Reiki 101: What is Reiki? Reiki Healing Technique for Stress Reduction and Energy Balance

Reiki 101: What is Reiki?

This article is based on my YouTube series "Reiki 101" and is offered here for those who prefer reading online. You can find the original video on my Mainstream Reiki YouTube channel if you'd rather watch than read!

After working with Reiki since 1995 and conducting thousands of sessions, I'm excited to share my insights with you about Reiki healing in this new series called "Reiki 101."

My mission has always been simple: to help people understand what Reiki truly is and what it isn't. I want to demystify this practice and bring it more into the mainstream because Reiki is something everyone can benefit from. If you've ever heard anything about Reiki that made you fearful or uncertain, this article is especially for you.

Reiki sessions occur while seated or lying down. Hands may be lightly touching or off of the body.

What is Reiki?

At its core, Reiki is a healing technique that helps reduce stress. This stress reduction and relaxation actually help the body heal itself. We all know that our bodies have natural mechanisms—like the immune system—that help us heal. When we get sick, our body works to get us back into energy balance and wellness.

Reiki supports these natural systems by helping shift our nervous system from the "fight or flight" mode (sympathetic nervous system)—which we're in most of the time in our busy world—into the "rest, digest, and restore" mode (parasympathetic nervous system). The body simply cannot repair itself when it's under stress. It needs to be in a relaxed state to do that.

If you're thinking Reiki sounds completely "woo woo" or New Age, I encourage you to search online for scientific studies that back up its efficacy. I was completely skeptical myself when I first encountered Reiki in 1995. With my physics degree, I was very analytical and science-minded. It sounded too good to be true—the results didn't seem to match the level of work required. But I can tell you from experience: it really is that good.

What's even more remarkable? Hundreds of hospitals in the United States and more around the world offer Reiki in their healthcare facilities. Some hospitals even have Reiki teachers on staff and offer classes on-site! They know Reiki is a healing technique with proven results for stress reduction and energy balance because if it were not worthwhile, they would not continue the programs or start new ones.

Reiki is Holistic

One of the most important aspects of Reiki is that it's holistic—it treats the whole person. This includes emotions and thought patterns where we often get stuck in a rut. Reiki can actually help recalibrate these patterns and shift them into a healthier state of being.

Physically, scientific studies in hospitals have shown that Reiki decreases pain and reduces the need for pain medications. If I had to sum up Reiki in one word, it would be "better." Reiki helps people feel better—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

How Reiki Works

Reiki is administered through the hands of the practitioner. These hands can be placed either on the body or slightly off the body. Reiki can also be transmitted over distance—people don't even need to be in the same physical location to receive its benefits.

And contrary to what some might think, Reiki practitioners didn't invent distance Reiki because of the pandemic. It's always been part of Reiki training, going back to its origins in Japan over a hundred years ago. There's a tradition and framework for Reiki classes, and distance Reiki has been part of that for decades.

The entire system of Reiki is based on the life force energy that flows in and around all living things. That might sound a bit "woo woo," but if we think about it, everything alive has vitality—an energy to being alive. All living things have this life force energy flowing in and around them in a certain way.

We have what I call "energy anatomy"—you might have heard terms like chakras and meridians. These energy centers or pathways help the life force energy flow and be distributed in a certain way to support life in the physical body.

This concept is central to Reiki practice because when this life force energy flows in balance, we feel good. The problem is that life's stresses—everyday pressures, trauma, abuse—can upset that flow. A Reiki practitioner offers Reiki energy through their hands to help restore that life force energy to its intended flow.

When our energy flows in a balanced way, we feel centered, we sleep well, and we move through life with ease. But when life happens and we react to stress—stuffing emotions, feeling hurt without healthy ways to heal—we cause disruptions in our energy flow. Reiki helps restore that balance.

Reiki in a hospital setting is a stress-reducing complement to treatment and an additional way to support patients.

Complementary, Not Alternative

Another important point: Reiki is a complementary therapy, not an alternative one. This distinction matters because we're never asking anyone to replace medical care with Reiki. Reiki goes right alongside anything you might need to do for your well-being.

For example, if you're going through chemotherapy, you can also receive Reiki. What's often seen is that the chemotherapy process becomes a bit smoother, and the side effects are lessened for someone receiving Reiki throughout their treatment.

Reiki is simply something that makes life better.

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I hope this introduction to Reiki has been helpful as we explore Reiki here on the Mainstream Reiki website in these articles.

Remember: Reiki doesn't cause harm. It's perfectly natural. Anyone can learn it, anyone can receive its benefits, and you don't even have to believe in it for it to work. Pretty remarkable.

If you'd like to watch the video version of this article, you can find it here: Reiki 101: What is Reiki?

New articles in this series are on the soon. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter to be notified when new content is available!