Reiki is a relatively “new” energy-healing practice, that plenty of people describe as deeply calming and therapeutic. However, it shouldn’t replace other conventional treatments. You must have heard about Reiki, but you’re probably not quite sure if it’s the right choice for you.
You might even consider trying Reiki but you’re not so sure what’s all the fuss about. What if your doctor has suggested it as a form of alternative therapy, besides all the other treatments you’re currently trying?
Well, all of these are legitimate questions. A rapid Internet search could easily lead you to think that Reiki is a scientifically proven technique. The same research might convince you that it’s nothing but a pseudo-scientific quackery. It truly depends on which links you click.
In all honesty, the overall idea that you might feel better physically and emotionally just by having someone hovering their hands over you might sound less like real medical advice and more like a snake oil salesman.
However, it does work, and it is a legitimate medical practice across the United States, as well as the world. That could easily lead you to believe that there needs to be some agreed-upon understanding that unblocking your energies with Reiki might help.
Upon interviewing healthcare providers and doing the minimum amount of research, here’s what I have to say about it:
What is Reiki?
Reiki has deep roots in ancient Japanese healing practices. It is also considered a powerful form of energy healing. It stems from the Japanese words “rei,” which means universal, and “ki”, which means vital life force energy.
The main theory is that a Reiki master (a practitioner trained in Reiki) can channel the “universal life force energy” to you. It is believed they do this by either lightly placing their hands on you, or by hovering them above you, using a series of hand positions. Some people might call these techniques centering, clearing, beaming, or smoothing the aura.
Reiki masters explained that they don’t just create energy from scratch nor do they give their energy to you. Instead, they act as a “conduit” for the universal life force energy that floats around us.
But since we’re at it, I feel it’s important to mention what “universal life force energy” implies, since it’s a concept newly introduced, and few scientists are actually open to debate on this topic.
Universal life force energy
The practice of Reiki is based on the existence of universal life force energy. However, believing in that concept alone would require a leap of faith. Reiki master Vickie Bodner, LMT, shared that, as far as she’s concerned, we all have examples of how energy flows through us. “Just think about sitting in a room alone.
Your partner walks into the room without you knowing it, they don’t make any sound, but you can feel their presence. That’s their energy.” she explained. Who knows?
Maybe energy is what makes us jump to attention when our children have a restless night. Maybe it’s their energy that alerts us, waking us only to find those big, brown eyes staring us down in our sleep.
Plenty of cultures around the world have similar philosophies dating back centuries. In fact, traditional Chinese medicine has this concept of qi, an essential life force energy that naturally flows through living things. Indian philosophy also provides the concept of prana, a life-giving energy force that flows through your chakras.
However, from a scientific POV, there’s truly no hard data that would suggest any form of healing energy exists. According to Robert Saper, MD, MPH, “those who believe in Reiki describe that the mechanism by which it works is the transmission of a “universal life force energy.”
There isn’t any evidence of such energy being involved in Reiki.” It might be the fact that modern scientific understanding doesn’t yet have the needed tools or methods to fully identify something like universal life force energy.
Maybe it’s something close to dark matter. We believe it’s out there. We have reason to actually believe in it. We just haven’t found an efficient way to prove it.
Or, maybe it just doesn’t exist. That would imply that the entire foundation on which Reiki is made would be shaky at its best.
Potential health benefits of Reiki
People turn to Reiki and other energy-healing practices for plenty of reasons. The whole idea behind Reiki is that channeling the universal life force energy is what helps us move forward. It also encourages its movement through our bodies, which can help create a healthier environment within our bodies and minds.
That, by itself, is supposed to lead to a wide range of health benefits. Since the theory tackles the concept of “stuck energy”, which can lead to pain and illness, reiki is considered to help heal plenty of health conditions.
All in all, people use Reiki to get their energy juices going. Moreover, fans of the practice believe it can help with some things such as better sleep, reduced anxiety, boosted mood, reduced pain, increased energy, and improved blood circulation.
Research vs. personal experience
Well, is Reiki real? Do people truly get big health benefits from it? Well, that’s up for debate. Since the benefits of Reiki haven’t been actually proven by continuous and rigorous scientific research, that doesn’t mean it can’t be effective for certain people.
