Begin your reiki journey here …

If you're drawn to the gentle yet profound power of Reiki, you've arrived at the right place. Becoming a Reiki practitioner is more than just learning a technique – it's embarking on a transformative path that deepens your intuition, enhances your well-being, and empowers you to facilitate healing for friends, family, clients, and even pets. Join our supportive community at Atlas Yoga Studio and School, where you'll receive authentic lineage training, hands-on experience, and ongoing mentorship. Your journey to becoming a certified Reiki practitioner starts here."

Shoden is a Japanese word meaning 'first teachings'. These are the first teachings of the system of Reiki. In our practical Shoden courses you will learn how to help yourself with a daily healing practice and how you can also help your friends and family using Japanese healing techniques.

Reiki Level I and II are being offer in the Winter and Spring of 2027. Scroll down for dates, times, location.

Reiki I: Program at a Glance

Embark on your foundational journey into the world of Reiki with our Level I certification course. This engaging program introduces you to the history and core principles of Usui Reiki, including the five precepts for daily living. You'll receive your first Reiki attunement, a sacred process that opens your energy channels, connecting you to the universal life force energy. Through hands-on practice, you'll learn essential techniques for self-healing and how to effectively offer Reiki treatments to friends, family, and even pets, promoting deep relaxation, stress reduction, and overall well-being. This immersive experience lays the groundwork for your personal healing path, fostering heightened intuition and a profound connection to yourself and the world around you.

Who is this Reiki Training For?

Our Reiki I training is designed for a diverse range of individuals who are ready to explore energy healing for personal growth and to support others.

This training is ideal for:

• Individuals curious about energy healing: No prior experience or knowledge of Reiki is required. If you're seeking tools for self-care, stress reduction, and a deeper connection to your inner self, this course is your perfect starting point.

  • explore energy work to support relaxation and overall wellbeing

  • learn techniques to reduce stress and anxiety

  • enhance your self-care routine with a grounded spiritual practice

  • experience the healing flow of reiki energy for emotional balance

• Health Professionals (Nurses, Massage Therapists, Social Workers, etc.): Reiki Level I provides gentle, non-invasive techniques that can beautifully complement existing practices, offering an additional modality to support client relaxation, manage stress, reduce anxiety, and promote overall well-being. It can also serve as a powerful self-care tool to prevent burnout in demanding fields.

• Yoga Teachers & Therapists: Deepen your understanding of energy and prana, enriching your ability to guide students towards profound relaxation and energetic balance. Reiki can be seamlessly integrated into savasana, restorative poses, or used as a standalone offering to enhance your students' healing journey and expand your professional toolkit.

• Anyone seeking personal transformation: If you're looking for a profound way to enhance your intuition, foster emotional balance, and embark on a path of spiritual development, Reiki I offers a tangible and empowering method to achieve these goals.

Whether you're looking to apply Reiki in your personal life, within a professional setting, or simply to understand energy more deeply, this foundational course provides the attunement and practical skills to begin your healing journey.

Reiki I: About the Program

Join us for an illuminating introduction to the profound practice of Usui Reiki. In this comprehensive Level I certification course, you will delve into the rich history and origins of Reiki, understanding its foundations and the journey it has taken to reach us today. We'll explore energetic anatomy, guiding you through the intricate workings of the human Aura and the Chakra System, and how these energy centers influence our well-being. A cornerstone of the program is the powerful Reiki Level I attunement, a sacred process that opens your personal energy channels, enabling you to connect with universal life force energy. You will master the essential techniques for your own Reiki Self-Healing System, empowering you with daily tools for balance and restoration. Furthermore, you'll learn the specific Reiki hand placements for sessions for others, gaining hands-on practice in a supportive environment, and discover creative ways how to use Reiki in your home, garden, and beyond! Upon completion, you will proudly receive a detailed manual, your transformative Reiki Level I attunement, and a beautiful Reiki I Certificate.

In the Reiki Level I Course, You Will Learn:

• The Rich History and Origins of Usui Reiki: Understand where this beautiful practice comes from and its evolution.

