Table of Contents
- What is reiki?
- Is there proof that reiki works?
- How does reiki work?
- How do distant reiki treatments work?
- What kind of reiki do I receive at Energetic Harmony, and why?
- Does reiki open me up to evil forces?
- Can I overdose on reiki?
- Can reiki help me heal specific symptoms?
- Is my reiki practitioner healing me?
- What will I feel during my reiki session?
- What will I feel after my reiki session?
- Are there any negative side effects of reiki?
- Can reiki help chronic illnesses heal?
- How do I know when/if reiki is working for me?
- Summary
What is reiki?
Reiki (pronounced RAY-key) is an ancient, holistic healing modality that balances the human energy field. It can help balance and harmonize your emotions, alleviate chronic pain, reduce your stress levels, improve your sleep, and boost your overall sense of well being.
The term “reiki” can refer to the practice or to the energy itself.
More specifically, reiki is most widely said to be an ancient Japanese energy healing system from the 1800s. This Japanese word can be translated as “universal life energy,” where rei means “spirit, soul, universal, all-knowing,” etc., and ki means “vital energy.”
However, this practice isn’t unique to Japan. Ancient Egyptians practiced reiki as a means of balance and healing, as have (and do) other cultures.
The practice of reiki allows a practitioner to channel vital energy for the purpose of helping your body heal itself on a mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional level.
The goal is to help maintain or achieve homeostasis, to improve your body’s ability to heal, to heal faster, and/or to heal more effectively.
[ Back to Contents ]
Is there proof that reiki works?
Yes. Like many, I didn’t know what to think about reiki when I first discovered it. It’s funny how often we believe we need to “see” something with our physical eyes before it holds credence.
We know that scientists measure, and have measured, the human energy field for decades. Below, I present both scientific and anecdotal evidence that reiki works to reduce pain, help cure disease, reduce stress and anxiety, and more.
Scientific Evidence for Reiki
Reiki Reduces Burnout Among Community Mental Health Clinicians.
Here, burnout is defined as “emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment.” In this study, some healthcare workers received reiki from a trained therapist vs. other workers “treated” by a random faker who mimicked the process. The true Reiki session had immediate positive and significant effects on the healthcare workers’ burnout symptoms, to include heart rate variability, cortisol levels, body temperature.
Biological correlates of Reiki Touch℠ healing
This study shows that a single 30-minute reiki session significantly reduced systolic blood pressure and anxiety.
Reiki Is Better Than Placebo and Has Broad Potential as a Complementary Health Therapy
Eight studies demonstrated reiki to be more effective than placebo, further determining it to be a safe and gentle complementary therapy that activates the parasympathetic nervous system to heal body and mind. They determined that reiki has potential for wider use to help manage chronic health conditions and accelerate recovery after surgeries.“
Using Reiki to manage pain: a preliminary report
A study was carried out on 20 participants experiencing pain at 55 sites. The pains originated across various areas, for a variety of reasons, to include cancer. Reiki therapy was shown to cause a highly significant reduction in pain following the treatment.