Last updated on November 29th, 2023.
There are many schools of thought about maintaining a healthy mind and body. Most people rely only on a board-certified medical professional, but they specialize in addressing disease rather than promoting health and wellness. You can reach for reiki practice to enhance your health and well-being and give added support when you need conventional medical treatment.
The 6 best online reiki certification courses include:
However, the best course for you will depend on what curriculum suits your needs and overall goals. Keep reading to learn what reiki is and how to find the best reiki certification courses available online.
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What is reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese practice that promotes overall balance. Given the level of stress most people live with, the most common response to reiki practice is relaxation and reduced stress, which promotes self-healing.
Mikao Usui founded the practice in the early 1920s, and is now practiced worldwide.
While reiki has specific ideals that act as guidelines for living a gracious life, reiki is a spiritual, not religious, practice. Many have wrapped their (often New Age) own ideology around reiki; the practice itself is non-dogmatic, meaning you don’t have to believe anything to enjoy the benefits of reiki practice.
Health Benefits of Reiki
When practiced consistently and with any needed conventional medical treatment, the benefits of reiki to your overall health can be life-changing. The practice is said to bring on feelings of peace, relaxation, security, and wellness that can optimize immunity.
While there isn’t enough quality reiki research to conclude, the most commonly reported benefits are improvements in pain and anxiety. Reiki practice can help patients recover from surgery, injury, or illness by supporting self-healing.
A person lies on a massage table fully clothed during a reiki treatment. The reiki practitioner places hands lightly on or just above the body.
How do you start reiki?
Reiki classes come in various formats: in-person, live online, and video. Choose a teacher and class format that fits you well and provides adequate guidance and practice time, both during the class and at home between sessions. Research the options and the teacher carefully, as there are no agreed-upon standards for reiki education and wide variation. Some first-degree reiki students have more extensive training and experience than others who consider themselves reiki masters.
How much does reiki training cost?
Cost might be a factor when considering which reiki certification course is best for you. Fees vary enormously and might be related to whether you have direct access to an experienced teacher.
Contemplate what teaching format is most convenient for you and the best learning environment for you. Remember that learning to practice reiki is a practical matter rather than an academic endeavor. You wouldn’t, for example, choose a meditation class that only gave instructions but didn’t include actual meditation.
Taking a reiki certification course can be costly, but remember that if you make an excellent first choice, the entry-level reiki class — First Degree or Reiki Level 1 — is likely all the training you need to practice on yourself and informally in your social circle for life. Choose the class that will equip you and support you to practice self-reiki daily, as that’s how you get the most benefit.
The 6 Best Online Reiki Certification Courses
Not all courses are created equal, and when looking online for the best reiki certification course, it is encouraged to do a side-by-side comparison. Choosing a course that fits your budget and learning style is vital to success in the art of reiki.
1. Traditional First Degree Reiki with Pamela Miles
The Traditional First Degree Reiki course with Pamela Miles is a one-of-a-kind, live, interactive, virtual training designed to restore your mind and body balance. Leveraging more than 30 dedicated years of expertise, Pamela Miles is a Reiki Master Teacher, Medical Reiki Expert, and author. Her work has been featured in mainstream media and medical journals, and she’s collaborated with numerous medical centers, including the National Institutes of Health and Harvard and Yale medical schools. That unmatched breadth of knowledge is at the forefront of this 3-session training. It will provide you with the tools, guidance, and encouragement for self-enhancement, well-being, and vitality.
This fantastic course is ideal not only for beginners who want the best possible foundation for a life of health and happiness but also for reiki practitioners seeking to enhance their practice, individuals facing challenging life circumstances such as loss, illness, or trauma, or those simply in search of a proactive wellness resource to help develop resilience on every level.
