The Subtle Anatomy

When we practice Reiki we are not simply trying to fill the body up with as much as energy as we can. We don’t look at the crown chakra and think “if I can just boost its energy, the recipient will achieve awareness and spiritual connection”. Rather, we aim for balance. If an area is weak or deficient, reiki will stimulate it towards liveliness. If an area is excessive, reiki will encourage dissipation and healthy movement of energy to other areas. (For more on this, see the section on kyo and jitsu.)

The following table¹ builds on what you learned about the chakras at level one, with a focus on increased subtlety of understanding between excessive and deficient characteristics.

Level One

Location	Name	Colour	Issues	Goals
top of head	crown	violet	awareness, spiritual connection	wisdom, knowledge, consciousness
brow	third eye	indigo	perspective, self-reflection, intuition	psychic perception, imagination, interpretation
throat	throat	sky blue	communication, personal truth	clear communication, creativity, resonance
heart area	heart	green	compassion, self-love	balance, compassion, self-acceptance
physical solar plexus	solar plexus	yellow	power, will	vitality, spontaneity, strength of will, self-esteem
abdomen, genitals, lower back, hips	sacral	orange	self-worth, boundaries, sexuality	fluidity, pleasure, healthy sexuality
base of spine	root	red	trust, grounding, survival	stability, grounding, prosperity

Level Two

Name	Element	Physical associations	Excessive Characteristics	Deficient Characteristics	orientation to Self
crown	thought	pineal	overly intellectual, spiritual addiction, confusion	limited beliefs, materialism, apathy	self-knowledge
third eye	light	pituitary	headaches, nightmares, delusions, difficulty concentrating	poor memory, poor vision, denial	self-reflection
throat	sound	thyroid, vocal chords	excessive talking, inability to listen, stuttering	fear of speaking	self-expression
heart	air	thymus, physical heart	codependency, poor boundaries, possessive	shy, isolated, lack of empathy	self-acceptance
solar plexus	fire	spleen, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, stomach	controlling, aggressive, constantly active	weak will, poor self-esteem, passive	self-definition
sacral	water	sexual organs, bladder, prostate, intestines	overly emotional, poor boundaries, sex addiction	frigid, impotent, emotionally numb	self-gratification
root	earth	kidneys, adrenals	heaviness, obesity, hoarding, greed	fearful, restless, spacey	self-preservation