Moreover, it also doesn’t mean that Reiki is automatically appropriate as a medical treatment for everyone. Naturally, Reiki has been studied. However, the research that has been done on Reiki doesn’t possess the kind of quality that makes it widely accepted in mainstream medical circles.
For instance, researchers from one study suggested that Reiki can alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as improve the quality of life in people in palliative care. Does it sound promising?
It certainly does. However, can we use that as evidence to claim that people who aren’t close to the end of life might have similar experiences? Well, not reliably. There’s a review of research that suggests Reiki can help relieve pain.
However, the studies reviewed a small sampling of only 212 people. Moreover, the researchers relied on people who described their perception of their own pain way before and after Reiki.
This subjective way of measuring can be easily influenced. If you truly think that Reiki will improve your pain, chances are you will report that it did. That’s human nature, also known as the placebo effect.
There’s another study described as a “large-scale effectiveness trial of Reiki”, where 99 Reiki practitioners were asked across the United States to invite their clients to take a survey of how they felt before and after a specific treatment. They all reported improvements in their mood, less nausea, better breathing and a better all-around well-being.
However, it’s worth breaking it down a bit. The practitioners also asked their clients to provide feedback. Again, their clients. People who already believed in Reiki and have had an established relationship with a Reiki practitioner.
Moreover, we are talking about people who most likely have continued to have Reiki sessions because they found it beneficial. As far as scientific measurements go, that’s quite the opposite of an impartial sample.
With that being said, results aren’t really everything. There’s also the personal experience side worth taking into consideration. Even if research doesn’t have the power to prove the benefits of Reiki as empirically valid, personal experience still counts for something.
“There’s only so much you can study in randomized, controlled studies to understand the overall effect of what’s likely to happen,” as Dr. Saper explained. He also added that it’s critical to listen to our patients and validate their experiences, even if their experiences might run counter to one’s own experience and training.
What happens during a Reiki session?
In this case, research alone can’t tell us what to expect from Reiki, so we might as well try it ourselves, right?
People who perform Reiki sessions manage to do so in all kinds of environments, whether it’s medical offices, hospitals, homes, yoga studios, wellness centers, and so on. Some even believe to be able to “send” Reiki vibrations long distance. There’s no need for a physical meeting place when it comes to such people.
The Reiki session started on a similar note to any other healthcare appointment. We discussed age, medical background, medications, current ailments, and emotional and psychological current state.
All in all, I must say I’m not a complete stranger to a nice and relaxing massage. The room resembled what I have known to be a typical spa. A massage table, dim lights, soft music.
The table was warmed to a very comfortable temperature and Bodner placed quite a firm bolster pillow under my lower legs. Then, I removed my shoes. However, unlike a massage, I was fully dressed.
Then, I laid on my back, closed my eyes, and tried to simply relax. Bodner then proceeded with my feet. Don’t imagine a massage! It was more like cradling my heels with a soft hold. I didn’t feel the calm right away.
As a matter of fact, it’s fair to say that my mind was racing. Then, she held my feet for a couple of minutes, and my thoughts started to spiral. At a certain point, I could feel a wave of relaxation washing over me.
It was anything else I had felt before. It’s funny because I consider myself quite an aficionado when it comes to relaxation techniques. But this was simply something else.
When I say I relaxed to the maximum I could have, I truly mean it. It was very similar to being in a trance. It was so incredibly relaxing, that even my eyes fluttered so slightly open, that I felt like closing them the rest of the way would imply too much work.
Each Reiki session is unique
After leaving me a couple of minutes by myself, the reiki healer I went to and I chatted. She explained that when she does Reiki, she feels that she enters some sort of trance herself.
Somehow, she’s being guided to move to specific parts of the body. Then, she holds her position in specific places, waiting until she can feel that it’s time to move on. Another reason why so many people experience their Reiki sessions so differently is because our bodies might need different things at different times.
Or, it just revolves around our own expectations. If you’re not fully open to the idea that Reiki can help you anything, it won’t. “People constantly describe a Reiki session as ushering in a deep state of relaxation and calm” Dr. Saper explained.
There’s continuous data about how an interaction between a healthcare professional and a patient can be build in a therapeutic and positive healing fashion. A comfort level between patient and provider is one important component.
