When life feels heavy and your mind won't settle, you need something simple to come back to. The five Reiki principles offer exactly that. They're five short intentions written by Mikao Usui, the Japanese founder of Reiki, in the early 1920s. Each one begins with the words "just for today", and together they ask you to let go of anger, let go of worry, be grateful, work honestly and be kind to others.
You don't need any training to use them. You can start today, with whichever one speaks to you most.
Where the principles come from
Usui taught the principles as the foundation of his practice, alongside hands-on healing. He saw them as a way of looking after the mind, just as Reiki treatments look after the body. He described them as a method for inviting happiness into your life, and he asked his students to say them aloud every morning and evening, sitting quietly with their palms together at the chest. In Japanese this hand position is called gassho.
After Usui's death in 1926, his students placed a memorial stone at Saihō-ji temple in Tokyo. The principles are carved into it, which is one of the main reasons we know how they were originally worded.
The original wording
In Japanese the principles are known as the Gokai, which simply means "the five precepts". A close translation of the original reads:
Kyō dake wa: just for today
Ikaru na: don't be angry
Shinpai suna: don't worry
Kansha shite: be grateful
Gyō o hageme: work diligently
Hito ni shinsetsu ni: be kind to others
When Hawayo Takata brought Reiki to the West in the late 1930s, she taught the principles in softer English phrasing, such as "just for today, I will not worry". Many teachers now word them in a way that feels more natural for modern life. The way I teach them is: just for today, be aware of your feelings, surrender, be grateful, work from your heart and be kind. The spirit of Usui's words stays the same. This version simply gives you something to move towards, which feels gentler when you're already being hard on yourself.
A modern interpretation of each principle
The principles were written for life in 1920s Japan, yet they speak to the pressures you face today. Here's how each one can be understood now.
Just for today
This is the part that makes everything else possible. You're only being asked to try for this one day. If today goes badly, tomorrow is a fresh start, and that takes a huge amount of pressure off.
Be aware of your feelings
Usui's original asked his students not to be angry. Anger, frustration and hurt are all normal human feelings, and pushing them down tends to make them stronger. This principle invites you to notice what you're feeling as it happens, name it and let it move through you. When you're aware of a feeling, you can choose how to respond to it. Over time you'll find you react less and understand yourself more.
Surrender
Worry usually comes from trying to control things that haven't happened yet. Surrender means loosening your grip on how everything has to turn out. You still make sensible plans and take the next practical step. Then you allow life to unfold, trusting that what's happening is happening for you, not to you. When your mind starts racing ahead, a few slow breaths and your feet on the floor can bring you back to this moment.
Be grateful
Gratitude shifts where your attention rests. When you're stressed, your mind naturally looks for problems. Choosing to notice a warm cup of tea, a kind message or a moment of quiet helps balance that out. Research on gratitude practices suggests they can support wellbeing, although they work best as a regular habit rather than a one-off exercise.
Work from your heart
Usui's word for this principle covers both your daily work and your inner practice. Working from your heart means bringing care and honesty to whatever is in front of you, whether that's your job, your family or your own healing. It also means listening to what feels true for you, so your choices come from the inside rather than from pressure or expectation.
Be kind
Kindness to others is the obvious meaning. Kindness to yourself matters just as much. Many people who come to Reiki find this the hardest principle of all, because they're used to looking after everyone except themselves. Start by speaking to yourself the way you'd speak to a friend who's having a difficult day.
Using the principles in a busy modern life
You don't need extra time to live by the principles. They work best when you weave them into what you're already doing. A few simple ways to start:
Read them each morning. Keep them by your bed or as a note on your phone, and read them slowly before you check your messages.
Pick one for the week. Focusing on a single principle makes it easier to notice where it shows up.
Use them as a pause. Before replying to a difficult email or conversation, silently say the principle that fits the moment.
Reflect in the evening. Spend a minute thinking about where the principles showed up in your day, without judging yourself for the moments you forgot.
If you practise Reiki, you can say the principles at the start of a self-treatment. Many practitioners find this helps them settle and arrive in the session.
When the principles feel hard
Some days you'll forget them completely. Some days you'll remember them and still lose your temper or lie awake worrying. That's part of being human, and it's exactly why each principle starts with "just for today". Every day you come back to them counts.
The principles can support your emotional wellbeing, but they're not a replacement for professional help. If difficult feelings, worry or low mood are affecting your daily life, please speak to your GP or a qualified therapist. Reiki and the principles can sit comfortably alongside that support.
Bringing it back to you
The five principles are simple, but they ask you to slow down and come home to yourself, one day at a time. You already have everything you need to begin.
If you'd like support along the way, you could try one of my Reiki healing sessions.