Animal Reiki for one’s own beloved pets is quite a different thing from offering healing energy to a wild, feral or aggressive animal. With your own creatures — who are pretty much family to you — you can be more confident and certainly not have to worry about safety, unless your pet is a recently adopted shelter rescue with a difficult or unknown past.
With your own pets, you can feel so totally comfortable and connected, because in all likelihood, you ARE already very close and connected with them in a strong “synergy” of love and caring. And Reiki will only serve to strengthen that bond.
However, even though you feel secure with your own pets, not every animal takes to the energy right away. So as with any animal, it’s important to respect the creature’s wishes. And just because you are working with your own sweet pet, it doesn’t mean he/she is going to want to start with hands-on healing right away. If your animal is relatively new to Reiki and/or you are a newer Practitioner, do begin with the hands-off approach. Many Practitioners, who have not learned the hands off approach, will try to force hands-on and often find that their animals are not interested, are wary, and may even completely leave the room. Some animals find touch (at least at the beginning) too intense for them, particularly if the animal is a small one.
So, just sit near your pet and allow the energy flow. Let them know what you are doing and explain that they can take as much or as little Reiki as they are comfortable with. You can sit on a chair, or if you are comfortable and flexible enough, right on the floor at their level. Truly let them know that they are a partner in this process. If you “offer” the energy to them as opposed to beaming or forcing it upon them, they are more likely to be accepting and will happily come closer to investigate. And let them guide you as to when they are ready to experience hands-on. For some it may be right away!
My own dog loves Reiki — but on his terms, and he very rarely likes hands on, even though he is the epitome of the affectionate Golden Retriever. He prefers me to sit very nearby. And truthfully, if he had his way, he would lay under my Reiki table with every client who comes for a session! He loves to catch the “run-off Reiki” as I have come to call it — the energy that fills the room, but I believe he senses it emanating from the table area. Of course, I don’t allow him to do this when I have clients, unless the clients are family, friends or true pet lovers that already know him and enjoy his company.
For your own pets, just be sensitive to their individual needs. If you offer Reiki to them on a regular basis, they will come to request it when they need or want it. One of my cats periodically positions himself on my chest and lets me know in his own feline way that he would like some Reiki (hands on) and so I oblige. But if I just go to offer it to him, most of the time he is too “busy” wandering, jumping and playing and will run away. You will learn the clear signs that your pet(s) would like a session. And because they live with you, a session can be as long or short as you have time for — and keeping with their attention span and desire for it.
So go ahead, and let your furry or winged friends know that you will offer them a Reiki session in whatever way is comfortable and peaceful for them. And you can both enjoy the beautiful radiance of the energy as if flows, truly empowering the human/animal bond.