Should you try reiki?
Personally, the effects of my session lasted for multiple hours. After I left the practitioner’s office, I felt more energized, and focused, but also clear. The next day, I wondered if it was worth the fuss.
According to Dr. Saper, it’s all related to how you use Reiki as therapy. “One of the potential safety issues with any alternative therapy is that a person with a diagnosed serious condition or even undiagnosed one has the option to pursue alternative therapies besides appropriate medical evaluation.
In other words, Reiki is safe and noninvasive. Some practitioners don’t even touch you, so there’s no risk.
However, what could be unsafe is pursuing Reiki as the only method of treatment. If you suffer from chronic pain and choose Reiki instead of getting the right medical interventions, such as surgery, physical therapy, and any other evidence-based treatments, you’re probably rolling the dice.
Reiki is a complementary therapy
Reiki might feel very good to you, which is so important! We can all benefit from pursuing activities that might lower our stress and bring joy to our lives.
Benefits – depression and anxiety management
There’s a 2022 systemic review of 14 controlled trials that efficiently compared the effects of reiki to those of placebo. The study discovered that reiki had a significant therapeutic effect on plenty of mental health symptoms.
Using a specific tool for grading the overall quality of existing scientific evidence, the same researchers highlighted how many benefits reiki brings when it comes to symptoms of clinical stress and depression.
They also concluded there’s moderate to high-quality evidence of reiki’s benefits for symptoms of clinical anxiety.
Sleep regulation
Another 2024 controlled trial with 87 people who suffered from cancer, received hormone therapy and dealt with insomnia as a side effect discovered that 4 weeks of reiki therapy led to impressive improvement in sleep quality.
On a similar note, a 2024 small study focused on people who suffer from epilepsy discovered that reiki significantly improved sleep quality and, therefore the quality of life for many participants.
Surgery-related benefits
Another 2023 controlled trial of 93 participants waiting for an open abdominal surgery reported that reiki therapy led to reduced fear and anxiety about the surgery, as well as lower pain scores compared to another placebo and a control group. Oxygen saturation also improved with each reiki session.
Other potential benefits
Research has proven that reiki can offer additional health benefits to some people, such as:
- emotional healing (improving mood and enhanced coping mechanisms to deal with life’s quests)
- management of psychosomatic disorders
- reduced unpleasant symptoms in kids with cerebral palsy, such as pain while lying down, anger, as well as stress
- management of some fibromyalgia symptoms, such as reduced pain and anxiety and improved perception of quality of life
- improved sexual function and self-confidence in women with sexual distress
What are the risks and other potential side effects of reiki?
Research on the risks and other side effects of this practice is limited. However, existing evidence points towards the conclusion that reiki is safe for the general population, including children and people who suffer from chronic conditions.
Since everybody is quite different and might have their own unique sensitivities, your experience with reiki could differ from someone else’s. But there’s really no indication that reiki poses any kind of risk to physical or mental health.
How Reiki Enhances Decision-making
It promotes mental clarity. Reiki eliminates the mental fog and sharpens our focus, both of which are mandatory for making informed decisions. During any Reiki session, the recipient enters a deep state of relaxation, which allows the mind to release stress and overthinking.
This specific state of relaxation helps clear the way to all the unnecessary clutter and thoughts, enhancing the ability to focus on the decision at hand. A calm mind can easily assess situations more objectively, reducing the influence of external noise and internal biases.
Emotional balance. Decisions can be often influenced by our emotional state. Anxiety, fear, as well as emotional turmoil, can easily lead to indecisiveness and poor decision-making. Reiki acts as a balancing element since it aligns the energy centers in the body.
By effectively addressing emotional blockages and restoring equilibrium, Reiki helps individuals approach decisions with a more balanced and calm mindset. This specific type of emotional stability facilitates a more measured response to diverse challenges and opportunities, enhancing the overall quality of decision-making.
Enhancing intuition. Intuition plays a significant role in decision-making. In fact, it can often guide us in ways that logical analysis can’t. Reiki practitioners and recipients constantly report heightened intuitive capabilities following sessions.
This enhanced intuition can be especially useful in making decisions, especially those that require a deeper understanding of complex situations or when you have to navigate uncharted territories.
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