In Yoga, one of the fundamental constructs is breathing (which of course is highly beneficial… I recommend that everyone try it… at least once ). The science of yogic breathing is called Pranayama and there are a few fundamentals of it that can be quite nicely added to either a Reiki treatment or a Reiki meditation to make them all the more pleasant and all the more powerful.

In some forms of Hawaiian Huna there is a practice called “Ha” Breathing and Hiroshi Doi Sensei teachers a version of with several of his Reiki exercises as well (I’m not sure if these come directly from Dr. Usui or not but I’m fairly certain they are practiced by the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai). In the Hawaiian Language “Ha” means actually means breath, and the word “Hawaii” translates roughly as “the supreme life force that rides on the breath” which suggests that besides the obvious necessity for breathing, there is also another (dare I say mystical) quality to breathing that can transfer life force (Japanese Ki) to those who do it right… which is what Pranayama strives for.

There are some “New” Reiki techniques such as the breath of fire, violet or purple breath, dragon breath, etc. which are not really traditional Reiki techniques but I believe they are heading in the right direction in their attempts to incorporate some form of breath-work into Reiki. I love trying new techniques, so I am open to any and all of them, especially those which involve breathing, although I must post a warning that Pranayama is considered an advanced Yoga practice as there are dangers involved and it should always be learned under the supervision of an experienced teacher. The same holds true for any you attempt to incorporate into your Reiki practice, you need to be very careful and take it very slowly and always seek qualified instruction.

That being said, a rather harmless technique that I start my students out on is 4-4-4-4 Breathing. You breath in to the count of four, hold it to the count of four, breathe out to the count of four, and then hold it again to the count of four… then repeat for a few minutes. Two or Three minutes is plenty to start off with, if you feel dizzy or you try to force any of the counts simply stop, breathe normally for awhile and try again. Try to use your heartbeat to count by and as you gain experience with it you can increase the number. Again… be careful!!!

There are quite a few books on Pranayama which you might want to check out, or even better, find a Yoga teacher who is qualified to teach it. Then you can practice it during your Reiki Self-healings, Reiki treatments, and/or Reiki Meditations. It really does add tremendous power to your Reiki and the health benefits that it brings with it are simply marvelous!

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!