“Two heads are better than one.”
Power comes in numbers. Two people who work well together can create magic.
Similarly, I have found that combining two healing arts can greatly enhance their individual powers. Especially when they combine as well as Reiki and Yoga.
After reading this article, you will see how these unique healing arts blend effortlessly together, allowing for an integrated healing experience.
What is Reiki?
For an in-depth explanation of what Reiki is, check out my blog: “What is Reiki: Everything you need to know + 9 ways it can energize your daily life.”
In a nutshell, Reiki is a hands-on technique from Japan to channel life-force energy for healing.
There are many uses for Reiki. One important way to use this powerful force is for deep relaxation and spiritual development. Reiki restores and balances the body, promoting health, well-being, and aliveness. It brings balance to your physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and psychic bodies.
Through specific hands-on techniques, you can use Reiki to alleviate pain, help treat different ailments, and improve well-being.
Reiki is unique because of its versatility and accessibility. Anyone can practice Reiki and the only equipment you need is your hands.
Because of its simple yet radically effective nature, Reiki is a great healing art to pursue. It allows you to integrate calmness, embodiment, and a slower pace in your life to contrast with the busy and chaotic society we live in.
You know what else allows you to do this? Yoga!
What is Yoga?
The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning to yoke or direct and concentrate one’s attention on; to use and apply. It also means union or communion.
“[Yoga means] the yoking of all the powers of body, mind and soul to God; it means the disciplining of the intellect, the mind, the emotions, the will.... It means a poise of the soul which enables one to look at life in all its aspects evenly.” – Mahadev Desai
Yoga therapy is fundamentally a practice of refining the fluctuations of consciousness. Using postures, meditation, mantras, and breath, yoga cultivates deep awareness in the body, mind, and spirit.
Yoga therapy and dance yoga are excellent for anyone wishing to create a clearer sense of ease, alignment, strength, and vitality in the body. In that sense, yoga is both physical AND spiritual. It relies on a deep listening and tuning into the body.
“When his/her mind, intellect and self (ahamkara) are under control, freed from restless desire, so that they rest in the spirit within, a wo/man becomes a Yukta – one in communion with God […] When the restlessness of the mind, intellect and self is stilled through the practice of Yoga, the yogi by the grace of the Spirit within her/himself finds fulfillment. Then s/he knows the joy eternal which is beyond the pale of the senses which her/his reason cannot grasp. S/he abides in this reality and moves not there from. S/he has found the treasure above all others. There is nothing higher than this. S/he who has achieved it, shall not be moved by the greatest sorrow. This is the real meaning of Yoga: a deliverance from contact with pain and sorrow.”
– Bhagavad Gita, chapter 6
Why Combine Reiki and Yoga?
From “yoga massages” to “yoga boot camps,” yoga has been adapted to virtually every context possible. While not all of these variations adhere to the traditional foundations and philosophies of yoga, they do speak for the adaptable nature of this practice.
Similarly to Reiki, yoga can be practiced with minimal equipment and its poses can be adapted to different levels of mobility.
Apart from its physical benefits, yoga also has deep emotional and spiritual effects.
Are you familiar with that mesmerizing sensation you get during yoga practice when you have escaped your mind? You are focused on your breath and the flow of energy in your body. You are not thinking about what you will have for dinner or the argument you got into in the morning. You are in the present moment. Your attention is within and your awareness extends to your body.
Whether you practice yoga to gain flexibility or strengthen your core, there is an undeniable effect that extends beyond physical exercise, which is an overall feeling of relaxation and peace of mind.
You will find great value in pairing Reiki and yoga together because as well as both being accessible and versatile, they share these same meditative healing qualities.
Both are a kind of energetic medicine and will allow you to deepen and intensify your experience with each of them.
18 ways to combine Reiki and Yoga for healing:
1. Reiki and restorative yoga poses
Bring the effectiveness of your restorative yoga poses to the next level! Use Reiki during restorative yoga poses that focus on the same area you are treating with Reiki energy. Use Reiki hand positions to channel the energy in the desired area. The slow pacing of restorative yoga gives Reiki the time to flow into each position being treated.
2. Use yoga poses that open up each chakra before a Reiki session
3. Use Reiki healing in parts of the body particularly beneficial for what you are treating
For example, use Reiki on the hips to let the energy flow within your body and help heal injuries.
4. Yoga that opens up the body for Reiki Different wrist warm-up exercises can help you open up the channels for Reiki. 5. Yoga assisting (spotting) using Reiki hands
Yogis: When assisting yoga students, use Reiki hands on specific areas to deepen the experience.
6. Working with specific pathologies using yoga and Reiki
You can combine focused yoga poses and Reiki hand positions to work with different pathologies, such as: • shoulder tightness • coughs • sciatica 7. Head positions The eyes, ears, side of the head, and throat positions can all be practiced during lying-down restorative yoga poses.
8. Treating the third eye
One option for treating the Ajna (third eye) chakra is to add Garudasana (Eagle) arms. Balance this out by doing both sides.
Front of the body: There are many types of lying-down restorative poses that you can combine with Reiki healing to treat the front body.
9. For energy to flow freely Use a bolster under the back with an added support for the head to allow the energy of the body to flow comfortably into the organs and enable the receiver to stay longer in each pose.
10. To treat the heart Treat the Anahata (heart) chakra by emphasizing the heart. Put a bolster or round block specifically under the heart area to encourage the front of the heart to expand while your hands are simultaneously treating the same area.
11. For extra support You can add extra support to the elbows so the arms may rest as you go through each position. Having every body part resting on something allows the body to surrender into the support.
12. Put the legs in Supta Virasana to bring a focus into the Manipura (solar plexus) chakra. If this is too much of a stretch on the lower back or quads, place a higher lift under the back. This is excellent for digestion and a great practice to do after a meal. 14. Badokonasana, butterfly pose, is a great way to bring focus to the Svadistana (sacral) chakra. If you add a strap and support at the distal end of the femur bones, the leg adductor muscles have the opportunity to surrender more deeply. 15. Other options for the legs when treating the front body include Padmasana, simple forward bend, lotus, or simple cross-legged. If the hip adductors do not accommodate a deep stretch, add blocks under the knees.
16. Shoulder stand, or Karnapidasana, is a great pose with which to Reiki the kidneys. 17. The knees can be given Reiki from a supported butterfly pose (Badokonasana). 18. There are many options to Reiki the feet, including a supported forward bend (Paschimotonasa), butterfly pose (Badokonasana), or hero’s pose (Virasana).
The sky is the limit for combining Reiki with yoga. Use your imagination to discover new ways you can harness the power of these two healing arts to enhance their positive benefits.
What ways do you have of combining Reiki and Yoga? Drop a comment below!
