Reiki Healing: All You Need to Know

Practitioners of reiki healing generally believe that all living things have a life force or essence and that our bodies have a specific energy system. This energy, or ki / chi (or prana in Hindu traditions, or qi in the Chinese traditions), flows through our bodies in pathways called either meridians (in the Chinese tradition) or nadis (in the Hindu tradition) and meet in major energy nodes called chakras. It is believed that this energy gives life to our general biological systems.

This energy is highly connected to our thoughts and emotions, both positive and negative. When we are full of ki / chi, we can often feel full of life and vitality. It can even manifest itself as confidence. We get ki from the world around us, from a meditation practice, rest, or from the nutrients of the food we eat. Conversely, when we are low in ki / chi, we can feel sluggish and weak and are more likely to get sick.

Although many claim that reiki healing has a been practiced in Japan well before, the accepted originator of our current model of reiki healing is often listed as Japanese mystic Mikao Usui, who upon having a deeply spiritual experience while fasting upon the mountain of Kurama Yama near Kyoto, developed his own method of reiki healing called Usui Reiki Ryoho, forming his own healing society. He passed away in 1926, but his teachings lived on through a training method he developed.

In a typical reiki healing session, the patient is usually asked to lie down, often on a massage table. Sometimes, it is even combined with actual massage. The healer will hold his or her hands over the patient and begin to channel energy into them, often starting with the head. Some healers claim that they can scan the body to find specific areas where the vital energy is blocked.

Usually, the healer will move their hands slowly up and down the body to help move the energy. Despite the fact that most healers practice in close vicinity of the patient, it is believed that particularly strong healers have the ability to treat patients from far away in a method known as “distance healing”.

Science has not been kind to reiki healing. This is not to say that there have been no studies that prove its effectiveness. It is an oft-studied healing method, namely because it is one of the most widely accepted in the world. Reiki has been through numerous clinical trials comparing it to placebos.

There have been studies over the years that have shown that it does help people in a positive way, but they are oft-criticized. In properly designed double-blind clinical trials, there has been little evidence of it being effective. A literature review of many of the main studies was conducted in 2008 by M.S. Lee et al, but unfortunately, they concluded that there seems to be no verifiable proof of its efficacy on a variety of ailments including depression and pain.

One of the most convincing studies was when a group of “sham healers” and actual reiki healers were asked to administer healing to chemotherapy patients. By “sham healers” I mean people who had no training in energy healing, they merely pretended to do it by holding their hands above the patients. The promising news is that the patients assigned to the real reiki healing group reported a statistically significant feeling of well-being and comfort.

Unfortunately for believers, the people in the sham healing group also showed statistically significant effect in the same areas. The researchers concluded that potentially the main benefit from a reiki healing practice is the comfort it gives, but the same kind of comfort can be given by quality one-on-one time between the nurse and the patient. Still, this does show that it can have a positive effect. It can be argued that the “sham” healers may have been inadvertently utilizing energy healing, just to a lesser extent.

The technique has found a new home on a social media platform as well where practitioners offer online healing sessions. With numerous users, known as Reiki Masters, offering live or recorded sessions to relieve tension, anxiety and other ailments, Reiki has become very popular on TikTok. It’s no coincidence that the COVID-19 pandemic and its rise in popularity occurred at the same time, as people began to seek alternative strategies for stress relief and emotional support in the isolation of their homes. However, the quality of Reiki on TikTok can vary widely. Because the platform is so accessible, anyone without formal training can claim competence, raising questions about the safety and validity of the practice. There is a possibility that TikTok practitioners may not have received the extensive training and attunement required for traditional Reiki from a Reiki master.

Many users who have participated in these TikTok Reiki sessions describe positive experiences, such as feeling more at ease or emotionally balanced. Nevertheless, it should be noted that an individual’s expectations and level of belief in the therapy can have a significant impact on these results, making them highly subjective. There is also a danger that people may choose Reiki over traditional medical care, which could be detrimental to their health. Furthermore, the commercialization and simplicity of Reiki on social media may erode its traditional beliefs and practices, reducing the acceptance of Reiki Therapy.

It seems to be widely accepted that reiki treatment can be a relaxing experience and may aid in reducing stress, especially for people dealing with chronic disease. Studies have shown that cortisol can have a negative effect on our health including weakening our immune system and any treatment that reduces cortisol levels or stress can be considered beneficial.

There has not been much scientific evidence supporting that there is a vital energy force. There have been some that argue that there have been auras and other fields of energy that surround living things, but many scientists argue that it is electromagnetic radiation. It can possibly be argued that electromagnetic radiation is the vital life force.

There have been studies that show that energy healers may not actually have the ability to sense or influence energy fields. One of the most notable was conducted by the 11-year old Emily Rosa as a school science project. She designed an ingenious study where she stood behind a screen, where a number of energy healers stood with both hands raised. To randomize where she put her own hand, she flipped a coin. She placed her hand close to the healers (they could not see her) and asked if they could find her hand. Theoretically they would be able to tell where she placed her hand by feeling the energy. According to her results, the healers did no better than anyone else. Some healers in the past have refused to participate in similar controlled studies, and there is a chance they were not intimidated or threatened by this girl’s study. Emily was the youngest person at the time to have a scientific study published.

Reiki healing can be a difficult thing to research. It is difficult to design double-blind studies that measure the effects of reiki and since the vital energy is considered unmeasurable and beyond the true comprehension of even its practitioners, it seems unlikely that healers and believers are likely to change their minds any time soon. Yet, given the positive testimonials and the few studies that have shown a positive effect, reiki healing remains an intriguing thing to be studied. Also, since it doesn’t cause any harm, there is no reason, outside of its cost, to disregard it completely.

Updated: July 23, 2024. – This article was originally published on February 1, 2021.