How to Become a Reiki Master PLUS Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

As Reiki moved to the West, it was split into three levels: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3.

You start with level 1, which is about yourself and connecting yourself to the Reiki energy. While level 2 and 3 will deepen your understanding and connection, so you get better at healing yourself and others.

Reiki level 1 is the starting point of your journey to connect and use the Reiki energy. After that, you’ll become a practitioner and can perform healing on yourself and others.

At Reiki Level 1 you’ll learn about the Reiki, what it is, its history, the 5 principles behind it, and connect yourself to it, so you can start healing yourself and others in close distance.

You’ll also learn the basic hand techniques.

With Reiki level 2, you’ll deepen your understanding, learn about Reiki symbols and how to use them, and how to heal over distance like cross-country.

Your connection and vibration deepen massively compared to Reiki level 1. You can channel the energies better and perform distance healing over the whole planet.

Reiki 3 is the master level. Your connection got even more profound as level 2. You can draw all the Reiki symbols and do even distant attunements of all levels.

Your life and the Reiki energy will bond and give you the opportunity to share the benefits of Reiki with the world.

The costs depend on the way you take to become a Reiki master. The most common way is to attend in-person classes taught by a local Reiki master and learning directly from the teacher. In-person classes cost hundreds of dollars to even sometimes thousands of dollars, depending on the teacher, location, etc.

The other way, which is accelerated during the pandemic, is to use online courses or self-study courses like our The Reiki Master Course.

The prices are affordable and can even come at the cost of a dinner like our The Reiki Master Course because you mainly learn by yourself, at your own pace and don’t involve time from a teacher.

Starting a Reiki business is not different than starting any other business. Reiki isn’t a regulated field like doctor or layers, and you don’t need a formal accreditation. But you might need a license or permission of your state as it is often considered a massage treatment and thus requires a license.

Check with the National Association of State Boards of Healing Arts or similar institutions in your state BEFORE you start anything and obtain a license.

Yes! Although there’s some dogma that believes Reiki practitioners at level 1 can’t do it as they haven’t been “attuned” to the distance healing symbol yet.

I believe we can. Reiki is all about connecting yourself to the energy, which is an innate skill of us humans. We just need to relearn it.

Attunements help with your progress and a deeper connection. But you can also do them yourself like Usui did or work with a teacher. Both have their place and work. For some going solo works better, for others learning from a teacher.

So, yes, you can do distance healing at Reiki 1 when you feel ready yourself. Try this experiment and see if you’re ready.

A Reiki attunement is a process to connect yourself with the reiki energy and then deepening this connection. As a result, you’re getting in harmony with the higher energy and can use it better. Students better assimilate the vibration and knowledge that is contained within each level. So, your experience can be different on each level.

A teacher usually performs it to a single student in a ceremony at the end of the course. It is a highly personal experience and depends on the teacher, so it can vary a lot.

However, attunement by a teacher is not the only way. You can also self-attune as founder Usui did. But there are some dogma and discussions in the Reiki community if you need a teacher.

Sometimes attunements are more portraited as “the teacher gives the student the connection to the energy” or later synchronize them like searching for a radio channel. But I believe that is not like tuning a radio channel.

It is an initiation ritual as Pamela from Reiki, Medicine & Self-Care wrote:

Over time, I came to appreciate that my job is not to explain Reiki. Rather, my responsibility as a Reiki master is simply to teach students how to practice Reiki, to inspire them to practice daily self-treatment, and to give them the confidence that they actually can practice successfully.

It differs from person to person. Many experiences immediately massive changes like your mind become clearer, your body feels lighter, and you experience increased feelings of wellbeing and connectedness with the universe and the people around you. Some see fibrant colors like a rainbow exploding into fireworks.

But it also happens that changes are subtle, and you notice them over time like your mind becomes sharpers, things get more clear.

With the Reiki 1 attunement, you’re establishing your first connection with the Reiki energy. It’s like plugging yourself into a power socket, and the power pushes through you.

It can be overwhelming, and you should take it easy and slowly. Don’t rush. Reiki is a long-time journey and not a sprint.

But it could also happen nothing, maybe because you’re already connected to the energy and don’t feel any difference, or you might have inner blockades that hinder you at that moment.

In this case, take it slowly and try it later again after you made natural inner progress.

Reiki 2 focuses on emotional and mental aspects. You gain access to a higher vibration and deeper connection during your practice and the attunement, gradually developing a sharper awareness of yourself. Focus is on your emotional status.

The difference in energy and vibration between Reiki 1 and 2 is enormous, and you need to master it before moving on.

Don’t rush it. Better take your time to deepen and stabilizing these connections. Take at least a few months between the first degree and second Reiki attunement.

Reaching the Reiki 3 attunement is a massive change in your life again. It’s like detoxifying your life.

It powerfully transforms and heals your energy system so that many of our tools and things in life aren’t suitable anymore. So we drop our heavy pieces of baggage and make room for something new and lights.

Those changes happen naturally and can affect your careers, relationships, interests, living environments, etc.- your whole self.

Attunements generally channel positive changes in your life; not all might be pleasant at first. It’s common to have detox symptoms around physical and emotional healing.

Detox is always an abrupt change, and the body and mind need time to adapt. But like other detoxes, it depends on the person and their own resilience to deal with this situation.

It can be as hard for some to have no smartphone and internet access for a few weeks as in a digital detox camp. Or giving up coffee within a day when you can’t even start your day without having a cup of coffee or two or three.

For others, it’s only slightly noticeable.

Most commonly reported side effects to include; headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, muscle soreness, and mild skin irritation.

Detox symptoms generally lasted for 1-3 weeks. If those last longer or are too severe, talk with your Reiki teacher and a doctor right away.