• Energetic Anatomy: Explore the human energy system, including the Aura and the Chakra System, and their role in well-being.

• The Power of Your Reiki Level I Attunement: Experience a sacred process that opens your energy channels to universal life force energy.

• Your Personal Reiki Self-Healing System: Learn practical hand placements and techniques for daily balance and self-care.

• Reiki Hand Placements for Others: Discover how to effectively offer calming and supportive Reiki sessions to friends, family, and pets.

• Hands-On Practice: Gain confidence through guided practice sessions in a nurturing environment.

• Expanding Reiki's Reach: Learn creative ways to integrate Reiki into your daily life, home, garden, and more.

• The Five Reiki Principles: Explore the foundational ethical guidelines that enhance your practice and daily living.

Upon Completion, You Will Receive:

• A comprehensive, detailed Reiki Level I Manual for continued study and reference.

• Your transformative Reiki Level I Attunement, empowering you to channel healing energy.

• A formal Reiki Level I Certificate, acknowledging your successful completion and new qualification.

Reiki Level II: Deepen Your Connection

Expand Your Practice.

There comes a point in every Reiki journey when the practice begins to ask a little more of us—not to do more, but to trust more.

Reiki Level II is an invitation to deepen your relationship with this beautiful practice, strengthen your intuition, and discover new ways of sharing Reiki with yourself and others.

Whether you completed Reiki Level I with me or trained with another Reiki Master, you are warmly welcomed into this next stage of your journey.

Throughout this immersive training, you'll receive your Reiki Level II attunement and be introduced to the traditional Reiki symbols that have been passed through generations of practitioners. Together, we'll explore how these symbols can bring greater intention, focus, and depth to your Reiki practice while honouring the simplicity that lies at the heart of Reiki.

One of the most transformative aspects of Level II is learning the art of distance Reiki. You'll discover how to offer Reiki beyond physical presence, allowing you to support loved ones, clients, and your own personal practice in meaningful new ways.

This course is more than learning techniques—it's an opportunity to cultivate presence, confidence, and trust in yourself as a practitioner. Through guided discussion, experiential learning, partner practice, meditation, and reflection, you'll leave feeling supported, inspired, and ready to integrate these teachings into everyday life.

During this training you'll explore:

• Your Reiki Level II attunement

• The traditional Reiki symbols and their practical applications

• Distance Reiki techniques and practice

• Strengthening intuitive awareness while staying grounded

• Creating intentional Reiki sessions with confidence

• Practitioner ethics, boundaries, and self-care

• Plenty of hands-on practice giving and receiving Reiki

Whether you hope to deepen your own healing journey, offer Reiki more confidently to family and friends, or begin expanding your professional wellness practice, Reiki Level II provides the knowledge, experience, and community to help you take that next step.

Join us for a weekend of learning, practice, and connection as we continue walking the Reiki path together—with curiosity, intention, and an open heart. 

Prerequisite: Reiki Level I certification with any Reiki lineage or teacher. Please bring your certificate to day one for verification. 

Investment: $190. With this, You'll receive ongoing mentorship and practical guidance, leaving with not only your certification, but the confidence to actually use what you've learned.

Atlas YTT and teacher special pricing: $100

What is Reiki and Why Does it Matter?

What is Reiki:

Reiki is the energy of transformation. It is the practice of channeling universal life force energy, often described as gentle, soothing, and loving. This energy inherently works for your Highest Good, helping you move forward on your path and encouraging you to live a healthy, balanced life aligned with your Divine Truth and the next steps in your personal journey. A Reiki session often feels like receiving a comforting hug from the Universe, providing a profound sense of support and peace. It gently assists in releasing blocked energy, promoting deep relaxation across all levels of self – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Beyond personal healing, Reiki's versatile energy can be used to support people, plants, animals, and even machines, extending its benefits to Earth healing and transmitting positive energy for situations and world events.

Why Does it Matter?

