What is Enkaku Chiryo Ho?
September 2, 2026
Kenyoku Ho is dry bathing: a technique from the system of Reiki in which you brush through the energy lines of the body to feel cleansed and renewed, like standing under a shower. You can use it at any time, before or after a treatment, before meditation, or whenever you feel out of sorts.
Kenyoku Ho is dry bathing. It is a practice where we physically cleanse ourselves by brushing through the energy lines in the body.
It represents what happens when you visit a temple in Japan. There is a long ladle with a small water bowl at the end, and you clean your hands with it: twice on the left side and once on the right. The Japanese love using odd numbers, because an odd number means there is still vitality and force available to the world.
When should you use it? I would say you can use it at any time. It is a cleansing process, so it helps you feel fresh and renewed, like standing under a shower, which is why it is called dry bathing. You are not trying to disconnect yourself from anything or connect yourself to anything. It simply gives you that lovely fresh feeling, as if you have just had a great shower.
In Shinto practice people stand under waterfalls. Think of that: you are on uneven ground, heavy water is coming down on top of you, and at the same time you are doing a practice of some sort. You have to focus. Kenyoku Ho brings us into that same space, if only symbolically, and it helps us focus.
You could do it at the beginning of a treatment or after one. You could do it if you are feeling a little out of sorts, or as a grounding technique. You could do it before the foundation meditation practice, or before your own self-practice, even if that is just hands-on healing. It is there to give you back your sparkle.
The name. Kenyoku Hō, 乾浴法. Ken means dry, yoku means bathing, and hō means method: the dry bathing method.
Where it sits in the system. It is one of the first techniques, most often taught at Shoden, the first level, and it is the opening step of Hatsurei Ho, the practice that gathers the foundation techniques into one sitting.
A common misunderstanding. That you are brushing something bad off yourself. You are not getting rid of anything. You are waking yourself up and bringing your attention back into the body, the way a cold shower does.
Try this. Before your next self-practice, do Kenyoku Ho slowly, three times, and notice whether the practice that follows feels any different from usual.
You might also ask: What is Joshin Kokyu Ho? · What is Hatsurei Ho? · What is the morning ritual Mikao Usui asked us to do each day?
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More questions answered: Reiki Questions Answered.
