What Really Happens on a Reiki Level 1 Course in Oxfordshire (And Why Small Groups Matter)
If you've been searching for a Reiki Level 1 course, you've probably pictured a few different versions of what the weekend might actually be like.
Maybe you're imagining something quite mystical and intense — candles, chanting, a room full of strangers who all seem to know more than you. Or maybe you're worried about the opposite: a rushed, tick-box weekend where you leave with a certificate but not much confidence.
Neither of those is what training with me in Sonning Common, South Oxfordshire actually looks like. Here's what the course really involves — and why I think the size of the group matters more than people expect.
"The course didn't feel rushed"
I had this lovely review land last week, from a student who'd just finished her Level 1 training with me:
"Had a great experience doing my Reiki level 1. Rebecca was very welcoming and we worked in a small group of 4. The course didn't feel rushed and we had plenty of time to practice and ask questions. Can't wait to go back and do my Reiki level 2 with Rebecca."
That word — rushed — comes up a lot when people talk about training courses in general. It's the thing people are quietly bracing for. So it means a lot to hear that it didn't feel that way.
It's not an accident. Every Reiki course I run is capped at a small group of 4 to 6 people, on purpose. Reiki is hands-on. You're learning to feel energy, practise positions, ask the questions that feel a bit silly until you say them out loud and realise everyone else was wondering the same thing. None of that works well in a crowd. It works in a small room, with time to slow down.
As another past student, Shelley, put it after her course: "The pace and content was just right, and I came away knowing that I had the right knowledge to practice this ancient healing technique."
So what does a Reiki Level 1 weekend actually cover?
It's a full two days — 10am to 2.30pm both days, here at my home in Sonning Common — and we cover a lot of ground, but it builds naturally rather than being crammed in. Roughly, the weekend moves through three stages.
Grounding and understanding. We start gently, with meditation to settle in, before getting into what Reiki actually is, how it works, and the history behind it — including its origins and the Holy Fire lineage. We also look at the human energy system, so the rest of the weekend has somewhere to land.
The attunement. This is the heart of the course — you'll receive an attunement to Reiki energy, and we talk through what that means, what a healing crisis can look like afterwards, and the 21-day cleanse that often follows. This part tends to be the one people remember most.
Practice. The second half is hands-on. You'll learn self-healing positions and practise them, then move on to treating others — both a seated treatment and a couch treatment — with plenty of time to actually do it, not just watch. We also cover the ethics of treating friends and family, and an energy cleansing technique to close things out.
You leave with a comprehensive manual, a certificate of attendance, and ongoing email support — plus an invitation to a Reiki Share, so the learning doesn't just stop when the weekend ends.
As Adie, a past student, said: "We did a huge amount of hands-on practise, on ourselves and each other and I left feeling like I was floating a few feet above the ground when I left!"
Why I keep my Reiki training small
I could fit more people into a weekend like this. I don't, because I've watched what happens when there's room to breathe in a course. People ask the question they almost didn't. They stay an extra few minutes practising a hand position because no one's rushing them to the next slide. They notice things about their own energy they wouldn't have caught as one of fifteen people in a hall.
That's the whole point, really. Reiki is something you feel your way into, not something you're talked through quickly and left to figure out alone — and that's just as true whether you're brand new to energy work or training to add it to an existing yoga or holistic practice.
Ready to begin your Reiki journey?
The next Reiki Level 1 course runs Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th August, 10am–2.30pm both days, at my home in Sonning Common, South Oxfordshire — easily reached from Reading, Henley, and across the Thames Valley.
Investment: £195
Deposit: £100 (secures your place)
Group size: just 4 spaces left
There are no prerequisites — just an open mind and a willingness to learn something a little different.
Got questions before you book? Email me — I'm always happy to talk it through.