In today's fast-paced world, filled with stressors and constant demands, the need for balance and inner peace has never been more critical. Reiki matters because it offers a powerful yet gentle pathway to holistic well-being and personal empowerment. It provides a tangible method for stress reduction and profound relaxation, helping to quiet the mind and soothe the nervous system. By supporting the release of energetic blocks, Reiki can facilitate emotional healing and mental clarity, allowing us to navigate life's challenges with greater resilience and compassion. Whether you seek to alleviate physical discomfort, find emotional equilibrium, enhance your spiritual connection, or simply maintain a state of harmony, Reiki provides a practical and loving tool. It empowers individuals to take an active role in their own healing, fostering a deeper connection to their intuition and the universal energy that surrounds us all. In essence, Reiki matters because it helps us rediscover our innate capacity for healing and live a more balanced, joyful, and connected life.

Reiki Level 2 (often called Okuden, or "Inner Teachings") marks a significant shift from the physical focus of Level 1 to the subtle, mental, and emotional realms. Where Level 1 is primarily about self-healing and physical grounding, Level 2 focuses on moving energy across space, time, and deeper subconscious layers.

1. The Power of Sacred Symbols

At Level 2, you are attuned to three sacred symbols. They act as "focusing lenses" or keys that unlock specific vibrational frequencies:

• Cho Ku Rei (The Power Symbol):

  • Focus: Amplification, grounding, physical protection, and clearing space.

  • Application: Draws in universal energy like a magnifying glass. Used to "turn on" the energy flow, seal a healing session, or clear negative energy from a room/object.

• Sei He Ki (The Mental/Emotional Symbol):

  • Focus: Emotional balance, mental clarity, subconscious healing, and boundary restoration.

  • Application: Works directly with the limbic system and emotional body. Excellent for dissolving emotional blockages, easing anxiety, letting go of old habits, and resolving deeply ingrained trauma.

• Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen (The Distance/Connection Symbol):

  • Focus: Transcending physical space and linear time.

  • Application: Connects energy across physical distances (absentee healing) and timeline shifts—sending healing to past wounds, ancestral patterns, or future situations (e.g., job interviews, upcoming surgeries).

2. Distance & Non-Local Healing (Enkaku Chiryo)

Distance healing operates on the principle that at a quantum or subtle level, energy is not bound by physical distance or time.

• Key Techniques:

  • Surrogate Method: Using an object (a pillow, teddy bear, or a drawing of a human outline) to represent the recipient's body while channeling energy.

  • Visualisation Method: Holding a vivid mental image of the recipient in your mind's eye or between your hands.

  • Thigh/Knee Method: Using your own thighs to represent the front and back of the recipient's body.

• The Principle of Intent & Consent:

  • Always seek explicit permission before sending distance Reiki. If permission cannot be obtained (e.g., a person in a coma or an emergency situation), intend for the energy to go to "their Higher Self, for their highest good, or to be released into the Earth if not received."

3. Healing Across Time: Past, Present & Future

Level 2 introduces the concept that the past and future are accessible through present-moment awareness.

• Past Life & Inner Child Healing:

  • Sending Reiki back to a specific age or traumatic event in your own or a client's life to soothe the emotional imprint left behind.

  • Note: This does not erase history; it neutralises the emotional charge connected to the memory.

• Future Empowerment:

  • Sending energy ahead to a specific future date or event to reduce anxiety, promote smooth transitions, and align the situation with the highest good.

4. Energetic Protection & Space Clearing

With the increased flow of energy coming through you, maintaining boundaries and clean environments becomes essential:

• Clearing Spaces: Draw Cho Ku Rei in the corners of a room, doorway, or treatment area to dissolve stagnant energy and elevate the room's vibration.

• Personal Protection: Draw Cho Ku Rei over your chakras or surround yourself with a visualised bubble of light sealed with the symbol to prevent absorbing a client's or environment's heavy energy.

• Clearing Objects: Purify crystals, room sprays, or personal items by drawing Cho Ku Rei and Sei He Ki over them with clear intent.