Three 3.5-hour class sessions will cover the following:
- Factual history of reiki practice
- The Reiki Precepts
- Reiki instruction and practice
- Why and how to combine reiki with conventional medicine
- Reiki initiations/empowerments
Critical aspects of Pamela’s course:
- Reiki is taught as a spiritual practice, according to the founder’s intention
- Based on traditional reiki and Hawayo Takata’s protocol
- Live, online, interactive training for small groups, including discussion and Q&A
- A proven method for achieving balance and aligning with your deepest self
- Straightforward and efficient hand positioning you can practice at any time and in any place
Expect to feel:
- Less pain. Reiki can help manage physical pain by promoting the body’s natural self-healing, which enhances circulation, reduces inflammation, and supports improved sleep, respiration, digestion, immunity, and mobility.
- Reduced stress. By inducing a state of deep relaxation, reiki helps the body lower the production of stress hormones, decreasing both physical and emotional discomfort.
- Knowledgeable. You’ll learn a non-dogmatic, traditional approach to reiki as a spiritual practice and the science that supports it. You’ll finish the course feeling confident in reiki practice, competent to practice effectively, and motivated to continue.
- Continuing benefits. As you continue your self-practice and live in a more balanced state, your enhanced self-healing will lead to improved overall health and specifically aid in recovery from surgery, procedures, illness, or accidents.
This extraordinary program is anchored in Pamela Miles’ incomparable, seasoned awareness and experience. She is a master’s master who appreciates what is required to become a reiki practitioner and beyond. It’s time to live as the person you know yourself to be and embrace that fulfilling daily life you were destined for.
2. Breathworks Miracles: Usui Reiki Certification Program
Join Julie King, a seasoned Reiki Master and teacher, as she guides you on incorporating reiki into your daily life and becoming a source of healing and well-being. The Breathworks Miracles Usui Reiki Certification program enables you to heal physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. This comprehensive online reiki training will teach you tactics to connect with your spiritual self for restored emotional balance and enhanced clarity.
Usui Reiki Level 1 curriculum ($350):
- Cho Ku Rei symbol
- The history and principles of reiki
- Understanding energy and the chakra system
- Preparing for a reiki session
- Hand positions for giving a reiki treatment
- Performing a reiki treatment on others
- Incorporating reiki into your daily life
Next, take Reiki Level 2 and expand your abilities as a practitioner. With additional reiki symbols at your disposal, this reiki certification course will provide you with the skills to alleviate physical pain, restore energy, and address karmic illnesses from the past, present, and future.
Usui Reiki Level 2 curriculum ($700):
- Sei He Ki symbol: symbolizes emotional and mental healing, addressing issues like anxiety, depression, and phobias. It can enhance memory, aid in trauma release, and balance the brain’s cognitive function.
- Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen symbol: enables distant healing by connecting to Universal Consciousness, making it invaluable for remote sessions to facilitate healing of past traumas and fostering a connection to the higher self.
Enrolling in this online reiki certification class will give you a sense of balance and extend the gift of healing to others. Plus, you’ll receive a bonus seven-chakra healing chart, complete with aromatherapy, crystals, herbs, and foods to boost your reiki practice. It can be your gateway to a more prosperous life and well-being.
3. Natural Healer: Reiki Master Certification Course Online
Natural Healer is an accredited school with the Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP) and has received numerous other certifications from other prestigious institutions.
The founder and instructor, Melissa Crowhurst, is an “Accredited Training Provider” and a Usui Master Teacher. Students who graduate from this course gain an accredited certification recognized by many associations.
In this program, you can expect instruction on all three levels of reiki: Level 1, Level 2, and master training. The program includes everything needed to become a certified reiki Master, from the basics through certification, and some bonuses.
As an additional bonus, students who purchase this course are given supplies that help them get started as a practitioner, such as posters, intake forms, and MP3 files that can be played during sessions.
This course costs $77, with everything you need to become a reiki practitioner. The cost includes videos, handbooks, workbooks, assessments, quizzes, certificates of completion, and much more. In addition, the attunement ceremonies are also scheduled with the instructor after you enroll.
Many graduates from the Natural Healer reiki course have stated that this course was “one of the best” and that Melissa, the instructor, is “patient and concise.” Overall, the course is of great value.
