Do I Need to Create a Reiki Manual?

Christian Stone | Standing Stones Healing Co.

Is it a requirement for a teacher to provide a manual they have written themselves for each level? I had the same teacher for all 3 levels and she didn't give us a manual. I had intense courses in terms of the content and practice, but feel like I’m missing something as a Reiki teacher since I don’t have manuals. I have considered writing my own to use when I start teaching, but do I need to have them?

Thanks for this, and you are not alone. I had excellent Reiki teachers, but they did not supply a manual and instead provided handouts and required supplemental reading. So I wasn't provided with manuals, either.

But it's not a requirement to have a manual, including one that you've written, particularly since Reiki is largely unregulated, at least in the United States. This means that, without a standard set curriculum for Reiki, there is no standard manual or information that is required to be in it. This doesn't mean our trainings shouldn't be high quality or thorough. It simply means that there's no requirement to not only not create your manual, but there's not requirement to have a manual at all.

I think it's important to note that Reiki manuals haven't always existed and originally the learning was focused on practice rather than reading. Takata was famous for not writing her teachings down and for not allowing students to keep drawings of the symbols.

So you don't have to create manuals for your courses, either, but many students find them helpful. Even though students may want to have them, let's admit that, once the class is over, people usually aren't referring back to them frequently. They can be helpful in this way if we take a break from our practice and come back to it and want a refresher, but even then I and many others believe it's the practice that matters most. I personally do offer a digital manual with highlights of the teachings along with embedded links to training videos. 

I do want to mention that there is a set of manuals available for sale. These manuals are available for resale, meaning that once you buy them, you can affix your logo and sell them as your own, including to other teachers looking for manuals. These particular manuals are unfortunately very common and are not very good. I talk about it in this episode of the Build Your Reiki Business podcast on teaching Reiki, but I do not recommend them. 


The question of creating manuals is very common and the worry about creating manuals holds many Reiki teachers back from teaching, so you're not alone. Please also remember that you most likely have learned more since you completed your training. My manual is more extensive than the materials I received in my trainings because I've learned more since then. The learning doesn't stop with our training...it's really where the learning begins. In that way we should all have different manuals than we were given, anyway. Please know that your students believe in you and that there's no way any of us can teach everything there is to teach in one course, so please release that pressure on yourself. Here are a couple of videos that might offer some encouragement for you as a new teacher, including 4 Tips for Teaching Reiki and a Build Your Reiki Business podcast episode on teaching Reiki. Please also feel free to grab the free Reiki Biz Kit for more Reiki business encouragement.