5. Subtle Changes to Expect Post-Attunement

• Sensory Refinement: You may feel energy more intensely—as distinct temperature shifts (heat, cold), tingling, visual colors, or intuitive hits (clairsentience or claircognizance).

• The 21-Day Cleansing Cycle: Following a Level 2 attunement, a 21-day period of physical, emotional, and energetic processing often occurs. You may notice vivid dreams, emotional releases, or sudden shifts in personal boundaries.

• Increased Responsibility: Level 2 prepares you for offering Reiki professionally to others. It demands greater commitment to personal inner work (Jibun To No Tabi) to ensure you remain a clear channel.

Key Rule of Thumb: Energy follows thought. Symbols are tools to sharpen focus, but intent, compassion, and presence remain the true drivers of Reiki practice.

Program Registration

Ready to get started? Click on the link below and join us

Two day Program - 12-5pm

Reiki Level I - January 30/31, 2027
Reiki Level II - April 24/25, 2027

20 Park Hill Road East, Cambridge, Ontario

Atlas Yoga Teachers and Yoga Teacher Training Graduates get a program discount. Check with Denise or Danielle for details.

Meet the Teacher

Danielle Hughes
is a dedicated yoga instructor, enchanted living guide, and somatic movement facilitator with a passion for integrating mind, body, and spirit. Her work is rooted in the belief that movement is more than just exercise-it’s a sacred conversation between the body and soul.

A Master Reiki Practitioner with certifications in yoga, personal training, group fitness, Thai yoga massage, mindfulness, and more, she brings a deeply holistic approach to every class, workshop, and retreat she leads. Danielle’s offerings blend movement, breathwork, and intuitive practices to create spaces for grounding, transformation, and inner connection.

Specializing in somatic yoga, restorative practices, and ritual-based movement infuses her teaching with seasonal wisdom, personal rituals, and a touch of mysticism.

You’ll often find Danielle training folks with soul, guiding meditations under the moon, holding space in women’s circles, and whispering wisdoms from the earth.

A perpetual student of life, deeply inspired by folklore, rhythm, and the cycles of nature.

We invite you to move, breathe, and create something sacred together. 

program details

Location:
Atlas Yoga Studio and School
20 Park Hill Road East
Cambridge, ON

Date/Time:
Two Day Program
12-5pm

Reiki Level I - January 30/31, 2027
Reiki Level II - April 24/25, 2027

Tuition:
175.00 - register now by clicking here

What to Bring:
Dress comfortably
Bring a snack and water bottle
Bring something to take notes with

Research

It's important to approach research on complementary therapies like Reiki with an understanding that while a growing body of positive findings exists, the scientific community often calls for more large-scale, rigorously controlled trials to meet the highest standards of evidence in conventional medicine.

That said, here's a list of significant and generally positive research articles, particularly focusing on systematic reviews and meta-analyses, which synthesize findings from multiple studies. These represent a more robust form of evidence in the scientific hierarchy.

Key Meta-Analyses and Reviews Suggesting Positive Impacts:

1. Guo, J., Wang, J., Yang, Y., Li, F., & Li, M. (2025). Effects of Reiki therapy on quality of life: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Systematic Reviews, 14(1), 72.

   • Highlights: This very recent meta-analysis (published early 2025) found a significant enhancement in quality of life post-Reiki therapy. It specifically noted effectiveness for patients with cancer, surgical patients, chronic illnesses, and the general population, suggesting benefits in short, acute sessions and longer, more frequent ones. It also states that Reiki has shown no harmful effects.

2. Guo, J., Wang, J., Yang, Y., Li, F., & Li, M. (2024). Therapeutic effects of Reiki on interventions for anxiety: a meta-analysis. Journal of Integrative Medicine, 22(3), 209-218.

   • Highlights: This meta-analysis concluded that "Reiki therapy has been found to have a significant effect on anxiety reduction," indicating effectiveness in reducing health and procedural anxiety in patients with chronic conditions and in the general adult population.

