“If your inner energy is misdirected, so will your whole life be.” ~C. Astrid Weber
What is Reiki?
Reiki is a natural healing system that channels universal energy to promote spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being. Through either direct contact or remote sessions, Reiki aims to alleviate suffering and restore balance to the recipient. It’s important to understand that Reiki practitioners are not licensed medical or mental health professionals, and they do not diagnose conditions, perform medical treatments, or make any medical claims. Reiki is meant to complement, not replace, care provided by licensed healthcare professionals.
Physical & Emotional Benefits of Reiki:
Reiki can be easily combined with other healing modalities and is often used alongside your existing medical treatments prescribed by licensed professionals. Some potential benefits include:
- Reduces stress, depression, anxiety, and emotional distress
- Promotes inner peace and harmony
- Enhances creativity and self-expression
- Balances or increases energy levels
- Encourages emotional release and healing
- Helps process grief and loss
- Promotes a peaceful mindset
- Detoxifies and clears the body of toxins
- Accelerates the body’s natural healing abilities
- Eases aches, pains, and discomforts of all kinds
- Provides comfort during pregnancy and hospice care
- Reduces side effects of radiation and chemotherapy
- Supports muscular healing and recovery
What to Expect During a Reiki Session
During a Reiki session, the practitioner channels energy through a series of hand positions, either directly on or near your body. The practitioner is not the source of the energy but serves as a vessel through which it flows.
For in-person sessions, you will either sit upright or lie face-up, fully clothed, on a healing table. The practitioner will place their hands on or just above key areas of your body—such as the head, shoulders, heart, hands, stomach, and feet—for two to five minutes per position, as needed. Distant healing sessions follow a similar process, with the practitioner visualizing the client’s energetic form.
Reiki often creates a sensation of warmth, tingling, or a gentle radiance flowing through the body. Some people feel deeply relaxed, and others may experience heaviness in the body paired with lightness in the emotions. Other sensations might include heat, coolness, or pulsing energy. The treatment typically leaves clients feeling lighter, more positive, and with an overall sense of well-being.
Does Reiki Work for Everyone?
While many people experience relaxation and positive effects from Reiki, the sensations and outcomes of a session can vary, and healing results are not guaranteed. Reiki should always be used in conjunction with medical or psychological care from licensed professionals.
Reiki works harmoniously with other forms of healing, such as prescription medication, surgery, and therapy. Even if you don’t feel immediate results, the healing energy will continue to work subtly on various levels—emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual.
Healing and Integration
Reiki often involves confronting emotional or energetic “shadows” from the past, present, or future. If you don’t feel anything during the session, or if you experience uncomfortable feelings, both are natural parts of the healing process. To support your body through this, it’s recommended to stay mindful of your emotions and increase your water intake (as medically appropriate) following your session.
Most clients begin to notice positive shifts within a few hours or days after their Reiki session. Keep in mind that energy healing is a journey, not a one-time solution. Depending on your needs, multiple sessions may be required to address deeper issues. You’ll intuitively know when the healing is complete, and no further sessions are necessary.