Actually, no, but you do need to be in a receptive space to get the full benefit of this healing power. If you are not, you can unintentionally reflect the Reiki away from you.  Just as if you don’t take the medicine your doctor prescribes, you won’t get the benefits of it, and your healing will be stalled, slowed or may not happen.  But, being receptive can be pretty easy and Reiki only needs a crack, not 100% surrender to get in.  Reiki is unconditional love and divinely intelligent and understands we have fears, doubts and beliefs that challenge us.  The gentle hug reiki gives us helps us to relax and trust that we are not breaking any spiritual laws when we say yes, I need help.   

There are religions that have trouble accepting Reiki as a gift from God and warn their parishioners against it; saying that only God can heal.  I’d like to remind everyone that Reiki practitioners are taught to be a channel of God’s love and the only thing they have to do is let that love flow.  God does the rest.  No matter what religious belief you have, you deserve to be loved and live a life of joy and abundance and Reiki can help make that happen without cutting God out of the picture.