What is Reiki and What Happens in a Session?
Reiki can sound a little mysterious, but at its heart it’s a gentle, non-invasive approach to helping your body and mind slow down and rebalance, supporting the body’s natural capacities to heal and recover.
You don’t need to believe in anything or “get” Reiki for it to help — you just need to show up and be open to experiencing the practice.
What is reiki?
Reiki is a method of healing developed in the early 20th century by Miao Usui in Japan in the early 20th century.
The word Reiki can be translated as ‘universal life force energy’, and in a reiki session a practitioner channels and supports your connection to natural healing energy that is understood to promote the body’s innate regenerative abilities. This is done in a fully-clothed, non-invasive way whereby the practitioner places their hands lightly on or above the body.
At its heart Reiki is a simple, relaxing energy technique that supports the body’s natural capacity to restore balance and heal on all levels — physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Many people find that Reiki helps them connect to themselves on a deeper level and so it can be described as spiritual in this sense. Yet reiki is not tied to any religion, and people of all types of religious persuasions and belief systems practice and receive Reiki.
Reiki is a complementary therapy and does not take the place of medical care*. There are no known contra-indications to Reiki when used on its own.
*If you suspect that you have a medical condition you should always seek help from a qualified and licensed medical professional. Reiki practitioners do not diagnose conditions or prescribe or perform medical treatment, prescribe substances, nor interfere with the treatment of a licensed medical professional.
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The scientific understanding of the exact underlying mechanisms is still developing.
The Reiki Federation mentions in this interesting information page (you can read here) that “When giving Reiki, practitioners have been shown to emit electro-magnetic or bio-magnetic energy from their hands. The frequencies of the energy emitted vary from one moment to the next; but many appear to correspond to those that medical researchers have identified as being the optimum frequencies for stimulating the healing process in tissues, bones and other body parts so far investigated”.
Another theory it mentions that reiki helps calm the person so their immune and other functions operate optimally. This would make sense a nervous system point of view, as when we experience ongoing stress, our bodies can remain in a state of “fight or flight” whereas when we relax we shift into the parasympathetic nervous system, often called the rest and digest state. This is when the body can slow down, recover, and begin to heal.
While there is still much to learn about how exactly reiki works, many find Reiki to be a deeply relaxing and restorative experience that supports wellbeing in both body and mind.
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Reiki is becoming increasingly recognised within healthcare settings, including the NHS, where it’s sometimes offered as a complementary therapy alongside conventional cancer treatments or receiving palliative care.
At St George’s Hospital in Tooting, the Connecting Reiki with Medicine project is delivering Reiki to support very sick children and adults, their carers and staff in areas of critical need. It is also funding high-quality research studies to explore the benefits of Reiki for patients and strengthen its evidence base.
What people turn to reiki for…
To treat oneself to a deeply relaxing treatment.
Reducing stress and anxiety
As a preventative health care method
Promoting deeper, more restful sleep
Relieving pain
Soothing stress-related symptoms such as headaches, digestive disorders, and muscle tension
Supporting the healing process after surgery or other medical procedures
To increase energy and vitality levels
Lifting mood
Supporting the immune system
Helping cope with chronic pain
Receiving comfort and gentle support in times of change or bereavement
What’s happens in a reiki session with me?
Each Reiki session lasts 50 minutes. When you arrive, I’ll welcome you into the space and we’ll take a few minutes to prepare you for the reiki session. Here’s what to expect:
You might want to share what has brought you to the session, but there’s absolutely no pressure to do so (all information is treated in strictest confidence).
I will talk you through the treatment, you can ask any questions, and I’ll take you through the consent form, which if you are happy, you can sign.
I will show you images of the different reiki hand positions so you know what to expect, and I’ll check if there are any positions you’d prefer me to leave out. You can choose between no-touch or light touch (reiki works equally well with both) and we’ll think of ways you can let me know if you change your mind at any point. We can also agree on how I can wake you at the end if you nod off.
Reiki sessions are fully clothed, so you won’t be asked to remove anything apart from your shoes (as long as you feel comfortable with this). At all times your bodily privacy will be maintained and your choices around touch respected.
We’ll then look around the room and think about how to make the environment feel as relaxing as possible for you — things like the lighting, music, whether you’d like a blanket, and whether you’d prefer to lie on the treatment bed, sit or lie in the hanging swing, or sit in a chair.
We’ll then move into the treatment. Some people feel changes in body temperature, tingling, a sense of calm, drift off to sleep, and/or feel emotional, and others don’t feel much at all. Every experience is valid and unique.
At the end, I’ll make sure there’s at least five to ten minutes for you to come back slowly and prepare to return to your day. You’ll be offered a glass of water, and you can tell me if there’s anything you’d like me to know about your experience.
