Reiki Treatment for Animals

There are several major differences between working on animals and humans, and it is important to understand and remember them, as you set about your work. First, it is of utmost importance to do Reiki animal healing on your pets as soon as you sense any changes in behavior habits; i.e., temperament, eating, elimination and general malaise.

*NOTE: the quicker you treat animals, the quicker their return to health and balance. Since animals can't talk, we need to be aware of subtle changes in our pet's behavior. If you come home and your pet seems lethargic and unconcerned with your presence, or licking itself more than ordinary, or doesn’t have energy to eat, play, etc., it could be they are not feeling well.

Animals can easily get hurt when we are away; jumping, playing, chasing toys or feeling energetic and trying to dissipate it by running around the house. If an injury is allowed to swell, excessive fluids can gather in and around the injury, increasing pressure and decreasing the flow of energy to the area of injury. This can result in permanent damage to tissues and lengthen treatment time.

When we become attuned to Reiki, we often want to treat every hurt or sickness, and in our exuberance to be helpful, we may force a hands-on treatment on our animals—making the animal mad enough to strike out at us. It is good to remember to approach any injured or sick animal with caution and love. Move towards an animal slowly, and pet the animal lightly; pay attention to any area which appears to be sensitive to touch.

When applying Reiki healing, lay your hands ever-so-gently on the area in question; try to ascertain the possible cause for the animal's discomfort. Do not force the animal to sit still, while you do your work; rather raise your hands just off the surface of the body. Reiki will flow equally even if the hands are up to 4 inches above the skin. Do spend extra time on sensitive areas, but remember to treat the animals entire body—other parts reacting to the initial injury can be energized and brought into balance. Also, continue to treat, until the animal is back to their normal routines, without any symptoms. Animals seem to take longer to respond to energy treatments than do humans. Treat the animals daily, for as long as it takes and treat them with gentleness, spending whatever time is required to help them get back to their playful natures.

If your animal in not acting lively, is shy and won't eat, and won't allow you to treat with hands-on, then try beaming energy to it from a short distance. We sit in a chair and when a sick or injured animal does come close or lies down near the chair, we just hold our closest hand over or toward the animal. When they have enough, they will move away, and often later return to receive additional energy. If your animal will not permit treatment, but is not acting normal, take it to the veterinarian. Ask to be in the room with the doctor or assistant, and learn from them; ask questions, and give support to your pet.

They will remember the loving care they received and will associate you with it. When your pet next needs care and attention, they will come to you more readily. Remember, Reiki is a higher frequency vibration and it may take time before animals become accustomed to the energy. But when they do, they will seek it out whenever they become imbalanced.

Treating Animals With Reiki Healing

When treating animals with Reiki, it is good to remember that all life-forms utilize "Universal" energy, and that all run optimally when filled with it.

When treating domestic animals (farm and house) with Reiki healing, it is good to start the treatment by laying hands at the base of the ears near the neck. This seems to calm down animals, and as in humans, when the body is relaxed, stress free, energy flows more easily and in greater supply. Then the animal can be treated systematically (hand positions similar to those for humans) or simply lay hands on the areas that you sense are in pain or imbalance. Be guided by your inner sense and feelings as to where to lay hands and how long to leave them in the positions chosen.

When working on small animals (mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, frogs, and birds), just cup your hands gently around their bodies, without pressure. You may experience a rapid heartbeat, but not to worry, the animal will relax. Obviously, you would not try to place your big hands on such small animals, but just allow the animal to be surrounded in Reiki energy within your cupped hands. If you treat small animals during their sleep cycles, keep the hands just above the surface of their skin, so not to disturb them.

If the case of caged wild birds or fish in a tank, it is best to place your hands around the cage or tank and just allow the energy to flow between your hands; in this case it may be good to treat for 20 to 30 minutes so the small creatures can have time to absorb the energy they need.

The larger the animal to be worked on, the more positions a practitioner needs to do in order to give the animal a healthy dose of energy. If animals are considered poisonous, wild and dangerous, it is best to treat them by distant techniques (Reiki Level 2). We do recommend you keep a journal of your treatment experiences on animals, and in time you will build a valuable file on how best to treat animals that are more specific.

It is advisable to secure anatomy charts of animals that you will be working on regularly, so that you will know where the most important organs are and can treat them most efficaciously. The organ placement of dogs and cats are different from those of human bodies. Here are a few facts that we have found important in our practice on animals.

When treating injured or tame birds with Reiki healing, place their body in one open hand, making sure their wings are folded back against their body in a natural position. Make sure their sternum is able to move freely, as this is how they breath.

If you are treating a cat for "feline leukemia", you want to cover the neck area and under the jaws; this is where their lymph nodes are located. You will want to work on the chest where the thymus gland sits and on the belly about 2 inches up from the hind legs on the cats left side (belly up). This is effective in building up an immunity to the leukemia. A good hand position would be to have the cat lying on it belly, and place your thumbs just below the rib cage and the fingers underneath the cat's body. Just remember to treat the entire body, with exception to the head, legs and feet. If your cat has a bladder infection, be sure to place your hands over the pelvic area on top near the spine. This sends Reiki energy to the spinal nerves that enervate the bladder. If an animal has a spinal injury, it is effectively treated by placing the heel of one hand at the base of the tail, with fingers pointed toward the head, and the heel of the other hand at the base of the neck, with fingers pointed toward the base of the spine. Then treat other areas of the body that appear to be traumatized by the injury.

Just remember a couple of important facts...animals, specially wild ones and those that roam freely out-of-doors can become rabid, and caution must be taken to prevent being bitten. If you are bitten, take the animal to a veterinarians and describe what happened. Also, do not force an animal to sit still while you do Reiki Healing on them; they have their own time to physically transition when their life's chosen aim and purpose is completed, and as such, they have free will not to accept energy that would thwart their situation. Every animal is different and unique, and only by working with them, and not on them, will you come to appreciate the freedom (not domination) of animals, and be gifted with true "unconditional love".