The UK Reiki Federation loses the plot!
Home >> Reiki Articles by Taggart King >> The UK Reiki federation loses the plot!
It is said that at some stage in the future all UK Reiki practitioners will have to be registered members of a Reiki governing body in order to be able to practice Reiki on the public legally. In anticipation of this, the UK Reiki Federation was established and in its early stages did a lot of good work developing Codes of Practice and providing a lot of useful information. Unfortunately they now seem to have lost the plot, which is a shame.
Some time ago the UKRF published a “Draft Core Curriculum” detailing its view of acceptable Reiki training. Many of us were dismayed to find that this document would require Teachers to drastically change the way that they teach in order to meet meaningless impositions. There is so much that is wrong with this document that it is difficult to know where to begin, but I will just focus on a few points:
The UKRF say that First Degree courses should last for 12 hours. This might seem reasonable, but let’s look in more detail. Firstly, the idea that quality in training is governed by the number of hours you are in the presence of a teacher is invalid. Quality in Reiki training is governed by what you do and what you learn, and how you are supported, not by how long it takes you.
Some teachers prefer to teach one-on-one. Let’s see: 4 attunements (1 hr), talking about the history and practice of Reiki (2 hrs), going through a self-treatment (1 hr)… The student could receive a Reiki treatment from the teacher (1 hr) and give the teacher a full treatment or two (say 2 hrs). Still 5 hours to be filled before the course achieves the UKRF’s standard of ‘quality’. This is crazy!
My courses use a combination of home study and ‘energy work’ on the day of the course, and I supply detailed course manuals and audio CDs in advance. My students thus spend many hours listening to me talking about Reiki and reading about it; the day course recaps on what they are already familiar with. But from the UKRF’s point of view all this preparatory work does not count because it has not been carried out in the same room as the Reiki teacher.
At the same time, the UKRF is happy for 10 people to attend one Reiki course, which from my point of view is outrageous. Quality in Reiki training comes from providing students with individual attention and gearing the course towards their needs; I do not believe that this is possible with such a large number of students on a course.
So the UKRF effectively penalises people who teach 1-to-1, while allowing “bulk processing” of students to go on at the same time. The UKRF’s current Chair, Ms Zega, believes that their core curriculum is “ahead of its time” and “groundbreaking” and will play an important role in the setting of standards for the accreditation of Reiki qualifications.
The UKRF seem to be trying to turn Reiki practitioners into “Healthcare Professionals” with requirements to study anatomy and physiology for example, under the banner of safeguarding the public. The idea that Reiki practitioners need to have detailed anatomical knowledge in order to practise effectively or practise safely is risible. How will our practice improve or become safer when we know exactly where the bile duct is in relation to the Gall Bladder and Duodenum?
If the UKRF’s curriculum were put in place, Reiki Teachers would have to jump through restrictive ‘hoops’ in order to have their courses approved, the ‘standards’ imposed will not ensure quality, and capable teachers will be obliged to change their methods and approaches to fit an uninspiring and restrictive mould.
Of concern, also, is the way that the UKRF seem to be unable to respond to criticism sanely: some time ago on an Internet discussion group people were discussing the “Draft Core Curriculum”– not many contributors were impressed – and because of this the UKRF sent a hysterical mailing to its members and altered its Web Site home page to make an pronouncement that dodged the real issues and published people’s comments out of context.
Now a new potential Reiki governing body has been set up: the RRWG (Reiki Regulatory Working Group). The UKRF contributes to this body. I tried to find out recently from the UKRF what their ‘approved Reiki training’ policy was. The UKRF would not answer my questions, or the questions posed by another Master who contacted them at a similar time. All we received was waffle.
While the UKRF trumpets that it is a democratic society reflecting the wishes of its members, in reality it is the ruling council of the UKRF who will determine what it thinks we need, and that will be imposed on the UK Reiki world, as the UKRF works through the vehicle of the RRWG.
To find out more about this issue, visit the UKRF web site at this address: www.reikifed.co.uk
Download for yourself its draft core curriculum, or contact them for a printed version of the document by calling: 01264 773774.
Read the document and let them know what you think.
Home >> Reiki Articles by Taggart King >> The UK Reiki federation loses the plot!