I'm certified now — how do I actually stay consistent with self-practice instead of letting the manual sit unopened?
Answered by Vanessa Chugani · Updated September 2026
Consistency comes from making self-practice small and physical, not from waiting for a free hour. Anchor it to something you already do daily, like brushing your teeth, and start with a few minutes wherever you like. Training at Playground Soul includes support after, so if it stalls, get in touch.
The manual sitting unopened is not a sign you did something wrong. Most people finish a Reiki training buzzing, then life closes back in around them within days, and the long quiet hour they pictured for self-practice never quite arrives. The fix is not more time. It is needing less of it. This is for anyone who trained to any level and has a manual gathering dust on a shelf, whether that was three weeks ago or three years ago.
The gap between finishing a course and actually using it is not particular to Reiki. It happens with languages, with instruments, with anything that asks for a habit rather than a single event. The training gave you the skill in a weekend or two. Turning it into something you actually do most days is a separate task, and it is a smaller one than it feels like from the outside.
Make it smaller than you think it should be
Five minutes with your hands on your chest or your forehead counts as a full practice, not a shortened one. So does one minute while the kettle boils. The habit that survives is the one that fits into a life that is already busy, not the one waiting for a free evening that rarely turns up. Once five minutes feels normal, ten tends to follow on its own, without you ever deciding to add it.
Attach it to something you already do
Do not rely on remembering. Put your hands on yourself while the coffee brews, in bed before you reach for your phone, or in the shower with the water running over your shoulders. The new habit rides on the back of an old one you never skip, so there is nothing separate to decide each day. You do not need candles, music or a special room. Your own hands and a few minutes are the whole of it.
Use the sequence, but not all of it
The full self-treatment in your manual covers most of the body and is worth doing whenever you have the time for it. Most days you will not. Pick the two or three positions you notice yourself drawn back to, often the jaw, the chest or the back of the head, and let those be enough on their own.
- A short practice you actually do beats a long one you keep postponing.
- The manual does not expire and there is no missed work to make up.
When you fall off, come back without a story
Weeks will slip. There is no debt to repay and no explanation needed, just hands back on again tonight. Do not wait for a clean Monday or a fresh notebook. If restarting alone keeps not working, training at Playground Soul includes support after the two days themselves, not only during them, so getting back in touch is part of what you paid for, not an imposition. You can also read more about Vanessa and how she teaches, if it helps to remember the person behind the manual rather than the instructions on the page.
Related questions
How long should a self-practice session actually be?
There is no minimum that counts and no maximum you are aiming for. Five minutes with your hands on your chest or forehead is a complete practice, not a shortened one. The people who keep going are usually the ones who let a short session be enough, rather than saving it for a spare hour that rarely turns up.
I trained months ago and have not practised once. Is it too late to start?
No. The manual and the attunement do not expire, and there is no makeup work to catch up on before you are allowed to start again. Begin tonight with two minutes, on whichever part of you is asking for it, and let that be the whole restart.
Should I do the full self-treatment sequence every time?
Only when you have the time for it. Most days, two or three positions you keep returning to are enough. The full sequence in your manual is there for the days you do have space, not a bar you need to clear daily.