"Reiki" is a Japanese healing art. "Rei" (pronounced "Ray") means  "universal knowledge" or may be considered to be the infinite  energy of the Universe or that of a supreme intelligence.  "Ki" (pronounced "kee") is the "life force" found in all living things.

Reiki is not a religion. While Reiki has its roots in Japan and Asia, it is a "healing art" and not a religion in itself. Reiki acknowledges the "universal energy" in our universe. It makes no attempt to categorize it  in any religious context. A Practitioner of Reiki has been trained  to focus and channel this energy in a way that is nurturing and healing.

Practitioners channel energy in a particular pattern  to help heal and harmonize. While similar to other healing  therapies based on the human energy field, Reiki specifically  seeks to restore harmony and balance to the body whose vital energy ("Ki") has become unbalanced. This energy is directed at energy centers in the body known as "chakras".

Reiki energy has a number of healing effects. It brings about  a state of deep relaxation, promotes energy flow within the body, helps to detoxify and provide vitality in the form of the healing universal  life energy, and helps to increases the vibrational frequency of the body, thereby stimulating and improving metabolism.

The laying on of hands is used in Reiki therapy as in other forms  of spiritual healing. With Reiki there is a difference though. In other  forms of spiritual healing, a person with a strong energy field  places their hands above a particular part of the body in order to  release energy into it. With Reiki, however, the healer places the  hands gently on or in special positions just above the body, and  the recipient draws Reiki energy through the healer as needed. The Reiki healer is therefore a "guide" or "channel" for the healing Reiki energies.