3. Thrane, L., Hansen, A., & Sølling, I. K. (2021). The effect of Reiki therapy on pain: A systematic review of clinical trial studies. Pain Management Nursing, 22(2), 177-184.

   • Highlights: This systematic review found evidence that Reiki can help alleviate pain. While acknowledging varied results, the overall trend supports its use for pain management.

4. Baldwin, A. L., & Vitale, A. (2017). Effects of Reiki on pain, anxiety, and blood pressure in patients undergoing major surgery. Holistic Nursing Practice, 31(2), 80-89.

   • Highlights: This randomized, placebo-controlled trial found that Reiki therapy significantly enhanced pain management and reduced anxiety and blood pressure in patients undergoing knee replacement surgery. It suggested that Reiki produced discernible results beyond just placebo effects in this context.

5. Miles, P. (2017). Reiki Is Better Than Placebo and Has Broad Potential as a Complementary Health Therapy. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2017.

   • Highlights: This review, while not a meta-analysis, examines multiple studies and concludes there is "reasonably strong support for Reiki being more effective than placebo." It emphasizes Reiki's safety and its ability to activate the parasympathetic nervous system to induce profound relaxation, alleviating anxiety and stress.

6. Bowden, D., Goddard, L., & Gruzelier, J. (2010). A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of Reiki for pain, anxiety and depression. Massage Magazine, 184, 77.

   • Highlights: One of the earlier meta-analyses that indicated Reiki's effectiveness in reducing pain, anxiety, and depression.

Where to Access These Articles:

Many of these articles, especially the meta-analyses, are often available through academic databases (like PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL) or directly via ResearchGate or university library portals. Some may require institutional access or a purchase fee, while others are open access.

When citing research, it's always good practice to mention that while positive findings are emerging and consistent, the scientific rigor of studies on complementary therapies is continually improving, and more large-scale research is often recommended by the researchers themselves.

Further REading

Atlas Blog Article: Harmonizing Flow: Reiki and Yoga - A Perfect Partnership

Books on Reiki:

1. Foundational/Classic Texts:

• "Reiki: Universal Life Energy" by Bodo Baginski & Shalila Sharamon

  • Why: An early and widely influential book in the West, providing a comprehensive overview of Reiki principles and techniques.

• "The Reiki Handbook: A Simple Guide to the Universal Life Force" by Walter Lubeck

  • Why: Another foundational text that offers practical guidance and a clear explanation of Reiki.

• "The Spirit of Reiki: The Complete Handbook of the Usui-Do System" by Walter Lubeck, Frank Arjava Petter, & William Lee Rand

  • Why: This book delves deeper into the history and spiritual aspects of Reiki, offering insights from multiple perspectives.

• "Reiki: The Healing Touch (First and Second Degree Manual)" by William Lee Rand

  • Why: As the founder of The International Center for Reiki Training, Rand's manuals are widely used in Western Reiki courses and provide clear, practical instructions.

2. Popular Guides & Modern Perspectives:

• "Essential Reiki: A Complete Guide to an Ancient Healing Art" by Diane Stein

  • Why: A very popular and accessible guide, particularly noted for its clear explanations and empowering tone.

• "Reiki for Life: The Complete Guide to Reiki Practice for Levels 1, 2 & 3" by Penelope Quest

  • Why: Offers a practical and user-friendly approach to learning and applying Reiki in daily life.

• "Reiki for Dummies" by Nina L. Paul

  • Why: A great starting point for beginners, breaking down concepts in an easy-to-understand format.

• "Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide" by Pamela Miles

  • Why: Pamela Miles is known for her work in bringing Reiki into mainstream healthcare settings, offering a perspective on its clinical applications and research.

3. Books on Reiki and Specific Applications:

• "Reiki for Animals" by Kathleen Prasad

  • Why: A leading voice in animal Reiki, offering guidance on applying Reiki to pets and other animals.

• "The Original Reiki Handbook of Dr. Mikao Usui" by Mikao Usui (translated by Frank Arjava Petter)

  • Why: Provides insight into Usui's original teachings for those interested in the historical roots.