Animals are especially responsive to Reiki as unlike humans they have no preconceived ideas about whether or not Reiki works but are guided by trust and intuition, without expectation, judgment or agenda. An animal has no thought as to whether something will work or not, therefore their mind does not get in the way. What we do with animal Reiki is create a connection and oneness with the animal, allowing them to fall into a deep state of relaxation.
An animal treatment is approached very differently to that of a human treatment. Animals lead all of our treatments. We do not ‘do’ Reiki to an animal, but we share Reiki healing with them if they welcome it. They can and will determine how and where the treatment takes place and this is therefore initiated at a slight distance rather than hands on. Of course the animal may wish closer contact and therefore can chose hands on or off. A treatment is very much led by the animal’s needs and comfort.
Although many animals enjoy better health through regular Reiki treatments, it is important to understand that any healing is performed by their own body. The deeply relaxed state resulting from a Reiki treatment allows relief from stress and the animal’s body is able to return to balance and health. Typically an animal will exhibit signs of accepting a treatment by yawning, sighing or even falling asleep.
Reiki is suitable for all animals, from companion to farm and wild animals, as beautifully shown by Blossom the cow accepting Reiki in the photo above! It will come as no surprise to anybody who spends time with horses to learn that they are very sensitive to the calm and relaxing state created during a Reiki session and will often move towards the offer of Reiki even from across a field.
Reiki is non-invasive and as it is a holistic therapy, it aims to treat the whole animal. Not just on a physical level, but also on emotional and spiritual levels too.