4. Dream Makers Academy: Reiki Care
The Dream Makers Academy Reiki Care certification offers a blend of tradition, modern understanding, and a focus on social justice. The Reiki I & II and Energy Healing program, led by certified reiki master, therapist, and coach Cynthia Santiago-Borbon, is an excellent choice for reiki training. The course is structured over eight modules, each designed to offer participants an in-depth understanding of reiki and energy healing while emphasizing hands-on practice and personal integration.
The live online classes also provide an interactive learning experience. This approach allows participants to understand the theoretical aspects of reiki and develop the practical skills needed to facilitate healing in themselves and others.
A simple breakdown of the modules
- Reiki I & II Attunements
- Reiki I & II Hand Positions
- Reiki Practice Pods
- Authentic Usui reiki training
- Meditations
- Self-Healing and Supporting Others
- Chakras and Energetic Balance
- Crystals and Their Healing Properties
Skills and Knowledge Gained
- Reiki techniques and attunements
- Energetic hand positions and self-healing practices
- Connecting with intuition and higher self
- Cleansing and protecting the aura
- Supporting mental, emotional, and physical healing
- Energy transmutation and stress reduction
- Effective use of energetic messages from clients
- Crystal healing and chakra alignment
- Empowering through practice pods
Cynthia’s course pays tribute to the ancestral component of reiki, recognizing the wisdom of those who have practiced energy healing for generations. You will be equipped with the tools to integrate reiki into your roles as therapists, coaches, leaders, and change-makers. By tapping into the power of this energy healing course, you will emerge as a skilled practitioner.
5. Reiki Store: Online Training Academy
The Reiki Healing Association accredits the Reiki Store, and they have trained more than 100,000 students in the past 24 years. Their training courses lead to Accredited Reiki Certification, internationally recognized by numerous organizations.
Although there are several instructors throughout this program, they are all accredited reiki master teachers and provide support throughout the three-week course.
This course is divided into the different levels that are purchased individually:
- Shoden Usui Reiki Level 1. Features the foundational teachings for the beginner.
- Okuden Usui Reiki Level 2. A feature for the Intermediate student
- Shinpiden Usui Reiki Level 3. Offered for more advanced students
Although the curriculum is divided into different levels, the material a student receives is significant. In addition to the thirty-plus hours of videos and lessons, students can expect access to PDFs showing hand positions and the ideal music to use in their practice.
As a Reiki Store Online Academy student, you will also receive lifetime access to the courses you purchase. The instructors allow one-on-one email support and a forum for students to connect with tutors and other students.
The cost of this course varies according to the level you are purchasing. For example, Level 1 is offered at $147, Level 2 for $197, and Level 3 for $247. Each price level builds on the previous one to ensure a quality experience.
Students of The Reiki Store have mentioned that the training is of the “highest standard” and that the course materials “reflect the true, and yet simple essence of reiki.” This course is of excellent quality for a moderate price.
6. Kathleen Hawk's Innergaia
This Reiki Certification course by Kathleen Hawk, a certified reiki master teacher who has been practicing for over 15 years, offers reiki certification in Levels 1 and 2. In addition to teaching students worldwide to be reiki masters, she is also a practitioner who provides 1:1 sessions in person and online.
This course includes video teachings and demonstrations, a manual that allows you to follow along, and one-on-one calls to guide you through the Attunement part of the certification.
This course for both levels is $347 if you pay in full or two payments of $199. The cost includes lifetime access to all of the resources available.
Students who have taken Kathleen’s reiki course have stated that she is “truly transformative” and “she embodies what she teaches.” Students worldwide have found this also to be a great value.
Choices for Reiki Certifications
The choice of the best reiki training course is up to the individual. With thought and research, you can decide which course fits your budget and your level of expectations for an online course. Whether you’re a beginner or seeking to deepen your practice, these courses provide the tools for a fulfilling adventure of self-discovery and healing. Start your reiki certification journey today!
