By Anne H. Bentzen
What Is Jikiden Reiki?
Jikiden Reiki is the original healing system created by Mikao Usui in the 1920s, before World War II and before Western influence. It is a powerful, intuitive vibrational healing practice in which the practitioner serves as a channel for universal life-force energy to support healing on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels.
Reiki is compassion in action.
The Reiki Principles, known as the Gokai, encourage gratitude, presence, and compassion. Jikiden Reiki helps correct energetic imbalances so that life-force energy can flow more freely through the body.
How Jikiden Reiki Supports Healing
The goal of Reiki is to restore energy flow, internal equilibrium, and inner harmony. Reiki helps create a deep relaxation response, activating the parasympathetic nervous system, where healing can happen more easily.
Jikiden Reiki practitioners are trained to:
- follow areas of stagnant or “sick” energy with their hands
- discern acute and chronic energy patterns
- support the release of energetic stagnation
- use special blood circulation techniques at the end of each session to help Reiki move deeply into the body
Reiki supports the body’s natural capacity for balance, rest, and healing.
Benefits of Reiki for Body, Mind, and Spirit
Reiki is supportive for many aspects of wellbeing. It may help:
- reduce stress
- ease pain and inflammation
- support recovery from surgery
- assist healing from physical, emotional, and mental trauma
- lessen anxiety, depression, and grief
- help clients feel more grounded, safe, and at peace
- support comfort in hospice and end-of-life care
Reiki may also complement medical treatment, including chemotherapy, by supporting relaxation and the body’s natural detoxification processes.
A Gentle Complement to Traditional Care
Reiki can serve as a complement to traditional Western medicine, supporting better health outcomes and greater emotional and mental wellbeing.
Because Reiki is drug-free, non-invasive, and has no contraindications, it is considered safe for:
- babies
- pregnant mothers
- the elderly
It is also a healing modality that anyone can learn.
My Teaching Path and Training Offerings
Though I have taught Reiki since 2008, I began teaching Jikiden Reiki exclusively in 2019 because, for me, it offers a more complete and intuitive healing modality.
As a Shihan (senior teacher) of Jikiden Reiki, I offer seminars several times a year for:
- Shoden — beginner physical treatment level
- Okuden — advanced level
Classes are kept at six students or fewer to ensure close supervision and a meaningful experience for each student.
Small class sizes allow for deeper learning, personal attention, and a more supported experience.
Interested in Learning More
Whether you are seeking a Reiki session for healing and balance or feel called to learn this practice yourself, Jikiden Reiki offers a compassionate and deeply grounding path to wellbeing.
Anne H. Bentzen & Balancing 4 Life
My journey with Reiki began in the 1990s, when I was searching for new ways to support autistic children while working as an occupational therapist in a local school district. In that search, I discovered the world of energy healing and a new way of understanding wellbeing—one rooted not only in the sensory system, but also in the subtle energy that supports the whole person.
After becoming a Western-style Usui Reiki Master, I developed a private practice in Westchester County, New York, and founded Balancing 4 Life in 2008. In 2013, I began practicing Jikiden Reiki and offering Jikiden Reiki-style treatments. In 2019, after four decades as an occupational therapist, I retired from that work, became an authorized teacher for the Jikiden Reiki Institute in Kyoto, Japan, and have been devoted full-time to offering Jikiden Reiki training and treatments ever since.
Based in Armonk, NY, Balancing 4 Life offers non-invasive healing solutions through a small group of dedicated practitioners who are committed to supporting the wellbeing of the community.