and tempo.  The pendulum should move in different directions between the different chakras. When the pendulum does not move in a circular motion, but vertically instead, it shows that there is a problem with the energy in that area.

Byosen Reikan Ho. The more traditional method of body scanning, involves a kind of scanning with the hands.  In this approach, Reiki practitioners sweep their hands over the body (above the body). They note any changes in sensations as they move over the body.  They pay attention to such things as pain in their hands, tingling, or changes in temperature.  These sensations are said to signal an energy blockage and, thus, the presence of a problem to be addressed.

Body scanning can be used at the beginning, during, and at the end of a Reiki healing session.  When it is done prior to a Reiki healing session, scans provide healers with advance information on where to concentrate their efforts.  Used during a healing session, scans help healers know when to pause to channel Reiki and when to move on. At the end of a session, a re-scan of the body insures that the flow of energy through the body has been enhanced and is now balanced.

If you decide to learn Reiki, you will probably learn some form of body scanning as part of your Reiki training program. Exactly what you learn about body scanning, however, will depend very much on the beliefs and practices of your Reiki master.