Typically, when you hear someone talking about 'Reiki', what they are most likely talking about is Usui Reiki. Usui Reiki is one of the most popular forms of energy based healing used throughout the world today and helps millions of people to purify, cleanse and become more healthy, happy and peaceful.
More specifically, Usui Reiki a form of energy based healing which was developed through the spiritual work of Dr. Mikao Usui, a Japanese Buddhist monk who lived in the 19th century. For over one hundred years the practices of Usui Reiki remained in Japan, gaining popularity there until Hawayo Takata brought this beautiful healing gift to the USA. From here it spread throughout the world with their now being millions of practitioners world wide.
The word 'Reiki' was chosen to represent this system of energy based healing and it is a Japanese word stemming from two separate Japanese words (known as Kanji characters). 'Rei' meaning higher awareness, divine or perhaps the universe and 'Ki' meaning energy; this is how we can define Reiki very loosely as 'Universal Energy'.
With other types of Reiki now becoming available, this original Reiki is often referred to now as Usui Reiki to avoid any confusion. We are deeply grateful to Dr. Mikao Usui and all the Usui Reiki Masters of this world who continue to spread these beautiful universal healing gifts for the benefit of all.