Reiki could be one of the most mysterious and phenomenal experiences in our lives. If we just let it.

Reiki is a holistic healing practice that promotes wellness and balance, and reduces stress. It was developed by Mikao Usui the early 1920s, and brought to the US by Usui’s student Chujiro Hayashi and his student Hawayo Takata in the late 1930s. Since then, Reiki practice has been taught and adapted by various teachers worldwide. To learn more about what Reiki is all about, Betterfly gathered a group of Reiki practioners into an online chat room to discuss topics we’ve never known anything about. Here are 10 things you might have not known about Reiki based on our findings from the discussion.

1. Ray like “pRAY”, key like “turKEY”.

Reiki is pronounced “Ray-Key”. Reiki is a Japanese word made up of two words–Rei and Ki. Rei stands for “spirit energy” and Ki stands for “life force energy”. So, Reiki roughly stands for “life force energy being guided by a spiritual source.”

2. Treat your pet to some Reiki.

And it wouldn’t be weird, because a growing amount of pet owners find it to be beneficial and calming for their pets. The main difference between working with animals and humans is that animals have no belief system. Animals have no predispositions or skepticism to Reiki, while humans may allow strong opinions to sway their decision before they try it out. Animals also possess a different kind of awareness and are able to sense when they have had enough or when they want the Reiki practitioner to move their palms.

3. Reiki is highly spiritual, but it is not a religion.

A common misconception people may initially have, we learned, is that Reiki is a religious practice. This is false. There is nothing one must believe in order to learn, use, or receive Reiki. However, a Reiki practitioner’s job is to offer the service, not change minds; they will only treat someone who is willing to accept the treatment (skepticism or not).

4. Reiki is like a “massage for the soul”

Reiki is an energy balancing practice of the gentle and non-invasive technique through the laying of hands. Reiki is not a massage, but can be combined with massage to help the patient’s energy find equilibrium. Others have used music or aromatherapy to help the patient find relaxation.

5. I am a female in New York seeking Reiki energy from France.

Reiki has shown that healing does not have to be limited by time and distance. Once Reiki practitioners complete their second degree training, they will be able to send Reiki energy long distance.

6. Reiki practitioners work with patients of any kind of condition.

Many patients who have a terminal or chronic  illnesses or severe disabilities seek Reiki treatment due to its positive effects in reducing stress and promoting positive feelings. Reiki serves as a complementary treatment for assisting all other types therapies.

7. Everyone is a skeptic.

Reiki practitioners deal with a lot of skeptics, especially in their close family and friend circles. After treating those who were hesitant to believe in the effects of Reiki, practitioners have found that their once skeptic friends and family members become more accepting and interested.

8. It’s not cheating if you perform it on yourself.

The importance of daily practice cannot be over-stressed (ha, pun) in the Reiki community. We are surrounded all day by stressful factors and negative thoughts and emotions. By the end of the day, we pick up these energies and our own energy level drops. Reiki practitioners look towards daily practice as a way to fill up on this lost energy and rebalance the energy in the body.

9. Is there a Reiki practitioner in the house, Doctor?

Reiki is now widely practiced in the United States, and is starting to gain acceptance in the medical world. An increasing amount of Reiki practitioners are now working in hospitals where they assist patients during critical medical procedures. Dr. Oz, who is one of the leading cardiovascular surgeons in the United States, was one of the first to include a Reiki practitioner during a surgery.

10. Betterfly has over 2,000 Reiki Betterists on the site.

The community is much larger than we have ever imagined — and it continues to grow around the world. While Reiki sounds like it may at times be challenging, it is always an enriching and rewarding experience for both the practitioner and patient. To truly understand how Reiki feels, you have to try a session on your own.

If you liked what you read, make sure to share it with your friends on Twitter and Facebook! Let them know what Reiki is all about if they never heard of it before. Would you ever give Reiki a try? We’d love to hear your thoughts about it in the comments below.